Saskia Huntley

About Saskia 

Saskia Huntley graduated from the University of Bath in 2018 with a first class MSci (integrated BSc and MSc with Hons) in Psychology. Saskia is committed to advancing her expertise in Psychology through continuous professional development.

Saskia participates in both individual and group supervision on a regular basis, with BABCP and HCPC accredited practitioners as her supervisors. This ensures a comprehensive and multifaceted oversight of her practice. During these supervision sessions, Saskia discusses a selection of clients confidentially, receiving guidance to provide the most evidence-based treatments tailored to help clients achieve their therapeutic goals.

With a strong research background, Saskia is dedicated to offering the best possible evidence-based treatment for each individual. She recognises that clients come from diverse backgrounds and require personalised therapy plans that account for a range of influences. The initial session allows Saskia to understand the client’s difficulties and collaboratively develop a mutually beneficial therapy plan, allowing the client to form a clear vision of their therapeutic journey. Saskia is aware that starting therapy and discussing personal challenges can be daunting, so she strives to create a comfortable, safe, confidential, and non-judgmental environment.

Treatment Approaches

Saskia has experience treating a variety of psychological disorders, including but not limited to depression and low mood, anxiety and panic disorders, and relationship issues. She has a special interest in treating Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Following NICE guidelines, Saskia is trained in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for OCD. This combination of CBT and ERP is the most evidence-based approach for addressing the obsessions and compulsions experienced by individuals with OCD. However, Saskia also places a specific emphasis on self-compassion in her therapeutic approach. Saskia collaborates with her clients to customise these treatment methods to meet their specific needs, as she recognises OCD can have many themes, including more “taboo” presentations that are not often represented in media. Saskia has a particularly strong passion for treating these themes, such as; harm OCD including Pedophilia OCD (P-OCD), relationship OCD (ROCD) and sexual orientation OCD (SO-OCD). 

Saskia’s training in CBT for OCD is particularly focused on the Salkovskis, Forrester & Richards (1998) cognitive-behavioural model of OCD. This model highlights the importance of how clients interpret intrusive thoughts and obsessions. According to this model, it is not the intrusive thoughts themselves that are problematic, but the meaning clients ascribe to them. These interpretations can drive behaviours intended for safety but actually perpetuate OCD. Saskia’s goal in treatment is to help clients develop a less-threatening interpretation of their intrusive thoughts and test these interpretations through symptom monitoring, behavioural experiments, and ERP exercises.

Along with CBT, Saskia integrates other therapeutic approaches to treat a range of disorders, including aspects of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Self-Compassion, Psychodynamic Therapy, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). Saskia is committed to ongoing professional development to ensure she remains current with the latest evidence-based protocols, enabling her to help clients achieve their treatment goals effectively.