What I can help with
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
- Panic
- Social Anxiety
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Health Anxiety
- Bipolar Disorder
- Trauma/PTSD
- Psychosis
- Self-esteem
- Personality difficulties
- Perfectionism
- Relationships
- Anger
- Stress
Therapies offered
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
- Compassion Focused Therapy
- Mindfulness Based Interventions
- Systemic Therapy
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
- Dialectical Behaviour Therapy
- Schema Therapy
Approach
My approach to psychological therapy is integrative, tailoring the most effective treatments to each client’s specific difficulties or concerns. I also emphasise goals and change-based therapies, which require a trusting and collaborative working partnership both in and outside sessions. To develop this trusting and collaborative stance, I aim to provide clients with a safe space in which they can feel heard and understood in a non-judgmental and empathic way, support them to identify their strengths, and promote their capacity to learn healthy ways of coping with psychological difficulties or distressing situations and achieve personally meaningful goals.
Experience
Dr Carla Matias is a Clinical Psychologist, registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and a Chartered Member of the British Psychological Society (BPS).
After qualifying as a Practitioner Psychologist (Forensic specialisation) in Portugal in 1999, Carla went on to complete a Masters in Criminology at Cambridge University in 2001 and a PhD in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at King’s College London in 2007. In 2015, Carla was also awarded the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology by Royal Holloway, University London.
Carla’s research background mainly focuses on developmental psychopathology and antisocial behaviour, parenting and attachment, and evidence-based assessment and intervention with at-risk families. Along with her research activities, Carla is also an experienced clinician, having worked with a variety of client groups including child and adolescent mental health, adult mental health, older adults and adults with learning disabilities in a variety of settings both in the private sector and the NHS.
Between 2014 and 2017, Carla worked in an NHS specialist community service providing assessments and evidence-based psychological therapy to young adults with first episode of psychosis and presenting with a range of comorbidities (e.g. anxiety/depression, personality and/or developmental disorders). Since 2017, Carla’s clinical activity has expanded to include working in inpatient and community rehabilitation services (both privately and in the NHS), providing highly specialist psychological input to adults presenting with more chronic mental health difficulties who are progressing towards independent living on a step-down basis. In the course of her specialist work, Carla has also completed a range of professional courses, including post-qualification training in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Psychosis and Behavioural Family Intervention.
In line with her research background and specialist clinical experience, Carla’s main interests include working with individuals who have experienced traumatic and/or abusive childhoods, presenting with behavioural problems, anxiety or mood disorders, and/or complex mental health difficulties. Carla is also trained in the administration, scoring and interpretation of a range of childhood and adult mental health-based specialist assessments.
Carla is fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
Insurance
