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.
Parenting – and parents’ own relationships with food and their bodies – can have a big impact on how young people feel about themselves and their bodies. Some parental behaviours can encourage body positivity and positive relationships with food, while others may make the development of disordered eating behaviours more likely.
When you greet a friend, family member, or even a stranger, it might feel normal to compliment their appearance. Compliments are usually well-intended: we want the other person to feel good about themselves.
Many young people now take part in ‘clean eating’, a type of diet that involves eating foods considered to be healthy, unprocessed, or without certain ingredients like added sugar or saturated fats. Clean eating is often framed as a health pursuit – a way of eating that is good for the body and mental health.
Using positive language helps young people with mental health disorders to feel included in society and understand their self-worth. It also makes it easier to access treatment and to reach out to other people for support. At the same time, it affects the way society views people with mental illness, challenging stigma and discrimination in its many forms.
In a family, parents are usually expected to fulfil their children’s basic physical and emotional needs. This means providing them with food, shelter, and warmth, as well as care, affection, and attention. It involves intervening in difficult situations, protecting them from harm, and providing emotional support when they feel distressed.
Adolescence can be a challenging and transitional phase for young people and their families. As young people search for their identity, independence, and a sense of belonging, they may encounter many conflicts, both within themselves and with the society around them.
Young people with psychosomatic symptoms experience pain or other bodily symptoms – but without an underlying medical explanation. This pain can be mild or severe and take different forms, from headaches to stomach pain to vomiting.
Accessing specialist treatment is fundamental for adolescents with BPD to live a fulfilling and enjoyable life. BPD is treatable, and there are several evidence-based treatments that are proven to help young people with the disorder to manage symptoms and pursue the things they love.
Emerging adulthood – the transition from childhood or adolescence to adulthood – is often a challenging and unstable time. Young people may be undergoing physical, psychological, and social changes and exploring their identity and place in their communities.
For young people who have experienced trauma, symptoms of PTSD or unprocessed trauma can underlie eating disorder symptoms, sustaining disordered eating behaviours and, if untreated, acting as barriers to lasting recovery.
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.
