Dr Anneka Kumar is a Senior Clinical Psychologist in a specialist NHS service, with over 12 years of experience working across NHS and third-sector services. Anneka is registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
Throughout her career, Anneka has worked with children and adults presenting with a wide range of difficulties, including anxiety, stress, low mood, relational difficulties, trauma and PTSD, bereavement, low self-esteem, and challenges with emotional regulation. Anneka also has experience supporting neurodivergent individuals and people living with visual impairments, adapting therapy to meet individual needs and strengths.
Therapeutic Approach
Anneka understands that reaching out for therapy can feel daunting. Because of this, her first priority is to provide a warm, compassionate, and non-judgemental space where you feel genuinely heard, understood, and supported.
Anneka’s practice is grounded in an understanding of how our relationships, life experiences, trauma, culture, community, and identity shape our emotional wellbeing throughout life. Building a safe, trusting therapeutic relationship is central to her practice. Together, Anneka and her clients will collaboratively develop a shared understanding of experiences, difficulties, and goals, whilst exploring values and what is meaningful to each individual. A key aspect of Anneka’s approach involves exploring patterns in how clients relate to themselves and others, and considering how earlier life experiences may have shaped them. Developing a deeper understanding of these patterns can foster self-compassion, improve relationships, and support meaningful change.
Anneka takes an integrative approach, tailoring therapy to uniour clients unique needs and goals while drawing on a range of evidence-based frameworks, including:
– Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
– Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT)
– Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
– Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
– Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP)
– Cognitive Analytical Therapy (CAT)
– Narrative Therapy
– Mindfulness-based approaches
Broader Practice and Research
Alongside her private practice, Anneka holds a senior role within a specialist NHS service supporting children and young people in foster care who have experienced trauma, loss, and attachment difficulties. In this role, Anneka works closely with foster carers, adoptive parents, and wider support networks to help them understand and respond to a child’s emotional and relational needs. Drawing on this experience, Anneka is able to offer dedicated parent support sessions within my private practice for those seeking a deeper understanding of their child’s emotional wellbeing, behaviour, and relationships.
Parallel to her clinical work, Anneka is passionate about supporting organisations and teams in developing accessible, neurodiversity-affirming services. Anneka’s academic and research interests focus primarily on the intersection of autism and trauma.
Whether you are navigating a specific difficulty, adjusting to a major life transition, or seeking a deeper, more compassionate understanding of yourself and your relationships, Anneka aims to provide a supportive space in which you can explore challenges, build on your strengths, and create meaningful change.
