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.
Research shows that young people who are bullied are more likely to develop several mental health disorders, including eating disorders, anxiety, and depression. Bullying is associated with serious symptoms of mental health problems including violent behaviour, self-harm, and psychosis.
Temporary separation from parents in early childhood can have a big effect on a young person’s development. It can cause psychological stress with a lasting impact and affect the way a young person forms and maintains relationships in the future.
For a parent, a child’s academic achievement might seem like a simple and easy measure of their well-being. You might assume that a strong performance in academics is underpinned by stable mental health, self-confidence and self-esteem, and supportive relationships with friends.
It’s okay for young people to want to do well at school, whether that’s in exams, sports, or other activities. Setting high targets can be motivating and help some adolescents to realise their potential. But when standards become exceedingly high, it can start to affect a young person’s well-being – particularly if they tend to focus on their mistakes and are self-critical when standards are not met.
School avoidance can have a big impact on young people’s well-being and futures, but change is possible. Sometimes, schools can adapt parts of their programs to address the issues that are making a young person anxious. Some young people require professional support to address anxiety disorders that may underlie school refusal.
Teenagers and adolescents with eating disorders usually over-evaluate their shape and weight. Instead of placing their self-value in different aspects of their identity and personality, all or almost all of their self-worth relates to their body. Behaviours like body checking may reinforce a young person’s distorted beliefs about their own bodies, increase body dissatisfaction, and cause them to place even more self-value in their shape and weight.
There are several different evidence-based treatment approaches for eating disorders. Some approaches focus on changing eating habits within a family setting, while others emphasise the way that thinking patterns and behaviours interact to maintain eating disorders. Eating disorder treatment can also involve different levels of care. These include inpatient treatment (also known as residential treatment) and outpatient treatment.
While research on the effectiveness of medication for young people with eating disorders is still in its early stages, big progress has been made. Today, several studies have investigated different types of medication for young people with anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, or unspecified eating disorders.
When disordered eating behaviours meet certain criteria, someone may receive a diagnosis of an eating disorder. Eating disorders are serious mental health conditions involving disordered eating behaviours that significantly harm a young person’s mental and physical well-being.
Interpersonal relationships and eating disorders are closely linked. Friendship difficulties may be a risk factor for developing eating disorders, while strong interpersonal bonds and support systems often play a big role in recovery. Eating disorders can also have a significant impact on young people’s social lives, their friendships, and sense of belonging.
Despite the prevalence of teen drug use in the UAE, widespread prevention strategies are still lacking. Both adolescents and experts highlight the need for school-based prevention programs and parental support to help young people stay safe and identify and support young people who may be using substances harmfully.
In this blog, we offer some information about the impact of compulsive sexual behaviours on children and the family system as a whole. We outline The Wave Clinic’s pioneering family and child intensives that offer unique and valuable support for young people affected by sex addiction.
Dialectical behavioural therapy is a type of talking therapy originally designed for adults with borderline personality disorder. Since then, it has been adapted for treatment among adolescents and offered for a wide range of mental health concerns, including eating disorders, self-harm, and emotional dysregulation. Usually delivered in outpatient settings, studies have shown that DBT is highly effective in improving young people’s mental health symptoms and quality of life.
