At Parkgate, we are proud to offer the invaluable support of a resident clinical psychologist who plays a key role in fostering the well-being of our children, staff, and the wider community. By providing expert guidance and tailored interventions, our psychologist helps address the unique emotional, social, and developmental needs of each child. Additionally, they work closely with our teachers and staff to create a supportive environment where mental health is prioritised. This collaborative approach not only ensures that our children thrive academically but also emotionally, promoting a healthy, resilient, and inclusive school community.

Dr George Harris is a Clinical Psychologist and Director of GH Psychology Ltd. He graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Psychology from the University of Essex. Whilst completing his undergrad degree, he developed an interest in clinical psychology and psychological trauma (including Posttraumatic Growth).

Following his graduation, he was employed by the NHS, working in a Community Mental Health Team in Northamptonshire. He worked in clinic and out in the community with adults experiencing severe and enduring mental health problems. During this period, he developed an interest in working with young adults who had experienced early-life psychological trauma. This interest led him to work with children and adolescents with emotional, mental health, and neurodevelopmental problems. He then worked in several Child and Adolescent Mental Health teams in Staffordshire. He developed a particular interest in working with ‘looked after young people’, ‘young offenders’, and psychologically traumatised young people. He completed his Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the Universities of Coventry and Warwick. During his training, he specialised in working with children and adolescents with complex emotional and psychological presentations, and individuals who had experienced severe psychological trauma.

After working in the NHS for eight years, he joined CPA, one of this country’s leading independent providers of clinical psychology, which specialised in working with looked after young people in residential settings. During his eight years with CPA, he also worked with other vulnerable members of our society in a variety of settings, including young and adult offenders, adults with learning disabilities, and severely disadvantaged young people and their families in the community.

In 2015, he started his own psychology company. He currently works in both mainstream school and residential home settings. He also has an individual private practice.

He has long-standing experience in providing training, staff consultation, specialist assessment, and therapeutic input for young people and adults who are looked after in residential settings. He also provides consultation, training, supervision, group and individual therapy and specialist assessment for young people and their families in education settings, including mainstream primary and secondary schools, and schools for young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties. He is skilled in building therapeutic relationships with hard-to-reach young people and adults. He uses a variety of psychological approaches and theories, including attachment theory, psychoanalytic approaches, psychodynamic approaches, cognitive behaviour therapy, systemic theory, family therapy, and person-centred approaches in his work.