Jessica Olive

Jessica is an Integrative Child Psychotherapist, currently working in private practice and within a North London primary school. She works with children and adolescents who have a variety of referral presentations including; low self-esteem, behavioural challenges, peer relationship difficulties, and any other issue that may be impacting their ability to make the most of the opportunities to grow, to learn and to form relationships with others.

Since 2015 she has worked in primary and secondary schools, supporting young people experiencing challenges including anxiety, depression, bereavement, school refusal, sensory overwhelm, disordered eating, gender dysphoria and self-harm. She has worked with children and their families who have been impacted by abuse and/or neglect and adopts a trauma-focused approach to her work.

Jessica is experienced in working with neurodiverse children and adolescents, who may find it difficult to manage the daily challenges that school or home life brings as they grow, and particularly with those who are struggling to return to school following the unpredictability of life during the pandemic.

She prioritises the establishment of trust and a foundation of emotional safety in therapeutic sessions, upon which her intention is to support each child to feel and to make sense of their feelings, over time establishing a language to understand their experiences, using play and the arts to facilitate communication if the child feels comfortable with this. Jessica aims to support such understanding within the family, and to nurture the capacity within each child for self-compassion and resilience.

Jessica is registered with UKCP and BACP.