Dr Christophe Clesse
Clinical Psychologist · HCPC Registered · Chartered Psychologist (BPS, AFBPsS)
PhD, MRes, MSc, PGDip, BSc · FHEA
ABOUT
Commitment to others, heightened awareness, and a sense of empathy that is earned, not performed.
Origins
My roots in the French countryside still shape how I practise today.
I grew up in France, on a modest, traditional farm, in a place where tomorrow was never a given. The cycle of seasonal work and the unpredictable rhythms of farm life showed me that effort and consistency were central to everyday life. It was also a life rooted in inherited values, where what mattered was often built through patience, consistency, and hard work. Having grown up with limited material resources and a largely self-sufficient way of life, I know from personal experience how difficult circumstances can shape the way we experience ourselves, others and the world around us. I also learned early on how essential human relationships can be during difficult times.
Those years gave me depth, perspective, and a sense of groundedness that I have never had to manufacture. They shaped a lasting appreciation for responsibility, family, dignity and the importance of looking after one another. This is why I recognise the weight of uncertainty about the future in others, and why I believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to build a more secure and fulfilling life.
Clinical practice
My clinical training and practice have spanned more than fifteen years.
After two years of supervised clinical training, I qualified as a Clinical Psychologist with distinction in 2012. Shortly afterwards, I joined a state-funded community mental health centre, comparable to an NHS Community Mental Health Team (CMHT). There, I spent nearly a decade providing psychotherapy, clinical support, and counselling to a diverse adult population, including patients with complex psychiatric needs. The service provided open access to care, accepting both professional referrals and self-referrals regardless of clinical condition or social circumstances. This closely reflected my own values and provided exceptionally broad clinical experience. Within this setting, I gained extensive experience in interdisciplinary collaboration with psychiatrists, GPs, social workers, and other healthcare professionals, while also contributing to psychological assessments and expert reports requested by public authorities.
Alongside this clinical work, I undertook six years of personal psychoanalysis, which deepened my reflective practice and my understanding of the therapeutic process. I also served as a clinical field trainer for trainee psychologists, supporting and assessing their clinical development. Throughout these years, I worked with a wide range of psychological difficulties, bringing steadiness, attentiveness, and genuine care to my work.
Since moving to the UK in 2020, I have continued my clinical work in London, now in private practice. That breadth of experience, combined with ongoing clinical work, remains central to how I practise today.
Academic work
My clinical work has always developed in close dialogue with academia and research.
Academic and research work inform my clinical practice in the consulting room. I am currently a Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader at the University of Roehampton, where I have designed BSc and MA programmes in counselling and clinical psychology, lead modules, teach, supervise trainee counselling psychologists, and conduct research aimed at improving prevention strategies and therapeutic outcomes.
This position builds on a longer academic background: a three-year postdoctoral fellowship at Queen Mary University of London examining the impact of inflammation on mental health in chronic illness; a PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Lorraine, focused on the psychological impact of childbirth and obstetric interventions, which shaped my interest in perinatal and women’s mental health; and an ongoing position as an Associate Lecturer at the University of Lorraine, where I teach and supervise the research of postgraduate clinical psychologists.
Alongside this, I have worked to bring academic knowledge directly to professionals and institutions through training engagements with the French national training body for public sector workers (CNFPT) and the regional public health and prevention organisation in Lorraine (IREPS). At IREPS, I also served on the Board, contributing to mental health policy and institutional practice in the Grand Est region.
Taken together, this continued involvement ensures that the work I offer in the consulting room is never based solely on what I learned in the past.
