Dr Caroline Bell - Clinical Psychologist

Hi, I’m Caroline. I’m a Clinical Psychologist with more than 20 years’ experience of working in the NHS. Before establishing my own practice, I worked as a Consultant Psychologist leading a large mental health service. I work with adults, aged 17 and above.

My experience

I have extensive experience of working in:

  • Specialist trauma services for those with severe and complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Community mental health services for clients with a range of mental health difficulties such as PTSD (including complex PTSD), severe depression and/or anxiety, eating disorders, and difficulties that had been diagnosed as Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder
  • Eating disorder services for people with anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder.

During two decades in the NHS I gained comprehensive experience of working with people who have had a range of difficult or traumatic experiences as children and/or as adults.  I have worked with individuals and led various therapy groups. I am also skilled in supervising others from a range of disciplines, and at different levels of seniority.

I am registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and a member of the Association of Clinical Psychologists (ACP).

My approach to therapy

As a Clinical Psychologist I have successfully completed training in a range of therapy methods and draw on these in my work with clients.

I am qualified in Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR), a therapy recommended for the treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). I am also trained in Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT) and use the concepts of CAT in my work, although I am not an accredited CAT therapist.  Other models on which I draw are Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and Solution Focused Therapy.

Working with you

My priority in working with you would be to help you to understand how the feelings, thoughts or behaviours that you are struggling with now are linked to experiences in your life. We would do this together through talking about your experiences and developing a “formulation”, or map, drawing out how the past experiences have contributed to what you are struggling with now. Once we gain that understanding together, the focus then moves to how we can help you to develop different, less distressing and more helpful ways of thinking, feeling and acting. Everybody is different, therefore we will develop a plan for treatment that is specific to you and what you have brought to therapy.

For me, it is a privilege to work with people who are stuck in their trauma, and to help them to move beyond it. Over the years I have seen many clients who come to therapy because their memories of upsetting experiences repeat over and over in their minds, leaving them feeling frightened, sad, and hopeless about ever feeling different. Therapy can help to stop the continual assault of those painful memories and enable you to move forward in your life. 

Past experiences can also lead to us developing upsetting ways of thinking about ourselves, the world, and other people – e.g. feelings such as “I’m not good enough" – that can hold us back in life.  These beliefs can affect how we relate to others and how we act in different situations; for example, we might avoid getting close to others or find it particularly difficult when relationships end.  Helping people to understand these patterns and develop new ways of being is a passion of mine.

Please see the Frequently Asked Questions page for more information about me and the services I can offer you (link). If you have a question that isn’t answered there, please do get in touch and I will be happy to answer your query.

Dr Caroline Bell

East Sussex Psychology Service

 caroline@eastsussexpsychologyservice.co.uk

Appointments available online and face to face in Eastbourne, East Sussex

Websites for Psychologists by: YouCan Consulting