Dr. Mia Debidin
Clinical Psychologist
Integrative CBT Somatic Therapist
Psychedelic Practitioner
Welcome
I am Canadian, born in Barbados, currently residing in London, UK. I have been working in the field of psychological therapies for over 30 years as a forensic psychologist, clinical psychologist and therapist, with training and experience of multiple models.
I enjoy working with people on problems of psychological, emotional, psychological, behavioural, and relational functioning; helping them to improve awareness and understanding of problems that persist; and to identify, practise and strengthen skills needed for healthy psychological functioning.
My personal practice is based on the Buddhist psychological model, mindfulness, meditation, breathwork, and radical unconditional acceptance. I am part of the LGBTQIA community, West Indian ethnicity, a mum and quite probably a little neurodiverse.
Qualifications & Professional Registrations
- Registered with the Health Care Professionals Council (HCPC) as a forensic and clinical psychologist.
- Accredited with the British Association of Cognitive and Behavioural Psychotherapists (BABCP) and Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapists (REBT).
- BA Specialised Honours Psychology, York University, Canada (1990)
- PhD Applied Criminological Psychology, University of Cambridge (1999)
- MSc Rational Emotive and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Goldsmith’s University (2005)
Training & Practice
I have trained in, experienced and practised a lot of different models of therapy and change processes in both professional training and in personal development including:
- BCT (Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy) and MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction);
- Compassion Focussed Therapy for shame based trauma
- Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD
- Schema therapy
- Vipassana insight meditation
- Silva method of mind control
- Traumatic Incident Reduction (TIR)
- Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
- Mentalization Based Therapy (MBT)
- Psy-K – limiting beliefs-based balancing processes for change
- Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR)
- Wim Hof breathwork and cold training
- Psychedelic Practitioner Training with Synthesis, Holland.
- Integrated Somatic Trauma Therapy with Embody Lab
- Psychedelic-Somatic Psychotherapy. Psychedelic Somatic
- Institute Level 4b – Transformational Breath® facilitator.
Therapy & Support
I offer psychological assessment and treatment formulation, informed by different models of psychotherapy, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Schema-therapy, Compassion Focussed Therapy (CFT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Mentalisation Based Therapy (MBT), somatic psychotherapies, Buddhist psychology, Mindfulness, Meditation and Breathwork.
I will listen to you,… what you’re going through, what has happened to you, what you understand about yourself and what you’d like to change, and what has and has not worked for you so far. I will also observe and attend to your awareness and self-observation. We will work together with the conscious levels of mind and with the body and subconscious levels of mind, to support your efforts to achieve your therapy goals in line with your values.
I will help you develop emotional competence described as:
the capacity to feel emotions (sensations)
the ability to express emotions effectively, assert needs and maintain emotional boundaries (without suppressing or acting out)
the facility to distinguish between psychological reactions to the present based on current needs, and those that represent residue from the past or the unconscious, unsatisfied needs from childhood.
the awareness of genuine needs requiring satisfaction rather than repression for the sake of being accepted or approved by others.
Skills Training
In therapy, we will work to improve awareness and the use of skills for working with: thoughts and beliefs, feelings, emotions and sensations, distress tolerance, conditioned tendencies and habits, relaxation responses, breathing, effective communication, problem solving, reducing reactivity and processes of change.
Talking for the purpose of self expression, validation, insight and improved understanding can be an important part of therapy, but leads to very little change in the absence of practising skills. Sometimes we inadvertently build mastery in the use of skills that no longer serve us and have become so habitual that we are hardly aware of them. Sometimes those habits function to avoid or manage real or perceived threats or feelings of uneasiness.
They can be deeply ingrained, conditioned tendencies and patterns. It’s much better when we are able to make use of a wide range of skills in responding, and when we develop more effective, healthy habitual reactions,… of thought, emotion, urge and action.
Breathwork
I can offer transformational breathwork sessions as part of a course of psychological therapy to support work on physical, emotional-mental and spiritual well-being. Breathwork sessions are done in person for 75-90 minutes.
You can find more information about Transformational Breath® by visiting
https://www.transformationalbreath.com
Cannabis-Assisted Psychotherapy
Psychedelics are currently illegal in the UK. I offer psychological support with integration of psychedelic experiences for the purposes of harm reduction. I have direct (but limited) personal experience of working with several different psychedelics, and of supporting people taking psychedelics in legal settings.
I completed 16 months of training as a Psychedelic Practitioner with the Synthesis Institute, Holland (April 2021 to August 2022), and further specialist training in psychedelic somatic interactional psychotherapy (PSIP) with the Psychedelic Somatic Institute (2022-2024), working with cannabis and ketamine in the treatment of trauma.
I worked for 28 months in a clinic offering ketamine assisted psychotherapy (2022-2024).
For more information and resources about cannabis-assisted therapies:
Click Here
Fees
Private medical insurance
I am listed as a provider with BUPA, AXA and AVIVA offering psychological therapy.
Self-paying (payable within 24 hours)
Psychological assessment and treatment, and support with integration of psychedelic experiences: £120-125 / 55 minutes.
Intensive Therapy
By special arrangement, intensive therapy sessions of 6 to 8 hours duration at £100 / hour plus expenses.
Breathwork Sessions
These sessions are only available as part of a course of psychological therapy. £125 for 90 minutes, by special arrangement.
Supervision (payable in advance)
£125 / 55 minutes
Terms
The number of sessions and duration of contact varies with the nature of the problem, the type of therapy used, the therapeutic goals and progress with developing skills.
Frequency of contact may be weekly, fortnightly or monthly for 55 minutes. Where indicated, and agreed in advance, intensive sessions of longer duration can be scheduled for 110 minutes up to 8 hours.
Duration of contact has typically ranged from 4 to 8 months, but has also consisted of one-off single sessions, and 6-10 sessions spread over the course of a year to 18 months.
Cancellation or rescheduling of any appointment with less than 24 hours notice is charged at the full fee.
New self-paying clients are asked at the time of booking, to complete payment 48 hours in advance of their appointment time. Established self-paying clients are asked to complete payment within 24 hours of the appointment ending, and before booking further appointments.
A 30 minute Zoom consultation can be booked at no charge before starting therapy, by emailing MDpsychcontact@gmail.com to receive the Calendly link. Consultation slots are only opened when there is availability for new clients in therapy appointments. I do not keep a waiting list. A consultation is always a necessary first meeting and it does not always result in progressing to therapy.
Contact is confidential and in line with the ethical practice and code of conduct advised by the BPS, HCPC and BABCP.
Contact Me
mdpsychcontact@gmail.com
Sessions are remote online using Zoom. In-person by special arrangement only.