Dr Carla Matias

Dr Matias is a Chartered Clinical Psychologist with over 10 years experience of clinical work with a variety of client groups presenting with a wide range of mental health difficulties, both in the private sector and in the NHS. Over the course of this work, she acquired extensive experience of several evidence-based psychological therapies scientifically proven to produce positive change in common mental health-related problems including difficulties with anxiety, depression, adjusting to traumatic/stressful events, low self-esteem, and relationship breakdown. She has over 15 years experience of carrying out high quality research in the fields of child and adolescent mental health, parenting, and attachment. Her research and clinical interests include the understanding of mental health difficulties based on continuum views of experience (e.g. paranoid beliefs along a continuum of severity, from nonclinical to clinical levels).

Carla has considerable experience of working in multiple clinical settings, including child and adolescent mental health, adult mental health, older adults and adults with learning disabilities presenting with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), personality disorders and co-morbid mental illness in low-secure residential settings. Her specialist clinical experience includes working with young adults presenting with a first episode of psychosis in an Adult Early Intervention Service (EIS), as well as providing highly specialist psychological input in inpatient and community rehabilitation services, offering treatment to adults presenting with complex and enduring mental health difficulties.

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The psychological therapies Carla most frequently uses are: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT), Schema Focused Therapy (SFT) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). Other therapeutic models that she draws upon include Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT).