Early Intervention Matters · Podcast guest · 10 August 2026 · 56 min
Podcast guest with Dr Inyang Takon, discussing FND and related functional somatic symptoms in children and young people.
About Sagal Hassan
My private practice focuses on adolescents and young adults. Over more than a decade, my experience has included NHS CAMHS, paediatric hospital services and work with children, young people and families. My specialist training addressed development from the earliest years and parent–infant relationships through to young adulthood. My specialist interests sit where emotional wellbeing, physical health, neurodivergence, education and family life meet. I work particularly with school attendance difficulties and EBSA, anxiety, masking and burnout, functional symptoms and chronic illness, fear of failure, perfectionism, friendship difficulties, social anxiety and bullying.
Sagal’s clinical experience, credentials and professional standards
My training involved a four-year, full-time ACP-accredited clinical doctorate in Child and Adolescent Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, awarded by the University of Essex / Tavistock and Portman. I am a full member of the Association of Child Psychotherapists. The national ACP training standard prepares Child and Adolescent Psychotherapists to assess and treat infants, children and young people up to age 25 and to work with their parents, carers and wider professional networks.
Sagal’s credentials
Professional registration
I am a full member of the Association of Child Psychotherapists (ACP), membership number 5727.
NHS recognition
I am a Full Member of the Association of Child Psychotherapists (ACP), which holds the public professional register for Child and Adolescent Psychotherapists. The ACP Register is accredited by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care, and my registration can be checked independently through the public register: Sagal Hassan. ACP-registration is a requirement for child and adolescent psychotherapists practising in the NHS, and as such, ACP registered psychotherapists are formally recognised as one of the NHS psychological professions.
Sagal’s clinical experience
NHS CAMHS experience
Over more than 10 years, I have shown a steady commitment to child and adolescent mental health, honing my expertise from 0–25, the earliest years, parent–infant relationships, and toddlerhood, all the way to young adulthood, helping adolescents transitioning between paediatric and adult services.
NHS Paediatric hospital experience
At UCLH Paediatric Psychological Medicine I delivered assessments and evidence-based treatments for young people in Oncology, TRACCS, Haematology, Long Covid, Turner Syndrome and Allergy. Within UCLH TRACCS, a multidisciplinary service for children and adolescents with complex conditions, I worked alongside paediatricians and other health professionals where illness, pain, fatigue, functional symptoms, medical uncertainty and psychological development could not be usefully separated. I contributed to weekly multidisciplinary meetings and joint formulation, using a biopsychosocial approach informed by NICE guidance to develop care plans across medical and psychological services. At the hospital, I also worked as part of a specialist outreach team for young people who were frequent A&E attenders, working alongside a team of experienced paediatricians, physiotherapists, nurse specialists and occupational therapists, running joint MDT clinics (the topic of my doctoral research).
Schools, neurodivergence and attendance difficulties
I have worked with children and young people in nursery, school, SEND and SEMH contexts and contributed a child-psychotherapy perspective to neurodevelopmental assessment. This experience helps me consider the demands around a child—the sensory, social, academic and relational environment—rather than treating distress as an isolated problem inside them.
My school-based experience deepened in a SEMH educational provision at the Gloucester House Day Unit. There I delivered targeted interventions, contributed to EHCPs, and provided parent psychoeducation, while helping staff sustain therapeutic boundaries when behaviour escalated. Many pupils had traumatic histories, were looked after, or had significant learning needs.
Neurodevelopmental and multidisciplinary expertise
I have a particular interest in neurodevelopmental work and multidisciplinary care. I am on the National Autistic Society Services Directory, and I previously worked at The Soke, a specialist private mental health clinic in Chelsea. At The Soke, I was part of a multidisciplinary child and family neurodevelopmental team, providing treatment to children, adolescents and young adults facing complex mental and physical health needs. Neurodevelopmental presentations were often part of the picture, alongside chronic health conditions, chronic pain and persistent physical symptoms. My doctoral thesis explored interprofessional collaboration in paediatric hospital settings, and this continues to shape the way I work.
Mental health innovation, postgraduate teaching, writing and public work
My professional work sits at the intersection of child psychotherapy, paediatric health, neurodevelopment, identity, family life and mental health innovation. I am a Fellow of the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme, where my work focuses on digital mental health and product design. I also hold teaching and personal tutoring responsibilities at Tavistock Education and Training on the pre-clinical MA in Perinatal, Child, Adolescent and Family Work (M7), a route towards professional training in Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy. I teach Infant Observation, one of the core prerequisites for entry into clinical training. I also write and speak publicly about children’s mental health, neurodivergence, racism, diagnosis, adolescence, family life and the role of psychotherapy in helping children and young people feel understood beyond symptoms or labels. My writing and expert contributions have appeared in The Guardian, Metro and The i Paper. I have also presented clinical papers at psychotherapy conferences and delivered training in NHS and private healthcare settings. I advised colleagues at MOPAC on the national #FGMStopsHere campaign and contributed to VAWG prevention principles, and I have published opinion pieces on children’s mental health in mainstream media.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. I am registered with the Association of Child Psychotherapists as a full member: membership no: 5727.
NHS England’s national guidance on psychological-profession titles, published on 27 August 2026, acknowledges that “many of the titles are not legally protected”. It therefore sets nationally consistent registration requirements for psychological-profession titles used within NHS-commissioned care. NHS England For the professional title “Child and adolescent psychoanalytic psychotherapist”, NHS England names the “Association of Child Psychotherapists (ACP; PSA Accredited Register)” as the corresponding professional register. NHS England This does not create statutory title protection across all private practice. Someone’s use of a similar-sounding title should therefore never be treated as proof of their training. However, it gives parents a clear external standard: a practitioner presenting themselves as an ACP Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist should have current registration that can be independently verified through the ACP’s public register.
Do not rely on the words therapist, psychotherapist or child therapist alone. Check: - the therapist’s exact professional registration; - whether they are a qualified or trainee member; - whether their core training specifically concerned children and adolescents; - the ages and difficulties with which they have clinical experience; - their arrangements for supervision, safeguarding and complaints; and - whether their particular approach is suitable for your child. ACP registration provides a strong, independently verifiable professional foundation. It does not guarantee that a particular therapist or form of psychotherapy will be right for every child.
Psychotherapy depends partly on the therapist’s ability to recognise and think about their own emotional responses. Personal psychoanalysis helps a therapist become more aware of personal blind spots, manage anxiety and strong feelings, and use countertransference thoughtfully rather than reacting to it. I have undertaken seven years of personal psychotherapy, including personal psychoanalysis four times weekly before and throughout my doctoral clinical training. It also means I know first-hand how vulnerable and demanding it can feel to enter therapy, build trust and remain with difficult experiences over time.
My experience includes NHS CAMHS, UCLH TRACCS, paediatric hospital services, schools, SEND and SEMH contexts.
They include the interaction between emotional wellbeing, physical health, neurodivergence, education and family life.
Association of Child Psychotherapists. How to train as a child and adolescent psychotherapist. Accessed 5 September 2026.
Association of Child Psychotherapists. Professional registration. Accessed 5 September 2026.
Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care. Association of Child Psychotherapists: Accredited Register. Accessed 5 September 2026.
Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust. FAQs: Child and adolescent psychoanalytic psychotherapy (M80) training. Accessed 5 September 2026.
Writing, interviews and media contributions
Published writing, expert contributions and conversations on children’s mental health, family life, neurodivergence and the experiences that can sit beneath symptoms or behaviour.
The i Paper · Expert contribution · 24 July 2026
Quoted expert contribution on family dynamics and the pull of familiar roles between parents and grandparents.
The Guardian · Letter contribution · 8 December 2025
A signed letter contribution on diagnosis, neurodivergence and the importance of understanding a person beyond a label.
Metro · Authored article · 19 August 2024
An authored first-person piece on responding to racist comments in therapeutic work with children.
Parent Consultation
A 40-minute online appointment for parents, offering specialist guidance without an obligation to continue.