Dr Tom Cawthorne

Dr Tom Cawthorne is a Clinical Psychologist registered with The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). He also holds additional accreditations as a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist and Mentalization-based therapist. Tom specialises in working with children, adolescents and their families, and is experienced in delivering a range of evidence-based psychological therapies. This includes conducting individual therapy with young people, as well as delivering parent-led interventions, family therapy and working with professionals around the young person (e.g., providing training and consultation to schools). 

Tom also has a specialist interest in working with children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental differences, including autism and ADHD. He is trained in conducting neurodevelopmental assessments to inform diagnoses and providing adapted psychological interventions for the co-occurring mental health problems commonly experienced by young people with these conditions. 

Tom is currently Senior Clinical Psychologist within the National Conduct Adoption and Fostering Team (CAFT), which is part of the National & Specialist CAMHS at the Maudsley Hospital. In this role, he conducts psychological assessments and interventions with children and adolescents who are adopted or fostered and young people presenting with significant behavioural difficulties. In addition to his position in CAFT he has an honorary contract at Great Ormond Street Hospital, where he is part of a specialist clinic for young people with co-occurring physical and mental health problems, functional/medically unexplained symptoms, complex OCD, anxiety disorders and tics/Tourette’s. 

Prior to this Tom worked within the Intensive Treatment Programme of the Maudsley Centre for Child and Adolescent Eating Disorders, which is a national service for young people with severe anorexia that has not responded to outpatient treatment. He has also previously been based within a specialist clinic for adopted and fostered children at the Anna Freud Centre and in different CAMHS and Paediatric services. 

Tom is actively involved in research, teaching and training, including lecturing on the MSc in Child Mental Health and Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at Kings College London and being a trainer in Mentalization Based Treatment with Families (MBT-F) at the Anna Freud Centre.

Therapeutic ethos 

Tom understands that for some children and adolescents, therapy can feel very difficult or scary and that they may have had previous negative experiences of seeking help. He works hard to create a positive experience for both young people and their families, focussing on their strengths and collaboratively developing personalised treatment plans in line with their goals and the current best research evidence. He works flexibly and adapts his approach on an individualised basis, this includes offering appointments both online and face-to-face and where clinically indicated conducting home visits and intensive treatment days.