The Affirming Psychologist Collective.
We are a values-driven collective of HCPC registered Clinical Psychologists offering compassionate and affirming specialist psychological assessment and formulation, therapy, training, supervision and consultancy work.
We, Rowan and Badri, worked together for several years and connected through our shared commitment to inclusivity, trauma-informed care, and social justice in mental health. We believe that traditional mental health spaces haven’t always felt safe, accessible, or representative for those experiencing distress who are often misunderstood by society or the system. That’s why we built something different, rooted in our values and lived experience, and founded The Affirming Psychologist Collective.
In a world of influencers, unprotected titles and miss-selling expertise, The Affirming Psychologist Collective prioritises transparency and duty of care, and brings you registered Clinical and Counselling Psychologists who have specialist skills and knowledge and a wealth of clinical experience. All of our psychologists have the necessary training, registration and skills to provide high quality care and treatment. Each psychologist works independently within the collective, united by a shared ethos of compassion, collaboration, and authenticity.
Our values
At the heart of our collective is the belief that people don’t need fixing — they need understanding, celebration, and care. We offer spaces where people can explore who they are without shame or judgment, by normalising the unhelpful patterns we can become stuck in and the natural variation in our emotional responses.
We are:
• Systemically informed: We are aware of the systems and societal norms that govern our lives, often leaving some groups of society targeted and oppressed. We acknowledge that these systems act as barriers and create snags that maintain distress and dysregulation.
• Trauma-informed & identity-aware: Many of our clients have faced trauma, invalidation, discrimination, or misunderstanding. We hold space for these stories with care, humility, and respect.
• Collaborative: You are the expert in your own life. We’ll work with you, not on you.
• Neurodiversity-affirming: We view neurodivergent experiences (including autism, ADHD, sensory sensitivity, and more) as valid expressions of human diversity — not deficits to be treated. We don’t think we are over-diagnosing neurodiversity, we believe that we are finally understanding the neurodiverse brain better after decades of people being misdiagnosed with mental health conditions like bipolar or emotionally unstable personality disorder, or living through a cycle of masking and burn out as they’ve been misunderstood by others around them.
• LGBTQ+ affirming: We are deeply informed by queer, trans, and non-binary experiences and voices, and hold a welcoming and inclusive position for all people in the queer community. Our work is grounded in gender and sexuality diversity frameworks and our own lived experience.
Each psychologist in the collective runs their own independent practice under our shared name and values. We come from varied clinical backgrounds and lived experiences, and we bring warmth, honesty, and deep respect to the work we do.
You’ll be able to read more about each of us and choose who feels like the right fit for you.
The Affirming Psychologist Collective 