Pat Frankish (treasurer)

Dr. Pat Frankish has supported the Association for many years, serving on the Committee in the past and returning after a four year break. Her main interest is psychotherapy for people with intellectual disabilities and she has worked to develop this field with other colleagues.

Pat is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist in independent practice in the UK, having spent most of her career in NHS establishments, in all levels of security, including High. She has used these experiences to inform her practice. More recently she has become a trainer of others in the techniques of working with people and their emotional development. This is known as Disability Psychotherapy and includes recognition of early developmental processes and the impact of attachment failures on personality development. She regularly presents this work at conferences.

Pat was for many years very active in the British Psychological Society, including serving as President, facilitating the establishment of mandatory Continuing Professional Development and the Occupational Standards for Applied Psychology. She has always sought to maintain and improve standards of professionalism within Psychology and all services fro people who are vulnerable.

In independent practice there is a wide range of referrals from individual work through to organisational evaluations and interventions. One aspect of her Practice is the provision of specialist 24 hour support for people with very challenging behaviour, where this behaviour is seen as a response to traumatic early life events. The aim of the support is to provide a therapeutic environment within which the individual can develop a sense of self as a good-enough person and hence be able to be contained enough to relate to other people. Support staff are maintained in the goal by providing them with therapeutic input and help to recognise the meaning of behaviour.