About Me

Alicia's Bio

Growing up in Cornwall, a place that attracts people who embrace an active lifestyle, it was inevitable that I inherit a sense of adventure and a love of the outdoors. Now I couldn’t imagine living far away from the ocean and beaches. I am grateful to live in a place that has encouraged me to appreciate nature, learn to surf, develop my yoga practice and adopt a healthy lifestyle. Inspired by those around me to travel I have visited many exotic countries creating amazing memories in places such as Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Croatia, Sri Lanka, Mexico and more recently Costa Rica and the Philippines where I have completed yoga teacher training. Travel has allowed me to develop personally; to stretch out of my comfort zone, broaden my awareness of different cultures and practices, make valuable connections with people and expand my view on the world.

Gaining this distance has enabled me to step back and evaluate myself and the roles I have acquired; to gain perspective on my true self, the person I aspire to be and the values that motivate and drive me. I have reflected on the paths I have chosen in my career which have brought me to be able to integrate my passions and offer a holistic approach to supporting and promoting wellbeing.

Clinical Psychology

Being interested in people meant I was naturally drawn to a career in psychology, ‘the science of mind and behaviour’. I have worked for the National Health Service for 17 years, completed training in numerous therapies and approaches supporting individuals and families experiencing difficulties including anxiety, depression, grief, trauma and low self-esteem. My approach is to work along side people in order to find ways to help them make sense of their experiences; empower them to find a way forward and improve their psychological health and quality of life.

Working across a number of applied health settings I have come to learn the vital importance of aligning physical and mental health. My growing interest in the mind-body relationship has led me to direct my career path towards clinical health psychology. In my current NHS role as a lead clinical psychologist I help people to understand the important relationship between body and mind and learn how the body responds to pain and trauma. I support people learn ways to gain strength, insight and awareness and to become more accepting and compassionate towards themselves.

Yoga teacher

My path has directed me to find yoga which brings together so many elements that I hold as important for health and wellbeing. Yoga encourages acceptance and self compassion, improves awareness of both mind and body, provides self care and nurture and enables people to move towards finding balance. Teaching yoga has felt like a natural transition for me and I have valued seeing the positive results from encouraging people to give themselves dedicated time to breathe, focus and tune in, gain intuition, learn to trust and become more compassionate towards themselves.

I completed my 200 hour yoga teacher training in Costa Rica with La Vida Veda School of Ayurveda & Yoga. The emphasis of the immersion style training was on combining principles from the science of Ayurveda to enhance the practice of yoga. I found that the philosophy and principles of Ayurveda and yoga fit so perfectly with my aims of guiding people to greater wellbeing by aligning physical and mental wellbeing. I completed 100 hours yoga teacher training in a monastery in the mountains with the Ananda Marga school in the Philippines. This was a transformation journey for me, spending time dedicated to practising meditation and experiencing a wholesome way of life.

I have learned that yoga is so much more than attaining postures and increasing flexibility. I have observed huge gains physically since practising yoga regularly (increased strength, flexibility, balance and stamina) as well as the benefits to my state of mind (increased focus, awareness, sense of calm and contentment). I have been motivated to continue developing my own yoga practice and to lead and inspire others to do so.

In 2020 I completed a 200 hour professional training with Mindfulness UK: Integrating Mindfulness and Compassion in Professional Practice as I recognise the value of teaching others how to deepen their understanding of mindfulness, tune in to a more compassionate awareness and find practices that enable a more present attitude.

Working as a psychologist, mindfulness practitioner and a yoga teacher, I have found myself naturally blending these powerful disciplines and approaches – introducing mindfulness, meditation and pranayama practices to my therapy clients and sharing Western psychological insights with my yoga and fitness students. It felt like a natural progression for me to incorporate my training and experience with my passion for supporting others by developing an approach that draws on elements of health, nature and self care.

Fitness instructor

Understanding the need for balance in my career I chose to compliment working as a psychologist with working part time as a fitness instructor. Over the last ten years I have taught a range of classes at fitness centres and in the community. My experience has taught me effective motivational techniques to help unlock people’s drive enabling them to be their most healthy selves. I have observed people coming to exercise classes for all sorts of reasons. The conversations I have had with my class participants have enabled me to understand that the positive gains from focusing on improving fitness, and giving the time to attend to physical health extends to restoring the mind and boosting self compassion.

Combining these disciplines of health has enabled me to support people move towards improved wellbeing across different settings reflecting the different elements to my personality allowing me to support, motivate and lead others towards positive health in a number of different ways. My understanding of wellbeing has evolved and broadened over the years as I have gained more knowledge and experience working in the health industry.

Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology (BSc hons, 1st class)
Post Graduate Certificate in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Solution Focused Therapy
Doctorate in Clinical Psychology
Post Graduate Diploma in Cognitive Analytic Therapy
Post Graduate Diploma in Systemic Family Therapy
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) Level 3
Integrating Mindfulness and Compassion in Processional Practice: Level 4 Certificate

Registered Practising Clinical Psychologist with the Health and Care Professionals Council
Registered Cognitive Analytic Therapy Practitioner with the Association for Cognitive Analytic Therapy