Dr Sophie Rushbrook
Consultant Clinical Psychologist
I am a Consultant Clinical Psychologist with over 30 years of experience in the field of mental health. I started my career as a Child Clinical Psychologist with a special interest in working with looked after children. I went on to specialise in adult services focussing on working with complex trauma, co-morbid diagnoses and people with a diagnosis of a personality disorder. Until recently, I led the Intensive Psychological Therapy Service (IPTS) at Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust — a nationally recognised, tertiary-level service providing psychological support to individuals with complex and enduring mental health needs.
IPTS was awarded Beacon status in 2000, a designation awarded to NHS services delivering outstanding innovation and impact. The team specialised in working with clients experiencing chronic suicidality, self-harm, and long-standing difficulties related to trauma, personality disorders, and treatment-resistant mood and anxiety disorders.
Under my tenure I eliminated a two year waiting list, developed a stable staff team, our drop out rates reduced from 30% to 5% and our clinical outcomes were outstanding. We developed a number of unique initiatives in the NHS Trust including delivering live RO-DBT and DBT webinars to a wider population the Trust that might not otherwise have been able to access these skills. We also developed and delivered live webinars to manage sleep using cognitive behavioural therapy methods for insomnia (CBTi) and food craving and addiction groups.
I offered consultation to the Homeless Team, the Eating Disorder Service, Perinatal and Inpatient services. I was a lead in the innovation and delivery of the complex discussion panel which was a trust wide forum where staff and staff teams could come for in-depth clinical discussions and guidance. I was a lead in the development of the complex trauma and personality disorder pathway in the Trust.
Alongside my NHS role, I built a private practice from 2015. This was primarily to offer supervision to therapists around the world. Within this role I have also offered supervision to safeguarding teams in secondary schools, worked with the safeguarding team in Oxfam, offered support to emergency service staff such as intensive care nurses and fire service personnel.
I regularly present at conferences and/or deliver training around the world.
Throughout my career I have been involved in clinical research and have published in multiple journals, areas of research or writing interest are related to RO-DBT, research in treating hospital intensive care patients in follow up and I have co-authored a book chapter on working with dreams. I am currently co-authoring a handbook for RO-DBT therapists.
Since leaving the NHS in 2025 I offer therapy to clients and clinical supervision to mental health professionals and education providers in the UK and internationally.
My practice is grounded in the use of evidence-based, relational approaches to support meaningful psychological change, with a particular emphasis on compassion, connection and treating the whole person.
Qualifications & Accreditation
I am extensively trained and accredited across a range of evidence-based psychological therapies. My qualifications reflect a long-standing commitment to clinical excellence, supervision, and professional development.
Consultant Clinical Psychologist, registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
Accredited Practitioner, Cognitive Analytic Therapy (Association for Cognitive Analytic Therapy)
Accredited Practitioner, Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR Europe – EMDRIA)
Intensively Trained Therapist and Supervisor, Radically Open Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (RO-DBT), trained under Professor Thomas Lynch since 2011
Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) Level 2 trained practitioner
Internal Family Systems (IFS) Level 3 trained practitioner
Previously Accredited Practitioner, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (British Tech) (I withdrew in 2023)
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy trained with Stephen Hayes over 15 years ago
Compassion Focussed Therapy trained with Professor Paul Gilbert
In 2015 I was the first clinician to be endorsed as a supervisor and trainer in RO-DBT. I co-delivered intensive trainings alongside Professor Lynch between 2015 and 2020. Between 2020 and current time I have been delivering RO-DBT around the world.
I continue to provide supervision and consultation to RO-DBT clinicians globally.
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Dr Sophie Rushbrook is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist with over 25 years of experience in both NHS and private practice. She previously led an award-winning NHS tertiary service for individuals with complex and enduring difficulties, including high-risk presentations such as suicidality and self-harm.
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Sophie works with adults experiencing difficulties such as anxiety, depression, trauma, relational issues, sleep problems, weight concerns and more. She draws on evidence-based therapies including EMDR, RO-DBT, IFS, CAT, and EFT.
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Yes. Sophie offers individual and group supervision for therapists, teams, and service managers. She specialises in RO-DBT and CAT supervision, as well as management consultation for clinical leaders and service developers.
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Therapy and supervision are available online to clients and professionals across the UK and internationally, with flexible scheduling to accommodate different time zones.