Dr Maxine Campion (Director)

Black and white photo of Maxine Campion, Clinical Psychologist

I became a Clinical Psychologist to understand why we do or feel things that don’t seem to make sense. I’ve spent over 15 years studying this and my aim is to relate what I’ve learned to your experiences – together, we can start making some sense of the nonsensical. In so doing, you can start feeling better and more able to make the changes you want to see in your life. Click this link to find out more about who I work with.

I believe that, given the right environment, we are all capable of living rich and meaningful lives. However, sometimes things get in the way of our ability to listen to ourselves and hear what we need. We find our situations and surroundings making us miserable, rather than filling us with joy and vitality.

I cannot know what is right for you, only you can. Therefore, my approach is to work in partnership with you. Together, we can relate psychology to your experiences in order to make sense of what is happening for you.

What is a Clinical Psychologist?

Clinical Psychologists have spent at least six year studying psychology and are Doctors of Clinical Psychology.

Psychology is the study of mind, thoughts and thinking, feelings and moods, behaviour and motivation, perception and reasoning. Clinical Psychologists learn to use psychology to make sense of human experiences of distress, ‘challenging’ behaviour and mental health problems.

Clinical Psychologists have trained in a variety of evidence-based models, and have high standards for continuing professional development. Our qualification and title is also regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council. Therefore, you can be sure that you are receiving appropriate, ethical and safe care.

If you want to know the difference between Clinical Psychologists and other therapists, please visit the Questions page.

Qualifications and Registrations
  • First Class Honours BSc in Psychology from The University of York
  • Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from The University of Hull
  • Registration with the Health and Care Professionals Council (HCPC)
  • Dyadic Development Practice (Level 2)
  • Adolescent Mentalisation-Based Integrative Therapy
  • Foundation Course in Dance Movement Psychotherapy (University of Roehampton)
  • Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) from EMDR Masterclass
Experience

Over the last 10 years, I have worked in a range of settings with people experiencing varying degrees and types of difficulties. Within the NHS, I have worked with adults, children and adolescents, both in the community and within in-patient settings. I have also worked within a Social Care team and a school. Additionally, I have consulted to schools, hospitals, forensic units and residential care homes.

The people I have worked with have included:

  • People who know what changes they would like to see in their lives and are finding it difficult to act
  • Individuals who have a sense that things aren’t OK, but are unsure why this is or how to change. This might include feeling flat, numb, sad, angry, stressed or anxious
  • People who have experienced trauma or abuse in childhood or adulthood
  • Parents who are finding it difficult to understand or manage their child’s behaviour
  • Families who want to create easier means of communicating with each other
  • Parents and carers of children who have experienced some form of trauma or abuse
  • Families with children and young people who behave aggressively, who seem withdrawn or who don’t seem themselves
  • Children who have been adopted, looked after or are living with a friend or relative

If you’re not sure whether any of the above descriptions fit with you, and you’d like to find out more, do ask me.

My approach to our work together

I have worked with people and families from a range of backgrounds, who have their own unique experiences. As such, I am curious and open-minded about everybody I meet, in order to hear and understand their stories, rather than imposing my own judgements or labels.

I aim to work with you, to create an understanding of your experiences and to begin to make sense of what is going on. Together, we will develop a picture that considers:

  • Your experiences
  • The effect of your experiences
  • What sense you made of your what happened
  • What you had to do to keep yourself going

These experiences could be anything from loss or separation, to trauma or abuse. They might seem big and obvious in your life story or they might seem insignificant. Equally, you might not be able to think of anything that has ‘happened to you’. That’s OK too. We work with what makes sense to you.

As well as understanding how your difficulties came to be, we can aim to think about what might work in order to shift and change some of this.

Therapeutic models that inform my work

My work is largely relational – that is, we work together to think about your relationships with yourself and other people, as well as things that are not people. For example, we might think about your relationship with food, your body, your phone, games, alcohol or with actions like exercise, self-harm, eating. I tend to find that there are patterns that repeat across these areas and we work together to make sense of these and shift relationship patterns that don’t feel helpful.

I draw upon psychodynamic, developmental, humanistic and systemic thinking to inform my approach. These ideas offer ways of making sense of what is might be on. From there, I draw upon techniques from a range of therapeutic models, including: