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Dr Gracie McLaven

Clinical Psychologist

My Story

I’m only slightly embarrassed to admit that I first came across the concept of a psychologist from watching the Grey’s Anatomy spin-off ‘Private Practice’ with my mum! I was 16 years old, and I remember thinking how incredible it would be to help others through their most challenging times. From that moment, I was confident that I was going to be a clinical psychologist. Others often weren’t so confident and would comment on how hard it was to become a clinical psychologist and suggest that I should explore another career. This of course, only made me more determined to prove them wrong! I was going to be a doctor in clinical psychology, just watch me.

I’m very grateful for that teenage naivety and the belief that I had in myself. From the age of 16, I carefully chose each next step to ensure I was getting closer to getting onto the doctorate. It was a long road with multiple bumps along the way. My application to the doctorate was consistently rejected for five years in a row. During this time I was left feeling stuck and frustrated. Each year I’d throw myself into a new psychology role & one year undertook a master’s degree too.

I knew that I had a huge amount of knowledge and skills that could help people with their mental health. So, in 2017 I decided that I would create my own psychology/wellbeing business. I was in the south of Italy at the time on holiday with my friend and dreamt up Brain Body Wealth whilst walking to the coast of Capri. The aim of the business was to empower as many people as possible to prioritise their mental health and wellbeing.

Because life has a funny way of working, I was finally accepted to the Doctorate the following year, my 6th attempt. From that point on I focused most of my energy into qualifying as a Doctor in Clinical Psychology.

Since deciding at the age of 16 I was going to be a clinical psychologist I’ve had the privilege of working with a range of individuals from new parents and their infants to those nearing the end of their life. I’ve worked in busy A&E departments supporting adults experiencing severe mental health crises who believed that life wasn’t worth living and empowering them to give life another go. It’s safe to say I’ve learnt a lot along the way.

It’s always a privilege to be a part of someone’s mental health journey or support a company in creating a healthier workplace environment. I look forward to seeing what we can achieve together.

Dr Gracie x

Approach I use

Within my work I use what is called an integrative approach, which means that from years of training and working in clinical settings I have developed a therapeutic toolbox full of different tools which enables me to pick the best and right approaches to truly meet the needs of the individual or team that I am working with. You may or may not recognise some of the therapeutic modalities that make up the unique toolbox that Brain · Body · Wealth and myself utilise:

  • Intensive Short Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTP)
  • Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP)
  • Solution Focused Therapy (SFT)
  • Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
  • Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)
Dr Gracie McLaven Working
Working with Nurses and NHS

Did you know?

In the midst of the pandemic, I worked within a corporate psychology team in a large London NHS trust supporting NHS staff with their mental health. During this period I led and facilitated a trust-wide Staff Wellbeing campaign, workshops, training and talks to support a variety of staff members from senior leaders to front-line staff. Excitingly, this work was put forward for a BMJ award, although sadly we didn’t win… it’s the taking part that counts right!

How I work

  • 1:1 therapy & one-off consultations
  • Running therapeutic groups
  • Consulting with companies to help them to better support their staff’s mental health & wellbeing
  • Talks & workshops on mental health within the workplace
Man hand writing information in a book

Qualifications

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Bachelor of Science (BSc) in

Psychology

Nottingham Trent University, 2012

The foundations of my psychology knowledge.

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Master of Science (MSc) in

Clinical, Social and Cognitive Neuroscience

City, University London, 2016

I learned much about how the brain works and how this connects with human wellbeing and behaviours.

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Doctorate in

Clinical Psychology

Kings College London, 2022

This means I’m trained to a very high level in the field of psychology and mental health. It also means that I’m a doctor*.

*Not the type that would be helpful in a medical emergency, though!

Health & Care Professions Council
ACP UK
The British Psychological Society

My professional registration is with the UK Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), and my registration number is PYL041831.

I am also a member of the UK Association of Clinical Psychologists (ACP-UK) and the British Psychological Society (BPS).

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