Dr Jennifer Breen
Clinical Psychologist
I am a HCPC registered Clinical Psychologist based in South East London who has more than ten years experience specialising in Autism and commonly co-occurring conditions like ADHD. I have a particular interest working with children and young people and their families, and those who find it difficult to engage with professionals, display behaviours that are a challenge for others to manage and/or whose difficulties are longstanding. I am a Senior Highly Specialist Clinical Psychologist in the NHS National and Specialist Service for Autism and complex neurodevelopmental conditions alongside private practice.
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I am passionate about supporting individuals to overcome difficulties, build skills and enhance emotional and psychological wellbeing. I also complete 'gold standard' diagnostic assessments for Autism, ADHD and learning difficulties/disabilities, am involved in research, and offer supervision, training and consultation to a range of audiences (e.g. professionals, parents and postgraduate students studying for Masters & Doctorate university degrees).
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Qualifications:
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Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (DClinPsy), Royal Holloway University of London.
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Masters of Philosophy (MPhil), University of Manchester focussing on researching catatonia in people with ASC.
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BA Hons in Psychology with British Sign Language, University of Durham.
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Registrations:
Health and Care Professions Council (Registration Number PYL35074).
Areas of Expertise
People see a Clinical Psychologist for a range of different reasons. Usually, it is because they are struggling with their mental health and emotional wellbeing. Some people have a formal diagnosis of a mental health problem like anxiety or depression, and others do not but are struggling to do things they want or need to in their life because of the distress associated with worry, anxiety or sadness.
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I offer psychological therapy for a range of presenting problems. My specialities include:
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Working with children, young people and young adults aged 3 to 25 years old who have Autism (pre-existing and suspected diagnoses).
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Using individualised evidence-based approaches to support those who are struggling with their mental health & emotional wellbeing (including low mood, anxiety, panic, phobias and obsessive compulsive disorders), particularly when they co-occur with Autism.
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Working with children and young people who are presenting with behaviours that are a challenge for adults to manage, such as unsafe or socially inappropriate behaviours.
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Supporting parents to understand their child and implement effective behaviour management techniques.
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Working with individuals who have atypical developmental trajectories, including neurodevelopmental disorders such as Autism or ADHD.
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Focusing on skill development such as toileting or sleep difficulties.
WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY
PARENT OF 'R'
(Aged 17 with diagnoses of Autism, anxiety & low mood)
Your level of understanding about Autism, knowledge and professionalism was amazing.
Jen's work has been life changing for R and our whole family, it's transformed our lives. It's been brilliant as it's given R strategies that he can use himself to help his anxiety. He's able to do them himself rather than us have to help him manage and that means that he's so much more independent.
Our future as a family feels a lot different; R has a bright future now, the future he always wanted for himself ... I pinch myself every day that things are so different now
PARENT OF 'D'
(Aged 11 with diagnoses of Autism & anxiety)
I am so impressed about how you engaged with D about his interests and developed an immediate rapport with him.
You managed to get him to reveal and talk so much in the first session. Despite doing lots of talking therapy before, he has never been able to use an hour like that so effectively and he didn't want the session to end.
A huge surprise to me and his father - thank you so much!
'B'
(Aged 16 with diagnoses of high functioning Autism & anxiety)
Of all the therapists I've met over the years, you're the only one I've ever liked and ever spoken to. Our sessions are so useful to help me understand my anxiety and think about how I can manage it better. I really like that we decide together what we are going to talk about rather than you just telling me what we're doing.
M's NHS GP
I'm contacting you to thank you for M's report confirming his diagnosis of Autism and ADHD ... of all the reports I have read as part of my job working for many years as an NHS GP, this is by far the best.
WORKING WITH YOUNG PEOPLE
I specialise working with children and young people from three to twenty five years old with a range of presenting problems (see 'Areas of Expertise' section).
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I offer a safe space for young people to explore their difficulties, provide psycho-education to aid understanding of their experiences and teach developmentally appropriate coping skills. I am creative and work hard to build rapport. I particularly enjoy working with young people who are difficult to engage, including those who are Autistic.
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I also help adults who care for young people I work with to understand and support them more effectively (see 'Working with Parents & Carers' section).
AUTISM
I have a specialist interest in Autism. In my NHS practice, I am a Senior Psychologist and Joint Team Lead for the National and Specialist children and young people's Autism and associated conditions team at South London and Maudsley NHS Trust.
I am trained in completing gold standard Autism diagnostic assessments and specialise in assessing individuals where there is added complexity (e.g. co-occuring mental health disorders, challenging behaviour, difficult early experiences). I work hard to write neuroaffirmative reports that include strengths as well as difficulties/differences.
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I offer a range of psychological therapy interventions with Autistic young people and their families. This could be developing understanding of what Autism means for the individual and/or family, or offering evidence-based adapted interventions for presenting difficulties such as mental health problems (e.g. anxiety, low mood) or understanding and managing challenging behaviour.
WORKING WITH PARENTS & CARERS
I help parents and carers to understand their children better and know how to support them more effectively.
I offer a confidential space to explore and understand a range of difficulties that children they care for are experiencing. I work collaboratively with parents to develop goals for our work which make a real difference to their child and family's quality of life. I utilise a flexible approach using individualised evidence-based interventions.
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I am a firm believer in the importance of engaging with parents and carers, even when predominantly working directly with children under 18 years old. This is because I think it is important to view a child as part of a family who can support them to overcome difficulties, rather than in isolation.
Sessions & Fees
Initial screening:
I offer a free 20 minute telephone call to briefly discuss the difficulty you or your child is experiencing and what kind of help you are looking for, to determine if I might be able to help. We will then arrange an appointment for an Initial Assessment to further explore this in more detail.
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Initial Assessment Appointment:
During the Initial Assessment Appointment, we will explore what you or your child is struggling with in more detail so I can better understand the problem and I will find out more about your family so we can agree a treatment plan going forwards that works for you. Sometimes this appointment is just with parents and carers, and sometimes the young person joins for some or all of the session - we will discuss what will be most helpful in the initial telephone screening.​
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Further Sessions:
We will agree together a treatment plan. I offer both short term (2-6 sessions) and longer term psychological intervention work, depending on the presenting problem and any added complexities (e.g. longstanding nature of difficulties, Autism, difficulties meeting with or talking to professionals). I offer a very limited number of both online and face-to-face sessions.
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Session Fees:​
Sessions are 60 minutes long and cost £135 - 160, depending on a range of factors including the location of the appointment. Fees are requested to be paid before appointments.
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Other:
I offer a range of other services, such as Autism diagnostic assessments (as part of a clinical team), cognitive assessments, delivering training and offering consultations and supervision. Please contact me to discuss these requests further.​
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Cancellation Policy:
I understand that things can come up and offer flexibility in rescheduling or cancelling sessions. If you need to cancel or reschedule, I ask for 24 hours notice, as cancellations after this time will be charged in full.
Contact Jen
If you are interested in speaking to Jen about whether she might be able to help you, please fill out the form below or email her at hello@drjenbreen.co.uk and she will be in touch (usually within 48 hours).