Dr. Virginia Veruma is a Clinical, Counselling and Educational psychologist with a child-centered approach.
Dr. Virginia Veruma received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychological Sciences and Techniques in 2011 and her Master’s Degree in Psychology in 2014.
She has been a member of the Italian Psychologists board since 2016 (n. 1816), of the British Psychological Society since 2019 (n. 481208) and Health and Care Professions Council since 2021 (PYL 039632).
She supports children and adolescents facing social, emotional and behavioural difficulties, depression, anxiety, sleep difficulties, selective mutism, Autism Spectrum Condition, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, learning difficulties, childhood trauma, family separation, grief and parent-child attachment difficulties.
Work experience in Italy
During her training Dr. Veruma volunteered at the “Burlo Garofolo” children’s hospital in north-east Italy for one year, providing psychological support for parents and families who were experiencing a diagnosis of malformation, as well as coping support interventions to alleviate parents’ psychological distress during children’s hospitalisation and surgery, and play-therapy sessions for hospitalised children and siblings dealing with trauma, grief and disabilities. She worked for three years as Educational Instructor for the Local Authority of Trieste (Italy) where she supported children with social communication difficulties, emotional regulation difficulties and low self-esteem using Mindfulness and Psychodrama-based techniques. In 2017 she participated as a speaker in the International Conference “IDENTITY AGONIES: LIVING DYINGLY” in Padua (Italy), with a talk about how to explain death to children.
Work experience in UK
Dr. Veruma moved to London in 2018 and worked as a Special Educational Needs Teaching Assistant for three years, supporting students with special educational needs on a 1:1 basis in the classroom and with individual sessions. She gained experience in supporting children who experienced traumatic events and obtained a Trauma – Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy certificate in 2021. She currently works as Care Coordinator at a Children and Adolescents Mental Health Service (NHS) in south London. In her current role she provides psychological support to children and young people facing mental health issues, and psychoeducation and coaching interventions to carers and families who are dealing with a young person’s difficulties.
She has written articles for the blogs “GetPsyched” about how to support children to deal with loss and trauma, and for the blog “The Happiest Place”.
Expertise
Social, emotional, behavioural difficulties, learning difficulties, Autism Spectrum Condition, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, grief, trauma.
Dr. Veruma is passionate about developing a strong therapeutic relationship with children and young people, and working with their families and the larger system to support their development. She uses a child-centered approach to allow them to feel safe, listened and accepted without prejudice, which is key for their healthy development and to overcome their difficulties.
Languages:
Italian and English
In summary:
Dr. Virginia Veruma is an Italian psychologist specialised in supporting children and young people with social, emotional, behavioural difficulties, learning difficulties, Autism Spectrum Condition, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, grief, trauma.