The Fitzrovia Psychology Clinic

12/05/2025

The theme for this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week is ‘community. Learn more about what community means and how a sense of connection with others supports emotional well being.

30/03/2024

20/02/2024

The Fitzrovia Psychology Clinic is pleased to announce that we are offering a new ACT group programme which has been specially designed for individuals who are living with a new or long-term physical health condition.

Each 2-hour session will be delivered over a course of 10 weeks and will be facilitated by two of our expert Clinical Psychologists, who have years of experience in the field of Clinical Health.

If you are interested in finding out more information about our ACT group programme, please contact us on 0208 012 8344 or hello@thefitzroviaclinic.com.

A free telephone consultation will be offered to discuss the next steps and explore how the group programme may be of benefit to you.

Written by Dr Christopher Bonner and Dr Jonathan Davidson, Associate Clinical Psychologists in The Fitzrovia Psychology Clinic’s Health Psychology Team.

Please follow the link in our biography for more information on the group.

05/12/2023

Dr Lucy Viney recently featured in Mr Porter’s article - ‘How To Handle The Holidays When It All Gets Too Much’

Follow the link to read the full article: https://www.mrporter.com/en-dk/journal/lifestyle/holidays-christmas-how-to-survive-mental-health-guide-24582854

26/10/2023

Marshmallow Motivation

To learn more, visit our website to read the full blog. https://thefitzroviaclinic.com/marshmallow-motivation/
(Link in Bio)

Written by Dr Lycia Ford
Associate Clinical Psychologist
Fitzrovia Psychology Clinic, General Adult Mental Health Team

22/08/2023

Dr Lucy Viney comments on the role of hope in recovery. Read more by following this link: www.standard.co.uk/esmagazine/psychiatry-vs-physics-London-crystal-healing-jewellery-tarot-b1095124

07/08/2023

It’s that time of year again and we are off on our summer holidays! Fly easy with The Fitzrovia Psychology Clinic and challenge your fear of flying!

If you're feeling apprehensive about boarding a plane, what you're feeling is reasonable. However, we have some effective tips that you can use to overcome thoughts and emotions that make you hesitant to jump on a plane.

We recommend creating a cope ahead plan and splitting your journey into three sections: before the airport, at the airport and during the flight. Breaking this journey into chunks can help the journey seem more manageable.

We also suggest creating a self-soothe kit to soothe and redirect your attention you from negative thoughts and emotions both at the airport and during the flight.

So, the next time you want to hop on a plane, don’t let your fear of flying stop you!

If you would like to speak with us at The Fitzrovia Psychology Clinic, send us an email at hello@thefitzroviaclinic.com

Written by Ellie Bacon (Assistant Psychologist), Supervised by Dr Allison Rigg (Clinical Psychologist)

22/06/2023

FAST is an acronym for a core interpersonal effectiveness skill developed and championed by Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT).

The skill is designed to support us to develop and maintain our SELF-RESPECT, both as individuals and in relation to others.

Whilst the principle of having self-respect appears relatively simple, it is something that many of us struggle to fully grasp, enact and hold onto in reality.

Our latest blog answers some of your most common questions and queries about self-respect, including:

⭐️How do you define self-respect?

⭐️Why is having self-respect so important?

⭐️What factors get in the way of my self-respect?

⭐️How do I develop and maintain my self-respect?

⭐️How is self-respect linked to my mental health and wellbeing?

Visit https://thefitzroviaclinic.com/self-respect/ to read the full blog (link in bio).

If you are interested in attending our DBT Skills group programme to learn more about self-respect and other interpersonal effectiveness skills, get in touch at hello@thefitzroviaclinic.com

Written by Salma Hassan (Trainee Assistant Psychologist). Supervised by Dr Emily Smyth

28/12/2022

Dr Lucy Viney features in to share her insight into managing family dynamics and navigating boundaries at Christmas. Link in bio
&

https://www.mrporter.com/en-nl/journal/lifestyle/holidays-festive-season-alone-without-family-friends-2022-23683596

20/12/2022

The Fitzrovia Psychology Clinic recognises that the holiday period can be both a time of happiness and challenges for some, and, for that reason, we have created a mini guide to surviving this upcoming holiday period!

FPC tips include:

❄️Use your Wise Mind skills to set your own limits and boundaries.

❄️Make a list of activities you find distracting as a Cope Ahead plan.

❄️Structure your day ahead of time.

❄️Have a list of support numbers to hand if you feel overwhelmed. These may include Support Buddies, Papyrus, SHOUT app, Samaritans or NHS 111.

❄️ An FPC top tip we find especially helpful during these periods is to make a self-soothe kit ahead of time (swipe to see an example). These kits involve items that match each of our five senses: sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch.

We at the Fitzrovia Psychology Clinic love essential oils and candles, hot chocolate, and weighted blankets – What about you? What will you put in your self-soothe kit?

Best wishes from all at the FPC Team! 🎄

24/11/2022

In our previous post, we explored how our thoughts affect our emotional reactions to different situations. In part 2, we introduce a technique to help you to manage both negative thoughts and emotions.

The Fitzrovia Psychology Clinic proposes a simple ABC guide to fact check your thoughts, taken from evidence-based techniques. The aim is to help you to regain power over your thoughts and emotions.

Here’s how:

Step 1: Awareness
Before you can identify the facts of the situation, you will need to slow your thoughts down.

Bring your AWARENESS to your breath to support you to do this. After a few minutes focusing solely on your breath, you will notice that your thoughts have slowed. Now, bring your AWARENESS to your thoughts, either by verbalising them out loud or writing them down.

Step 2: Begin to Fact Check
Without judgement, begin to verbalise or write down a separate list of the key facts of the situation. Be sure to sieve out all opinions and judgements, so you are left with emotionless statements of fact only about the present situation.

Step 3: Connect the Dots
By focusing solely on the facts, we can now adjust our emotional responses to fit the facts of the present situation – a bit like connecting the dots.

By identifying when our emotions do not fit the actual facts of a situation, it will help to reduce its intensity.

So, when you next find yourself in a situation where you are EMOTIONALLY REACTING as opposed to RESPONDING EFFECTIVELY, try our simple ABC guide to mastering your thoughts and emotions!

Want to read the full guide on how to implement this ABC skill? Read our latest blog post on our website (link in bio)!

Written by Ellie Bacon, Assistant Psychologist (Supervised by Dr Emily Smyth, Clinical Psychologist)

17/11/2022

Managing Negative Thoughts & Emotions, Part 1

How many times in your life do you think you have jumped to conclusions about a situation and reacted in an emotionally charged way? Later experiencing regret and thinking “what have I done!?”! We have certainly all been guilty of this on multiple occasions.

Often, we perceive our thoughts to be facts and truths about the world, when in reality, our thoughts are just opinions.

Our thoughts are influenced by two key factors:

- Our past experiences: they shape the lens via which we view the world and interpret events

- The emotions we carry with us into each situation

In any given situation, our thoughts will influence our emotional responses.

For example, if a friend cancels a plan last minute, I may make the interpretation “they obviously don’t like me”. This will likely trigger sadness and urges to withdraw.

Whilst this ability to evaluate situations and events is incredibly important to us, it can also cause us difficulties. Namely, when we interpret our thoughts as FACTS as opposed to OPINIONS; and when we react to these opinions as if they were facts and truths, without ever questioning their validity.

Want to find out more? Read the full version of our latest blog on our website (link in bio).

Next week in Part 2, we will introduce a simple ABC approach to managing these negative thoughts & emotions.

Written by Ellie Bacon, Assistant Psychologist (Supervised by Dr Emily Smyth, Clinical Psychologist)