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.
Many clinicians are still reluctant to diagnose BPD in adolescents before they are 18. Stigma and misconceptions surrounding personality disorders cause clinicians to avoid the diagnosis, despite strong evidence that many young people show stable and persistent BPD symptoms. Instead, young people may be diagnosed with anxiety disorders, mood disorders, or psychotic disorders.
Bullying involves deliberate harmful actions from one person or group of people to another, where there is a power imbalance between those bullying and those being bullied. This power imbalance may be physical or social, based on characteristics like popularity, social group, or age.
Childhood trauma is one of the most important risk factors for the development of BPD. Many instances of childhood trauma happen within the family environment, through relationships and interactions between a child and their caregivers. These experiences can have a big impact on a young person’s emotional and social development, affecting the way they manage emotions and form relationships with others. Experts think these changes may underpin key traits and features of BPD.
Therapy can help a young child to understand what is going on in their life and inner world. It can also give them tools to cope with the difficult thoughts, emotions, and other challenges they may be facing.
There are probably around 100 trillion bacteria in the gut of every young person. These bacteria, known as the microbiota, exist in a symbiotic relationship with our bodies. They help us to digest food and receive nutrients that would otherwise be inaccessible, while our guts provide them with a rich and protected habitat.
Research has found a two-way relationship between procrastination and self-esteem. Low self-esteem causes young people to procrastinate more while procrastinating also decreases young people’s self-esteem (and vice-versa). This can lead to negative (or positive) cycles of self-esteem and procrastination.
Adolescence is a key period of development, growth, and change. This means that getting an adequate amount of sleep during this time is especially important. However, while scientists agree that adolescents need 8-10 hours of sleep to maintain proper health, many young people frequently sleep fewer hours.
Understanding the connection between childhood trauma and eating disorders helps to identify young people who are most at risk. It can also play a key role in the treatment and recovery process, addressing the underlying causes of thought patterns and behaviours that perpetuate eating disorders.
Spending outdoors and in nature is one important opportunity that can help young people find and maintain good mental health. It can also play a key role in treatment and recovery from mental health disorders.
Adolescent athletes are at a higher risk of eating disorders than other young people, particuarly in sports like swimming, combat sports, and gymnastics. As with every young person, eating disorders among athletes are serious mental health conditions that affect their mental and physical health and quality of life.
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.
