Dr Jessica Hughes
Clinical Psychologist
Hi, I’m Dr Jessica Hughes, or Jess, and I’m a Clinical Psychologist who works with children and young people. I’m trained to help people who may be struggling with managing difficult emotions, such as feeling anxious, stressed, down, hopeless, or self-critical.
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I aim to offer a supportive space where young people can open up about their difficulties and identify new ways that might help them to cope with these experiences and feelings. I’ve worked in the NHS for the past 6 years, working in a range of settings supporting both young people and adults with mental health difficulties, and currently work in a CAMHS service.
Lots of the young people I work with are neurodiverse or have suspected neurodiversity such as Autism or ADHD traits, and I have expertise in adapting our work to
meet their needs.
As a clinical psychologist, I tailor therapy for each person I see, drawing on a variety of therapeutic models such as:
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT),
- Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT),
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and
- Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT).
In addition, I use systemic psychotherapy ideas and work closely with parents where necessary to support a young person in implementing changes that improve their emotional wellbeing.
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Qualifications & Registrations:
- Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (DClinPsy) at the University of Surrey. This course
was accredited at a Foundation level with the Association for Family Therapy and Systemic Practice (AFT).
- In addition, I carried out specific placements and additional assignments to be accredited as a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist with the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies at Level 2 (BABCP).
- Masters in Mental Health Studies (MSc) at King’s College London.
- Undergraduate degree in Applied Psychology (Clinical) (BSc) at the University of
Exeter. This degree included a qualification in Low Intensity CBT.
- Registered with the HCPC and BABCP.
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Parent feedback:
"My son was treated by Dr. Jessica Hughes who was amazing with him. I love how the approach was always centred around his wants and needs. My son has difficulty maintaining eye contact and his tone can be a little off when he's stressed or anxious but Jess never reacted or acted like she took it personally, her focus was always on helping him to learn about his anxiety, management tools and experiments. She was able to make him laugh and really connect with difficult topics and had an amazing personable and understanding nature. He genuinely looked forward to his sessions (although he acted too cool to let on) and really saw how they were helping him. I was so concerned about his mental wellness when we first started sessions, and now 2 months on I have my boy back. He's learnt the skills he needs to continue to ease his anxiety beyond the sessions, and has gained so much pride in himself. I'll never forgot driving home from an event to hear him sigh and say "I feel like I did before anxiety." Forever grateful for Jess, her knowledge, approach, and time. Highly recommend. Worth every penny and more!"
Young person (age 10):
"I liked my sessions with Jess. I would recommend them for children with anxiety so that they know how to cope."
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​Available: Tuesdays PM
Fee: £125
Contact: enquiries@surreytherapypractice.com​
