Summary
Ellie has an MSci degree in Psychology and Psychological Practice from the University of Birmingham. During this time, she received the award for Most Volunteering Hours, while supporting the University’s Nightline Service, offering confidential listening to students in distress. During her time in Birmingham, Ellie did an internship at an early detection and intervention service for psychosis and worked on research investigating neurological difficulties, as well as language development in toddlers.
Ellie moved to Oxford in 2012 to take on a post as a Clinical Research Coordinator at The University of Oxford, facilitating the development of a stroke-specific cognitive screen, investigating the links between cognition and motivation, and assisting the development of a cognitive-systemic framework for the treatment of pathological apathy in Parkinson’s Disease. In her 8 years as a researcher, Ellie repeatedly encountered patients who experienced depression and anxiety, often triggered by the life-changing event of having a stroke. This research led to Ellie becoming increasingly interested in supporting clients with emotional and psychological difficulties and in 2018, she began her CBT training, allowing her to pursue her passion for helping people through clinical work. During her training, Ellie completed a 1-year internship at the Oxford University Counselling Service, working with students in distress.
Experience
Since training as a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist, Ellie has completed training in Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) at Oxford University and a Postgraduate Diploma in CBT with a specific focus on complex presentations. More recently, Ellie did an MSc degree at the University of Oxford, specialising in working with children and adolescents.
Ellie is experienced in working with clients with a range of anxiety disorders such as panic, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and social phobia, as well as depression, low self-esteem, perfectionism, sleep difficulties and anger. She is passionate about using empathy and evidence-based techniques to help clients overcome challenges and realise their goals.
Overall, Ellie has a vast range of experience in research and clinical settings, working with clients of all ages. She is passionate about empowering her clients to become their own therapists, to create and use flexibly a toolkit of CBT techniques to reflect and learn from experiences.
Interesting facts
Outside of mental health, Ellie enjoys arts and crafts as these activities boost her well-being, giving her the chance to be mindful and appreciate the present moment. Ellie is also a keen snowboarder- a sport which she practiced frequently in her home country- Bulgaria. Ellie enjoys spending time travelling, meeting new people, and learning about their culture.
Having studied and worked in competitive environments, Ellie is particularly keen to support clients experiencing the pressures of the challenging and fast-paced modern world.
Treatments
- Excessive Worry/ GAD – Children Under 12, Teens and Adults
- Social Anxiety – Children Under 12, Teens and Adults
- Panic Attacks/Disorders – Children Under 12, Teens and Adults
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) – Children Under 12, Teens and Adults
- Specific Phobias / Driving Phobias / Agoraphobia – Children Under 12, Teens and Adults
- Low Self-Esteems – Children Under 12, Teens and Adults
- Stress Management – Children Under 12, Teens and Adults
- Unhelpful habits (eg. Self-Criticism, perfectionism, procrastination) – Children Under 12, Teens and Adults
- Anger Management – Children Under 12, Teens and Adults
- Eating Disorders (Anorexia) – Children Under 12, Teens and Adults
- Eating Disorders (Bulimia) – Children Under 12, Teens and Adults
- Over-eating/Binge eating – Children Under 12, Teens and Adults
- Body Image difficulties – Children Under 12, Teens and Adults
- Depression / SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) – Children Under 12, Teens and Adults
- Sleep difficulties/insomnia – Children Under 12, Teens and Adults
- Bereavement – Children Under 12, Teens and Adults
- Physical Health Conditions (Chronic Pain) – Children Under 12, Teens and Adults
- Long Covid, CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) – Children Under 12, Teens and Adults
- Mindfulness – Children Under 12, Teens and Adults
