Bijal Chheda Varma

Biography

Bijal has been a Psychologist and Cognitive Behaviour Therapist in the UK since 2003. She specialises in Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT), Beck’s Cognitive model and Gestalt group facilitation. She is currently working at Capio Nightingale Hospital in London. Previously, she worked within the dual diagnosis field in inpatient rehabilitation and outpatient secondary care settings. She was involved in formulating and delivering training in Dual diagnosis and Motivational interviewing to a range of clinicians from June 2007 to September 2008. Since December 2008, Bijal has been involved in providing neuro-psychiatric and psychological assessments and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy to doctors and dentists with mental health concerns based at the Practitioner Health Programme.

She completed her Doctorate (PhD) in psychology from University of Hull, UK in 2006; MSc from University of Hull, UK in 2002. Bijal’s doctorate was in psychiatric and psychological assessment tools and methods, hence she holds a special interest in engaging in neuro-psychiatric and psychological assessments.

Other qualifications and training include Level A Certificate in Psychometric Testing from The British Psychological Society in 2002; Level B Intermediate Certificate in Psychometric Testing from The British Psychological Society in 2003; specialized in REBT at the Albert Ellis Institute (Phadke Centre), Mumbai in 2003; and Gestalt Group Therapy and Facilitation course in 2005 from the Gestalt Centre, London. Bijal will be completing her training in Schema Therapy based at the Oxford Cognitive Therapy Centre in April 2009.

She is experienced in providing brief and long-term therapy interventions both on a one-to-one and group level in the following areas: Dual diagnosis (severe to moderate mental health illness/issues and substance misuse/dependency), behavioural syndromes i.e. eating disorders and personality disorders, ADHD and psychotic illnesses & psychosis.