Dr Sakshi Shetty Chowdhury

I am a Clinical and Community Psychologist with over seven years experience of working in the NHS and voluntary sector organisations. Building a safe, warm and trusting relationship is one of the most important aspects of how I work as a psychologist. I aim to collaborate with people to understand who they are, what is important to them, what is going on for them in their present lives, and the experiences that may have brought them here.  It is important to me to connect (or re-connect) people with their strengths and skills, and provide therapy that is affirming and sensitive to each person's cultural needs.

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I specialise in working with adults, children and young people with a range of mental health difficulties, including those who have experienced trauma during childhood and complex trauma, and people seeking asylum. I have extensive experience of working with neurodivergent individuals (e.g. those with diagnoses of autism or ADHD or who think their needs fit these diagnoses) and understand the individual and social impact of difference in a neurotypical world. 

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Alongside supporting individuals and families, I believe in the importance of wellbeing at a community and societal level, and I am engaged in this in my current role as a Community Psychologist in London. This involves working in collaboration with community members, leaders and organisations, particularly those from marginalised backgrounds, to reduce social and health inequalities and promote agency and preferred ways of living well. This work also involves promoting systemic change within the NHS and more broadly. Values of social justice, equity and cultural humility have drawn me to this work and I believe strongly in the importance of being politically engaged, both in my professional and personal life. 

 

Qualifications

I have completed my Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (DClinPsy) at University College London. Prior to this, I completed a Masters in Applied Clinical Psychology at the University of Bath, and an undergraduate degree in Psychology at Durham University. I have published research in The Cognitive Behaviour Therapist Journal, exploring skill development and support for therapists from minoritised ethnic backgrounds.  

https://doi.org/10.1017/S1754470X24000448

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I have training in and experience of providing Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Narrative Therapy. I work in an integrative way, drawing creatively and flexibly upon these different modalities to suit the individual needs of the people I work with. 

 

Difficulties that I can support you with:

• Low mood 

• Anxiety, including social anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder and phobias

• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), complex and developmental trauma

• Low self-esteem

• Living with a long-term or life limiting health condition

• Unusual experiences (e.g. hearing voices, seeing visions)

• Exploring identity, including ethnic/cultural, gender and sexual identity.