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.
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:
When a young person is self-harming, it’s normal for parents to be unsure what to do. But the most important thing to remember is that self-harm always requires support from a mental health professional. Regardless of the way a young person is self-harming, their communication, or your own emotions, you should seek professional help.
Self-harming behaviours are common among adolescents, and particularly teenage girls. Self-harm is usually a way to try and manage intense and distressing feelings that can feel too much for a young person to handle. Self-harm should always be taken seriously and never minimised as a ‘phase’ or ‘attention-seeking’.
Many young people experience grief before they reach adulthood. Grief isn’t a mental health condition; it’s a normal response to loss that most people will
Mental health concerns are common among young people living in Dubai and the rest of the UAE. Adolescents and young adults may experience a range of mental health disorders, including anxiety disorders, eating disorders, and depression. These conditions affect their well-being, quality of life, and future mental health.
IOPs provide opportunities for focused and comprehensive support that addresses the underlying causes of eating disorders. Young people in IOPs have the space and time to work through the multiple aspects of eating disorders, carefully navigating their complexities. Outside of sessions, they can practice and generalise skills they learn in their daily lives.
Over-exercise can harm the body and cause low mood, mood swings, anxiety, and fatigue. It can be an unhelpful coping mechanism that makes problems worse while avoiding confronting the real causes of emotional distress.
Social media has a big influence on most young people’s lives. Teenagers and young adults often spend several hours a day on social media, sharing information and photos, looking through other people’s posts, and communicating with comments and messages.
Adolescents and young adults with eating disorders also tend to perceive their own bodies as different to their ‘ideal’ body shape. These ideals are typically unrealistic and unhealthy for most people. In general, women idealise a small body and low body weight, while men may idealise a muscular and lean body shape.
For a long time, eating disorders were thought to mainly affect women. Even in scientific research, fewer than 1% of published papers that relate to
Repeated nighttime binge eating – or eating a lot of food at night – is a type of disordered eating behaviour that can harm a young person’s physical and mental health. It’s also a symptom of different eating disorders, including binge-eating disorder and night eating syndrome.
Finding the right family therapist is essential. There isn’t a single type of family therapy that’s right for every family, and the personality and experiences of a therapist are also important. But finding the right family therapy and therapist can help families restructure and heal, creating resilient family systems that benefit every member.
