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Dr Kirstie
Missenden, MAPS
Consultant Clinical Psychologist
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Kirstie's Qualifications
Since completing her degree in Psychology at Aberdeen University in
Scotland, and her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the University of
London, Kirstie has worked in Public and Private health care settings,
providing psychological assessment and individually tailored therapy
for people with a wide range of difficulties.
Kirstie went on to complete Post-graduate training in
Cognitive-Analytic Therapy, an approach that combines knowledge and
techniques from the two theoretical schools in psychology and
psychotherapy, and later became an accredited Supervisor. Recognised as
a senior, Specialist Therapist,
Kirstie reached ‘Consultant Grade’ within the British National Health
Service, providing high quality therapy to her clients, and supervision
and training to other Clinical Psychologists and Therapists.
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My Approach
"My aim is to provide a safe, confidential space in which we can make
sense of your difficulties, and find ways of helping you to make the
changes you need to make in order to reach your goals. Together we will
identify unhelpful patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving that
impact on your life in a negative way, without losing sight of your
strengths. We will use tools, such as a ‘map’ of patterns in your life
which may be making you feel stuck, which will help you to understand
and begin to modify these patterns as they occur both inside and
outside of our therapy sessions. Along with these ‘active’ aspects of
therapy, I aim to offer you the space and time to reflect on yourself
and your life, which is often simply not available to us in a world of
constant demands, and to do so with warmth, empathy and understanding."
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Who Might Benefit From Therapy?
You may have been diagnosed with one of the following problems:
- Depression
- Post-natal depression
- Anxiety
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Stress depression
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
- Personality Disorder
- Bipolar Affective Disorder
However, you may simply feel stuck and unable to move forward with your
life, or have experienced one of the following life events:
- Loss of a relationship
- Loss of a job/role
- Abuse or trauma
- Relationship difficulties with family,
friends, partners or colleagues
- Bereavement
- Birth of a child
All of us feel lost, stuck, sad, in pain or isolated at some time in
our lives. We may or may not know why we feel this way. Therapy can
help to make sense of your feelings and your situation, so that you are
free to move forward and enjoy life.
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What Will Therapy Involve?
Initially, we will meet for an hour and a half, to discuss your
difficulties as you see them, as well as your strengths and goals. It
will be important for us to work out together what it is you are
looking for from therapy, so that our approach can be tailored to your
particular aims.
What happens in therapy after our initial meetings will depend on the
goals we have identified together. We will use ideas and techniques
from CBT, Cognitive and Analytic approaches, drawing on current
research and developments in Psychology, to produce an individually
tailored, evidence-based therapy suited to your needs.
Therapy is usually for around one hour on a weekly basis, but this can
be flexible given your situation at any particular time. The amount of
therapy sessions can range from one consultation, to weekly therapy for
a year or more, again depending on your needs and what you are looking
for from the therapy experience.
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