Ms Paula Gillespie-Fotheringham, Specialist Positive Behaviour Support Practitioner, Masters Art Therapy, ANZACAT Prof (She/her)Psychotherapist (Registrar)

Paula works across psychotherapy and behaviour support. She supports children, young people, adults, and families within complex therapeutic, developmental, and relational contexts. Paula Gillespie-Fotheringham is the founder of AkindaCo, which was born out of Paula’s love of working with early and primary years children – supporting them to reach their developmental milestones and helping them process their worries and enhance their emotional wellbeing. Paula specialises in supporting children who have experienced traumatic events, have extreme difficulties forming relationships, or are low or non-verbal. Paula has worked in a wide range of child-focused settings – as both a child development specialist, a child psychotherapist and in managerial capacities. These include at Yourtown in the Early Child Development Program, in various Child and Adolescent Mental health services (CAMHS) in the UK, in inpatient psychiatric services and residential units. Paula holds a range of Masters level qualifications (Arts Psychotherapy, research, CBT) and has additional training in trauma related dissociation, EMDR, EFT, Clayfield, play therapy, Learn to Play program and the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP).