Dr Claudia Salt, BSc (Hons), MSc, D. Clin. Psychol., Senior Clinical Psychologist
Hello, I’m Claudia. I am a Senior Clinical Psychologist with 18 years post qualification experience in child and adolescent mental health and neurodivergence in the NHS and private sector.
I completed my Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (D. Clin. Psychol.) at the University of Leeds in 2007. I worked in child mental health services in the NHS on qualifying. My professional roles have always included working with children and young people who are experiencing mental health problems or who are neurodivergent. In 2019 I began working in private practice (as an associate) in addition to my NHS role.
For independent private practice, I am based in Ilkley for face to face appointments or I can see clients online. I work with children and young people up to the age of 19 or their parents/carers to offer:
- Individual psychological therapy
- Work with parents and carers
- Consultation with other professionals as part of a multidisciplinary approach
Building trusting, affirming, collaborative and empathic therapeutic relationships with the children, young people and parents/carers I work with is central to my approach.
I have significant experience of providing psychological assessment and therapeutic interventions (or talking therapies) to children and young people and their parents/carers, with a range of presentations or areas of difficulty, including:
- Low mood and depression
- Anxiety based difficulties such as phobias, obsessions and compulsions. panic and anxiety
- Behaviours that challenge
- Parenting
- Managing change and transition
- Low self esteem
- Adjustment following stressful life events or trauma
- Dealing with the effects of physical health problems or illness
- Bereavement and loss
- Neurodivergence is an area of special interest and expertise, including autism, ADHD, demand avoidance, learning difficulties, intellectual disability
- Post diagnostic support (re. neurodivergence)
I work with children, young people and their parents/carers to develop a shared understanding of the presenting issues and what they think will be helpful, taking into account past help they may have received. Different methods to develop this understanding are utilised, based on the child or young person I am working with. These can include discussion, completion of questionnaires or rating scales and the use of pictures and drawing. Whilst referring to the available evidence base (i.e. NICE guidance), I use this information to develop initial shared goals and to determine which psychological therapy approach may be most helpful.
I am trained and experienced in a range of evidence based therapeutic approaches, which I flexibly utilise and adapt, to suit the needs and presentation of the clients I am working with. I incorporate creative methods such as drawing and using diagrams or pictures to increase accessibility.
I work a lot with children and young people who are neurodivergent and I am confident in adapting psychological therapies, my style of interaction and methods of communication to meet their needs.
I have fidget/sensory toys available for my clients to use in sessions if they find them helpful.
My approach to work with children and young people is collaborative (with prior discussion and consent of all involved). This means that my work often includes parents/carers and schools/other professionals involved, to support the best outcomes for the children and young people I am working with. This can include discussions; sharing resources; providing reports or training and attending meetings or reviews, where indicated and when appropriate.
Therapeutic approaches include:
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT); Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT); Compassion Focussed Therapy (CFT); Therapeutic Parenting; Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) exercises; Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR).
I am also experienced in a range of approaches which can be helpful for children and young people who are neurodivergent. These include: the Zones of Regulation; Window of Tolerance; Social Stories/Comic Strip Conversations, behaviour analysis and sensory processing theories.
In a previous role I worked with Barnardo’s to develop their Cygnet Group (post autism diagnosis parent training) which now runs nationally. I have also trained to run Early Bird Plus post diagnostic parent training groups developed by the National Autistic Society.
Whilst I am not providing autism, ADHD or cognitive assessments in my independent practice, I have been involved in this area for over 25 years from being an Assistant Psychologist and throughout my clinical psychology career. My doctoral thesis looked at the development of attachment in autism. I analysed outcomes from post diagnostic parent training for autism during my MSc research. I remain involved in the identification, assessment and diagnosis of neurodivergence in the NHS and as an Associate practitioner.
I am experienced in consulting and working with other agencies and professionals such as schools, speech and language therapists and occupational therapists and in working as part of a multidisciplinary team – with clients who have complex presentations, potentially connected to mental health problems, neurodivergence and learning.
I am registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) as a Practitioner Psychologist. My registration number is: PYL04210. The HCPC require that I maintain the highest standard of professional conduct and behaviours, utilise professional clinical supervision and engage in ongoing professional development and training (CPD).
I hold an Enhanced status Disclosure and Barring Service check as required for my work with children and vulnerable people. I am subscribed to the DBS update service which ensures that my DBS check is always up to date. Please do contact me if you need further information.
Outside of work: I am married and I have 2 school aged children. I have a lovely rescue cat called Molly. I enjoy interior design, gardening and being in the local countryside. Kindness and integrity are important to me.
Dr Claudia Salt, Senior Clinical Psychologist. Specialist Clinical Psychology services for children and young people, based in Ilkley, West Yorkshire.. 