Established in October 2000, the psychology department manages the referral and assessment process for current and prospective clients. The team consists of a Chartered Counselling Psychology Manager, a Behavioural Psychologist, a Trainee Counsellor, undergraduate psychology volunteers and a Consultant Psychologist.

The team works alongside staff to promote autism specific psychological support and intervention to individuals using Hoffmann services, and also provides internal and external training in consultation.

More specifically the Psychology Manager, who is a chartered counselling psychologist, offers the following services based on individual assessment needs:

Counselling
Social Skills courses
Needs assessments
Diagnostic Assessment
Consultations and attendance on case conference and review meetings
Training in therapeutic support on Autism and Asperger Syndrome

The Behavioural psychologist works alongside staff and residents in their own environments to provide the following:

Positive intervention strategies for managing behavioural difficulties
Training and support in Applied Behavioural Analysis (ABA)
Training in TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication handicapped Children)

The department also disseminates the latest research on Autism and Asperger Syndrome and this information is published via the 'Focus on Autism Newsletter', published every month on the Hoffmann Foundation website. The team is regularly supervised by a specialist autism consultant psychologist.

Trainee counselling /clinical psychologists, trainee counsellors as well as psychology graduates are encouraged to work with the department on placements where training, supervision and professional development in Autism Spectrum conditions is provided.

Dr. Kassy Drossou, CPsychol,
BPS and HPC reg, DPsych, MSc (Hons), MSc, BA, BSc (Hons)
Chartered Counselling Psychologist, Psychology Manager

Kassy is a Chartered Counselling and Health psychologist registered with the British Psychological Society and the Health Professions Council. She has been working at Hoffmann Foundation for the past 7 years. She provides autism and Asperger specific counselling and psychotherapy. Kassy is an Integrative therapist who uses a number of therapeutic approaches which range from cognitive behavioural, psychodynamic, person-centered and existential models. The needs of the individual will determine the type of approach used. In addition to counselling and therapy, Kassy's therapeutic model is used within other areas of practice such as the social skill groups, diagnostic assessments, needs assessment and training and supervision of psychology trainees. Her doctoral thesis focused on 'how clients with an Asperger Syndrome diagnosis experience the therapeutic relationship'.

Dr. Niki Daniel ,
Behavioural Psychologist

Niki joined the psychology department at Hoffmann Foundation in September 2008. She is working alongside staff supporting adults with autism, by developing positive intervention strategies for managing behavioural difficulties as well as teaching skills. She is also involved in delivering training on Autism Awareness and TEACCH.

Niki has 10 years' experience in the field of autism, and her training includes Applied Behavioural Analysis, TEACCH, ASD diagnostic assessments and other psychometric assessments (Level A). She is also particularly interested in autism research and has been involved in projects as a member of the Autism Research Group (ARG) at City University, and currently in the Center for Research in Autism and Education (CRAE) at the Institute of Education. She has also acted as an assessor for the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Small-Grants Scheme. Her PhD investigated 'Face processing in children with autism'.

Hoffmann Foundation provides a specialist counselling service for individuals with an Autism and Asperger Syndrome diagnosis based on assessment of individual needs. This service is normally offered in blocks of twelve sessions, but commonly individual require longer blocks of therapy.

The service is run by the Psychology Manager, a chartered counselling psychologist and trainee counsellors who have an in-depth understanding of Asperger Syndrome, Autism and related conditions. The way different individuals with Autism and Asperger syndrome experiences their world will inform the type of therapeutic approach used. The aim of counseling and psychotherapy is to provide the individual with an opportunity to work towards living in a more satisfying and resourceful way. Common topics that people seek help with include social anxiety, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, addictions, relationships issues, difficulties around low self-esteem as well as coming to terms with a 'new diagnosis'.

The Psychology Department runs social skills courses that are designed to address the needs of high functioning clients on the autistic spectrum. These courses focus on developing social skills using a combination of psycho-educational and psychotherapeutic models. The service is run by a chartered counseling psychologist and a trainee psychologist/ counsellor.

Consistent with latest research evidence (Paxton, 2008) the course utilises the principles of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Applied Behavioural Analysis to teach individuals on the spectrum the skills necessary to cope with social situations. The course is offered in a block of 8 sessions and includes an outing in the community.

Topics that have been previously explored in this group include: recognizing and exploring feelings, building awareness on feelings, becoming better at reading facial expression and body language, social anxiety, depression and anger and how to deal with these.

The Psychology department offers a diagnostic assessment clinic for the diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome and other Autistic Spectrum Conditions. The diagnostic assessments are conducted by our Chartered counselling psychologist and specialist ASD consultant psychologist. Diagnostic tools used are the following:

Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule ( ADOS)
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ( DSM-IV-TR)
Developmental history Questionnaire
Social Responsiveness Scale

Every effort is made to provide a comprehensive assessment within the diagnosis so that individuals have some way of understanding their diagnosis. The diagnostic assessment requires a whole day to conduct. In addition, a half day follow up service is provided free of charge to allow individuals to discuss the content of their diagnostic assessment should they wish to do so. Individuals find this follow up very useful.

Funding can be through NHS, PCTs, social services or privately funded. Concessions are offered depending on individual circumstances.

The Psychology Department offers 1:1 support sessions based on the principles of Applied Behavioural Analysis. Applied Behavioural Analysis refers to the scientific method of modifying behaviour by observing the relationship between the behaviour and the environment.

Teaching involves breaking down the tasks into meaningful components that can be taught separately with the use of reinforcements and rewards. ABA has been extensively used as an intervention method for individuals with autism and has been proved to be very effective in dealing with behaviour difficulties and skills teaching.

The Psychology team currently offers the following training both internally and externally:

Autism and Asperger Syndrome Awareness
TEACCH training
Applied Behavioural Analysis
Reflective practice on working therapeutically
Basic Counselling skills

The psychology department has a strong research background in Autism and Asperger Syndrome, and the practitioners are fully committed to ensuring that Hoffmann Foundation keeps abreast of all current research , and translates this research into best practice for our the individuals who use our services.

The Psychology department promotes and supports psychology graduates and undergraduate's who are interested in the field of Autism. Every effort is made to help those on placement to carry out their research project where such projects are considered to be of value to the individuals that use our services.

2 Park Avenue, Wood Green, London N22 7EX
Kassy Drossou
Psychology Manager
Telephone: 020 3326 6363