Hi, I'm Hannah
Clinical Psychologist, Edinburgh
Hello! I'm Hannah
I’m a mum to a chatty and inquisitive 5 year old and expecting another baby in the summer 2023.
I'm passionate about helping families to build connected, responsive and nurturing relationships. I do this through direct work with families and through offering reflective practice and training to staff working with families with babies and very young children.
As a Psychologist I enjoy using compassion focused approaches and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), as well as relational approaches such as Theraplay and Family Therapy. These inform my work with parents, helping you to connect with the values that are most important to you as a parent, and develop a more compassionate approach to the challenges that parenting brings, and build a connected relationship with your child. I'm also trained as a parenting consultant with CalmFamily and have developed training for public health nurses in collaboration with them. I'm also a trained as a sling consultant with Slingababy.
I found the transition to parenthood immensely challenging, and it is my aim to offer the sort of support I'd have liked as a new parent, based on empowering parents with knowledge and confidence, supporting them to really get to know the child they have, and helping them to balance the different needs within their family.
I also work with organisations such as early years charities and NHS services, offering a Clinical Psychology and Parenting perspective to help them develop services for families with young children, and support their staff, through training and reflective practice.
Want to know more? Please get in touch so we can discuss how I can help you.
Videos and Blogs
In 2021 I came runner up in a competition run by the IJBPE - you can watch my video on Self Care for New Parents here: https://ijbpe.com/about/ijbpe-…
I've also written a guest blog for Dr Paula Redmond, who is a Clinical Psychologist working with Healthcare professionals: https://drpaularedmond.com/3-t...
You can read my other blogs on the blogs tab on this page
Support and Training for Staff
I offer reflective practice sessions to staff working with parents in the first 1001 days, via zoom.
These are usually 90 minute sessions for up to 8 staff following the Heads and Hearts model (Kurtz, 2021). Please contact me to find out more.
I have collaborated with CalmFamily to develop training for staff called: Balancing Needs in the Perinatal Period: Supporting Infant and Parental Wellbeing. This was developed for public health nurses across one service and is in the process of being evaluated. We can offer bespoke training based on your service needs.
CalmFamily Scotland Parenting Support
At CalmFamily Scotland we run parenting classes with a difference. Helping expectant parents and parents of 0-5 year olds move from feeling confused to confident, guilty to good enough, allowing you to focus on enjoying your relationship with your wee one.
CalmFamily classes offer parents:
- A safe reflective space with other parents to explore our own feelings, thoughts, experiences and values and how they relate to the choices we want to make as parents
- Education about infant and child development and the parent-child relationship, translated from scientific fields such as psychology, neuroscience and anthropology into relatable and useable information, to help you understand your wee one better and connect with them more deeply, with frameworks to help you troubleshoot any difficulties
We do not have any further classes in the calendar, but if you are interested in setting something up for yourself and a group of parents, or if you would like a 1-1 consultation, please get in touch.
Upcoming Events
Journalling in Pregnancy
My last workshop before I go on maternity leave will be a lovely two-evening workshop where expectant parents can make their own refillable journal and then have a go at some journalling exercises, all supported by myself and the lovely Cass Barron (@bookbindingwithcass).
