Dr Natalie Isaia

Natalie completed a doctorate in Clinical Psychology, during which she specialised clinically in trauma and focused her academic research on treatments for individuals diagnosed with “personality disorder”. She has worked in the field of mental health for fifteen years within NHS, private and third sector services. Natalie has experience of working with individuals across the lifespan (including children and older adults) and across the full spectrum of mental health difficulties (from mild to severe and enduring). 

In her therapy work, Natalie draws upon a variety of psychological models, including compassion-focused therapy, cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) and psychodynamic principles. Within these models, her formulations often draw upon neurobiological theory and attachment theory to support clients to understand and normalise experiences that can feel frightening and abnormal. 

Natalie’s primary clinical interest has always been working with adults with complex needs and cPTSD. Upon qualifying from her doctorate, Natalie pursued a role within the homelessness sector, supporting socially excluded individuals with significant mental health and substance misuse needs. Natalie worked in-house in a homeless hostel, supporting the staff team to implement the Psychologically Informed Environments (PIE) model and practice Trauma Informed Care (TIC). 

In her work with BGPS, Natalie has continued to focus on empowering and supporting colleagues within the homelessness sector and other industries that support vulnerable and marginalised individuals. She enjoys facilitating reflective practice groups and supervising colleagues and trainee clinical psychologists. Natalie is also passionate about training and upskilling teams and services to most effectively support clients. Her role as Head of Training at BGPS has allowed her to develop and deliver training sessions on a wide variety of topics, including specialist knowledge necessary to thrive in the sector (e.g. PIE and TIC) and staff wellbeing (e.g. emotional intelligence, self-care and moral injury).