Meet the Forensic Team
Atrium Prison counselling services have worked across 7 prison and youth offending institutions in the last 15 years alongside NHS or private provider healthcare teams. We believe those who have traditionally been under served and often have complex needs, require the best professional support. Our specialist and committed teams are dedicated to providing safe, integrated and evidence-based care to change future lives. We work within a trauma informed framework.
Expertise in forensic care
We monitor the clinical impact of all our interventions, how they work with specific profiles and contexts and we continue to report on wait times, risk and activity against targets to improve our services and optimise wellbeing for all. Atrium is at the heart of service planning, prison risk assessment and management, referrals management, case and waiting time review to ensure we work to the best outcomes for every client. Our staff team are trained to System 1 and use additional standard measures of wellbeing and health outcomes to meet the requirements of our commissioner service models. We also consult clients and wider colleagues to collect data on how our services are experienced and reviewed for regular reporting with our commissioners.
Who are in our team
We provide experienced Degree and Masters level Mental health practitioners typically counselling psychologists and therapists alongside Masters level and Doctorate trainees to support clients.
Service offers
- One to one talking therapies and group work including
- Assessments
- Integrative therapies including CBT, CBT Trauma, EMDR, STAIR narrative therapy for childhood trauma, abuse and neglect, solution focused therapy, analytical, Gestalt and many more.
- Health and wellbeing coaching (wellbeing wheel and personal wellbeing planning)
- Wellbeing check ins and support with safety planning
We work with those struggling to cope
- Being in prison for the first time and adjustment
- Long sentences
- Bereavement
- Suicide ideation
- Self Harm
- Low mood
- Anxiety
- Trauma with and without PTSD
- Coping with health conditions
- Neurodivergence and training
- Social relationships support
- Family support for re-integration.
Training from Atrium
- Atrium Clinic has accredited modules in health and wellbeing which can also support client attendance in group work.
- We also support Forensic staff through peer supervision, reflective practice, self care workshops, mindfulness workshops, prevention of burnout etc.
Alex is our Clinical Lead for forensic settings and has worked as a practitioner and manager within Mental Health services for over 12 years. She has worked in Forensic settings in different roles for 10 years.
With a degree in Criminology and Psychology and further training in Integrative Counselling focused on Person- Centred, T.A, Gestalt and CBT, Alex has experience of working in both long-term and short-term focused therapy services for Charity and NHS services. She is committed to working in the forensic settings and has specialised in working with addictions, those entering the prison system with long sentences and/or first time in prison, historical/childhood trauma, and bereavement.
As Atrium Clinical Lead she is resolute in the continuation of trauma informed, safe and consistent services for those individuals within the criminal justice system who require the support of a trained and highly skilled counselling and psychotherapy team.
