Dr Marina Christoforou is a Clinical Psychologist, licensed in Cyprus and the UK. She spent 11 years in London, where she completed her studies and worked in various adult and child and adolescent services within the UK’s National Health Service (NHS). She was a part of a national specialist team within the Service for Complex Autism and Associated Neurodevelopmental Disorders (SCAAND), where she provided diagnostic assessments for children and young people with complex Autism Spectrum Disorder and/or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and delivered autism-adapted interventions to children and parents. Her work especially focuses on treating mental health difficulties, such as anxiety and depression, in children and young people with or without neurodevelopmental disorders, and working with families to help support emotional literacy and manage challenging behaviour at home. Moreover, she has experience in diagnosing and treating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and other anxiety disorders (generalised anxiety, OCD, panic disorder, social anxiety, specific phobias and health anxiety), as well as depression, in adults and children. The main therapeutic modality she uses is Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), but she also has training and experience in Positive Behaviour Support, Systemic Family therapy, Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) and Compassion Focused Therapy.
As part of her doctoral thesis, Dr Christoforou conducted a systematic review comparing executive function profiles in preschool ASD and ADHD, which has been published in a scientific journal, and worked with one of the largest research groups investigating neurodevelopmental disorders, at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London. She also published papers from research conducted during her studies and assistant researcher posts, relating to trials of novel psychological interventions for depression, agoraphobia and peer support for severe mental illness. She has a strong passion for working with neurodiversity and using an individualised, evidence-based approach with young people and families, enhancing the strengths that already exist within the individual and the system to foster change and resilience.
