Dr Aisling McKay

I completed a degree in Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Nottingham in 2006 and a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the University of Sheffield in 2013. I am a HCPC registered Clinical Psychologist with over 15 years’ experience of working in the NHS. I currently work as the Lead Psychologist in an NHS perinatal mental health team and have worked in adult mental health for most of my career. I use a range of therapeutic approaches, often integratively, to ensure that my approach is suited to the individual I am working with. The main therapeutic models I draw upon are Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR), Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).

I believe that we all have an innate desire to survive and thrive and we make our best attempts in the situations in which we find ourselves, to do this. Even if these choices later on start to cause us difficulties, they very often come from a place of having helped us to survive. I also believe that talking is very important in terms of helping us to understand where difficulties have come from and what maintains them, but that real change can be seen when we make changes in our behaviour.

I enjoy working with individuals who present with a range of difficulties, and have a particular interest in trauma, including vicarious trauma, and perinatal mental health.