Dr Rachel Howard

Dr Rachel Howard is a registered practitioner with the Health and Care Professions Council (PYL33839).

Dr Rachel achieved her Bachelor of Science Degree, with honours, in Psychology from the University of Bath in 2007 and Master of Science Degree in Mental Health Studies from King’s College London in 2011. She then went on to complete her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Canterbury Christ Church University in 2016.

Dr Rachel has over 15 years of experience supporting people across the lifespan with their mental health but now specialises in working with children, young people and their families and schools. She has worked in several NHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), helping children and young people from 5-18 years and their families with mental health difficulties such as challenging behaviour, anxiety, depression, self-harm and PTSD. She has also worked in an NHS Paediatric Service supporting young people and their families presenting with difficulties linked with their diagnosis of diabetes, and the first NHS Parent-Infant Mental Health Service supporting parents struggling to bond or manage early parenthood with their children from conception to age 4.

Dr Rachel uses an integrative approach, drawing on ideas from a number of different models including Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Mindfulness, Systemic/Narrative Therapy, Psychodynamic Therapy, and Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Adolescents (IPT-A). She is able to adapt interventions to meet the needs of clients who are neurodivergent and/or have a learning disability.

Dr Rachel is passionate about ‘getting psychological ideas out there’ and clinical psychologists working more closely with other professionals who work with children. She has enjoyed leading regular consultation sessions with school staff in her most recent job, but also GPs and early years workers such as health visitors and children’s centre workers in other posts over the years, to help support earlier identification of emerging emotional difficulties and facilitate early effective intervention to give children the best start in life.

Dr Rachel is also a Mum to three boys and has a sister with Down syndrome so is aware personally of some of the challenges of caring for children and someone with a disability.