Dr Richard Pione

I am a Clinical Psychologist, Clinical Supervisor and Trainer, registered with the Health and Care Professions Council and accredited by the BABCP as a CBT therapist, with seventeen years of experience in the NHS across primary and secondary care.

I have spent most of my career working with people dealing with difficult, long-standing problems, often people who had not found the right help elsewhere. That has shaped how I approach therapy: slowly, without assumptions, and with an honest appraisal of what is likely to help.

How I work

Therapy starts with understanding. The first task is to build a clear picture of the difficulty, how it developed and what is maintaining it now, and to use that shared understanding to guide what comes next. This is the heart of a cognitive behavioural approach, and it is collaborative by design. You are not a passive recipient of treatment; you are working alongside someone who brings clinical training while you bring expertise in your own life.

The main approaches I draw on are:

• Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), as the central evidence-based model for anxiety, depression, trauma and related difficulties.
• Attachment-informed thinking, drawing on an understanding of how early relationship experiences shape the patterns we can find ourselves repeating in adult life, often without fully realising it.

Not every difficulty needs the same approach, and part of the early work is agreeing together what is likely to help.

Qualifications and registration

• Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (DClinPsy), University College London, 2020
• Postgraduate Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, University of East Anglia, 2013
• Postgraduate Certificate as a Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner, Anglia Ruskin University, 2010
• BSc Psychology (2:1 Hons), University of Essex, 2008
• HCPC registered Practitioner Psychologist (PYL38730)
• BABCP accredited CBT therapist (#101271)
• Accredited clinical supervision training

NHS and leadership background

I have spent my career in the NHS, most recently leading a specialist psychological therapy service that grew from a small team to more than twenty staff. The service was recognised with a Health Service Journal award in 2023 and a Positive Practice in Mental Health commendation in 2025. I have also held a research fellowship as a NIHR Three-Schools Fellow, acting as principal investigator on a trial of psychological therapy for hard-to-treat depression in collaboration with the University of Exeter.

Teaching

I am an External Clinical Psychology Lecturer at the University of Essex, contributing to the CBT teaching on its Doctorate in Clinical Psychology programme, and I continue to supervise and train other clinicians.