Working in the NHS for 27 years, Dr Clair Pollard is a Clinical Psychologist and Acting Director for a large psychology mental health trust in South London and a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist. She also sustained a spinal cord injury during her training at the age of 25 which left her paraplegic and a wheelchair user. Undeterred by this, it was her determination and focus on her training that enabled her to come to terms with her acquired disability. She talks about the 'mental health tsunami' we are facing in the UK at the moment, particularly for young people but adds that the fact that people are talking about it more now is a huge advancement. She shares some great advice about how we can help both ourselves and others.
She talks about the advantages and challenges of having a spinal cord injury in her role and her strategies of how she manages in the workplace by being assertive and not being apologetic, and how she feels she's a better psychologist because of what she's been through.
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