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.
Borderline personality disorder used to only be diagnosed in young people after the age of 18. But there is now a consensus in the medical community that BPD can be reliably and accurately diagnosed during adolescence, with a similar prevalence and stability of symptoms to the disorder among adults.
Psychotherapy approaches can be delivered in both residential and outpatient settings. In outpatient settings, young people with borderline personality disorder attend regular therapy sessions while continuing to live in their home environment. They may participate in a combination of different approaches, or one psychotherapy approach alongside other kinds of psychosocial support.
This blog explores some of the gender differences in different aspects of borderline personality disorder. Unfortuantely, most studies include adults and not adolescents, and include only women and men. We’ve included some of the key research findings here.
This blog offers some information about our stress response system, toxic stress, and how it affects young people. It also provides some advice for caregivers supporting children in very stressful contexts.
Social media use can quickly become problematic, developing into addictive behaviours and contributing to mental health problems like low self-esteem, anxiety, and depression.
Age-appropriate content is suitable for a young person’s developmental age, cognitive skills, and social maturity. It considers the kinds of information that young people can
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.
Online gaming and online pornography consumption are both common among young people. And both activities can be harmful, whether they’re engaged in casually or develop into problematic behaviours. In this blog, we explore the consequences of online gaming and pornography use for young people’s mental health, and examine the link between the two.
Witnessing violence can be a traumatic experience for a young person, whether they see the event in person or online. Exposure to violence can lead to symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, fear, panic, and other psychological distress. They may feel helpless, hopeless, and out of control.
Having BPD doesn’t mean there is something wrong with a young person’s personality. BPD traits can usually be understood as a normal response to difficult life events, which, at some point, helped a young person cope with and survive their experiences. However, these mechanisms make it hard to function in everyday life.
Collaborative treatment is one of the core elements of adolescent mental health care and an important protector of young people’s rights. However, it’s not always clear – for both parents, young people, and clinicians – what collaborative treatment means in practice.
