Dr Amy Needham
Dr Needham leads our psychological assessment and therapy service, bringing specialist expertise in neurodevelopmental and cognitive assessment, trauma, and complex mental health presentations.
Clinical background
Dr Amy Needham is a Registered Forensic Psychologist, holding a Doctorate in Forensic Psychology from the University of Nottingham and registration with the Health and Care Professions Council.
Alongside her work with Serene Health Partners, Dr Needham is Pathway Lead for Psychological Therapies across HMP Nottingham and HMP Lowdham Grange within Nottinghamshire NHS Offender Health, where she leads a clinical team and oversees psychological provision for people experiencing everything from anxiety and depression to complex trauma-related presentations.
Her career has spanned community, inpatient and secure settings, working with adults and children across a wide range of presentations — neurodevelopmental conditions, enduring mental health difficulties, acquired brain injury and histories of significant trauma. Earlier posts include roles within a CAMHS ADHD, autism and intellectual disabilities assessment pathway, and with Autism East Midlands.
Dr Needham also works as an independent expert witness, completing psychological assessments for the courts and the Parole Board. Her doctoral research examined traumatic brain injury and its associations with mental health difficulties and ADHD.
Her approach is grounded in careful clinical formulation. She aims to provide a fair, evidence-based and holistic view of each person's presentation, and to translate assessment findings into recommendations that make sense in real life.
Assessment & therapy
Neurodevelopmental Assessment
Diagnostic assessment for ADHD and autism using validated instruments including DIVA, ADOS and ADI-R.
Cognitive & Neuropsychological
Standardised cognitive assessment using the WAIS-IV and WISC-V, and neuropsychological screening with the RBANS, including assessment of acquired and traumatic brain injury.
Learning Disability Assessment
Comprehensive intellectual disability assessment combining cognitive testing with adaptive and functional assessment.
Psychological Therapy
Integrative therapy drawing on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, Compassion Focused Therapy, Mentalisation-Based Therapy and trauma-informed approaches.
Background
Doctoral-level training in forensic psychology, with specialist accreditation across a wide range of assessment and therapeutic instruments.
- Doctorate in Forensic Psychology (DForenPsy) — University of Nottingham
- BSc (Hons) Psychology — Sheffield Hallam University
- Registered Forensic Psychologist — Health and Care Professions Council
- Assessment training — DIVA (ADHD), ADOS-2 and ADI-R (autism), WAIS-IV and WISC-V (cognitive), RBANS (neuropsychological screening)
- Therapeutic training — Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (British Isles DBT Training), Mentalisation-Based Therapy (Anna Freud Centre), Compassion Focused Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy including CBT for psychosis
- Clinical leadership — Pathway Lead for Psychological Therapies, Nottinghamshire NHS Offender Health, supervising psychologists, counsellors and mental health nurses
- Expert witness — independent psychological assessment for the courts and the Parole Board
What to expect
Thorough Assessment
Careful use of validated instruments alongside a full developmental and clinical history, rather than relying on questionnaires alone.
Clinical Formulation
An explanation of how the different parts of your presentation fit together — not simply a label.
Reports That Stand Up
Experience of writing for courts and the Parole Board means reports are detailed, defensible and clearly reasoned.
Practical Recommendations
Findings translated into recommendations that make sense at home, in education or at work.
Request a pre-assessment screening
Every assessment begins with a £185 screening. There is no appointment — you complete questionnaires and we email you the outcome within 5 working days.