Fiona Yassin is the International Program Director at The Wave, holding multiple credentials including being a registered Psychotherapist and Accredited Clinical Supervisor in both the U.K. and UNCG (Registration number #361609 National and International Council of Psychotherapists). She is EMDR trained (EMDRIA) and practices as a Trauma therapist (Registration number #10000054651).
Fiona’s expertise includes being a member of the International Chapter of IAEDP, with training in CBTe (Oxford Group), FREED (King’s College, London), TF-CBT, RO-DBT, and GPM. Her specializations cover the treatment of Eating Disorders and Borderline Personality Disorder, as well as families in High Conflict Divorces and Psychiatry across the female lifespan.
Additionally, Fiona holds the distinction of being a Fellow of APPCH, a senior accredited Addiction Professional, and a member of The Association of Child Protection Professionals. She is also trained in MBT (Child and Family and Adult) and Reflective Parenting with The Anna Freud Centre for Children and Families, and is a Member of The Australia and New Zealand Eating Disorders Association.
Fiona holds an MSc in Neuroscience and Mental Health awarded by King’s College London, where she received The Dean’s Award. She is currently completing an MSc in Psychiatry at Cardiff University Medical School and is a PhD Candidate in Mental Health Research at Lancaster University. Outside of her professional pursuits, she enjoys spending time with her three cats, going for long walks on the beach, and appreciating the beautiful animals in her garden.
The cognitive interpersonal maintenance model is a theory about the development and maintenance of anorexia nervosa. It describes the way that personality traits, ways of thinking, and difficulties forming relationships with others make people vulnerable to developing the disorder.
Families usually constitute young people’s closest relationships and support systems. That’s why family therapy is so important in the treatment of anorexia nervosa. Working with young people and their families, family therapy sessions support families in overcoming unhelpful behaviours that may reinforce eating disorder symptoms, replacing them with positive systems of relationships that nurture lasting change.
Families are not to blame for the development of eating disorders. However, eating disorders are serious mental health conditions that can strain the relationships within any family. It’s common for families affected by eating disorders to face challenges relating to one another and caring for a young person with an eating disorder.
Some people think that anorexia nervosa is just about food, body shape, or weight. But the reality is much more complicated. Anorexia is caused and
Intensive outpatient programs (IOPs) are one type of mental health support available for young people. They offer a higher level of care than weekly or daily appointments but don’t involve residential stays in a treatment space. They support young people to reconnect with themselves and achieve transformative change while continuing to stay with their families in the evenings and weekends.
Many families in Mexico are choosing The Wave Clinic for residential mental health support for a young person. The Wave’s residential programs combine exceptional clinical
Families are like systems of close relationships that develop, change, and affect one another. This means that the behaviours of one family member affect all
Therapeutic boarding schools offer young people the opportunity to continue their education while receiving a greater level of mental health support. They provide a safe and structured environment that combines professional psychological support with collective living, learning, and personal growth.
If you know a young person living with BPD, it’s important to find effective and specialist treatment. While this can take some time, it can make a huge difference in the life of a young person and their family. Living with BPD is really hard, but with the right support, young people can recover.
Research from Mexico exploring the link between eating disorders and socioeconomic status shows mixed results. While some studies have found no significant link, other research suggests that eating disorders are more common among young people from households with higher economic status. One study found that:
Parental addiction affects young people in different ways. Parents are often unable to meet children’s physical and emotional needs when their lives are dominated by seeking a substance or engaging in a behaviour. In many cases, families experience role-reversal, when children or adolescents become responsible for meeting their parents’ and family’s needs, disrupting normal processes of child development.
If a young person is misusing alcohol, it’s important that they receive additional help. With professional support, teenagers can develop new coping mechanisms and address underlying experiences that underpin their behaviours.
In this blog, we offer some basic information about schizophrenia, treatment and recovery. We touch on the impact of schizophrenia on the family, trauma therapy within schizophrenia treatment and the prevalence of the disorder in different places around the world.
