Relational, trauma-informed, and rooted in connection.
About Me
I’m DhakI Patel, an Integrative Child & Adolescent Psychotherapist (UKCPregistered) with over 12 years’ experience supporting children, young people, and parents through complex emotional journeys.
My approach is warm, relational, and evidence-based — drawing on models that connect body, mind, and relationship.
I integrate:
- Attachment-Based Therapy – understanding how early relationships shape our emotional world and capacity for trust.
- Polyvagal Theory – helping individuals recognise the nervous system’s role in safety, connection, and regulation.
- Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP) and Therapeutic Parenting (PACE) – building secure attachment through Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity, and Empathy.
- Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Mentalisation-Based Therapy (MBT) – exploring emotional parts and strengthening reflection, empathy, and self-understanding.
- DBT-Informed Strategies – supporting emotional regulation, mindfulness, and distress tolerance, particularly with teens and young adults.
- Therapeutic Life Story Work – helping children, families, and individuals make sense of their experiences with compassion.
- Creative and Body-Based Methods – using art, story, metaphor, and movement to express what words can’t yet reach.
I work alongside you to understand what lies beneath behaviour, anxiety, or emotional distress — helping you or your child find calm, confidence, and a deeper sense of connection to yourself and others. My work is integrative, combining models that connect body, mind, and relationship.
Whether you’re navigating adoption, autism, trauma, loss, or the everyday challenges of parenting, relationships, or identity, I offer a space that feels safe, contained, and attuned.
This work isn’t about fixing you or finding quick solutions — it’s about understanding, healing, and helping each person feel seen, safe, and connected.
My aim is always to help children feel safe in their bodies, parents feel confident in their connection, and families rediscover warmth and joy together — and to help young adults build emotional steadiness, self-compassion, and confidence in who they are — so that everyone can truly heal, grow, and thrive.
Therapeutic Values
My practice is rooted in compassion, inclusivity, and cultural sensitivity.
I honour the unique story of every child, parent, and young adult I work with — creating a space where difference is respected, emotions are welcomed, and growth happens through connection.
At the core of my work is a simple aim: to help people feel safe in their bodies, confident in their relationships, and supported to heal, grow, and thrive.
🔹 Areas of Expertise
Areas of Expertise
I specialise in working with children, young people, and families affected by:
- Adoption and early relational trauma
- Autism and neurodiversity
- Anxiety, mood regulation, and identity
- Loss, grief, and family transitions
- Attachment disruptions and developmental trauma
My work blends creative, relational, and evidence-based approaches to help individuals and families rebuild safety, trust, and connection.
Qualifications & Accreditation
I’m a United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) registered Integrative Child & Adolescent Psychotherapistwith an MA in Integrative Child Psychotherapy from the Institute for Arts in Therapy and Education (IATE) in collaboration with the University of East London.
My training included a two-year Infant Observation Study, an Advanced Diploma in the Therapeutic Application of the Arts, and a Diploma in Counselling Skills.
I am an accredited member of the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) and a registered member of the Black, African and Asian Therapy Network (BAATN).
Specialist Training
I have advanced clinical training in:
- Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP Levels One & Two)
- Therapeutic Life Story Work
- Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy (EFIT)
- Mentalisation-Based Therapy (MBT)
- Polyvagal and Somatic Approaches to Trauma and Regulation
- Paws b Certified Mindfulness Trainer
- Sensory Integration and Regulation
- DBT for Adolescents (DBT-A)
- Qi Gong
- Somatic exercises to relax and release
- Self-Harming in Children & Young People
- The Neuroscience of Safety: Polyvagal Theory on Supporting Children on the Autism Spectrum
- Aggression and Autism
- Support & Therapy for Autistic girls and Woman
Ongoing CPD includes Complex Trauma, Autism, and Dissociation in Children and Adolescents.
Professional Experience
I’ve worked across schools, local authorities, and private practice, supporting children, young people, and families from diverse cultural and social backgrounds.
Alongside my private work, I provide therapeutic services commissioned by local authorities through the Adoption Support Fund (ASF) — offering attachment-based and trauma-informed interventions for adoptive families and young people.
Before establishing my private practice, I provided individual and parent–child therapy across primary and secondary schools in Ealing and West London, and led therapeutic initiatives with the Transforming Autism Project, developing frameworks to support autistic children and their families.
I also developed and now facilitate group work at an SEMH School, delivering the Families Together programme — a therapeutic group model designed to strengthen parent–child connection, emotional understanding, and co-regulation at home and in school.
Ready for some real change?
Let’s dive in and get stuff sorted. Schedule your appointment now and let’s kickstart this thing.
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