Forensic Psychology

Click on a name on the left to view their profile.

Dr Susan Jones

Dr Susan Jones is our Clinical Director for Forensic Psychology.  Susan provides psycho-legal services for civil, criminal and child-care proceedings, specialising in assessment of risk for violence and sexual offending, personality disorder and psychopathy, intellectual / neuropsychological functioning and mental health difficulties.  Susan also provides assessments for mentally disordered offenders in secure or prison settings.  She has extensive experience of providing psychological evidence to the Courts and training others in Expert Witness skills and forensic assessment.   She also has an interest in cognitive difficulties associated with psychosis.  Susan was previously employed in secure services in the NHS and prior to that trained and worked in the USA in forensic and psychiatric settings.

Dr Kelly Camilleri

Dr Kelly Camilleri provides staff training and consultation to a wide variety of care services. She has worked within the NHS for 20 years in both community and in-patient services. Kelly specializes in working with people who have learning difficulties. She provides individual and group therapy, and specialist assessment and intervention around mental health, behavioural, and forensic issues. She provides supervision to psychologists and other professionals. Kelly has a special interest in the provision of clinical training and has worked on the Exeter Doctoral Training Programme for 5 years. She continues to teach and supervise doctoral research.

Ms Sharon Mayer

Sharon Mayer has worked with Psychology Associates since 2006 providing adult psychological and risk assessments, and therapeutic interventions. She has a background in residential treatment for alcohol and drug dependency and in the Criminal Justice System where she worked with high risk offenders in Her Majesty’s Prison Service and the National Probation Service. She also has experience working for the NHS in Forensic Mental Health and Learning Disabilities. She currently provides clinical support for NHS, Social Services, NOMS and NSPCC staff who work with violent and sex offenders, partners and perpetrators of domestic violence, and victims of crime. In addition to her Forensic training Sharon holds a Masters Degree in Counselling Psychology; she applies an integrated theoretical and relational process approach to her therapeutic practice and is currently completing a Doctorate in Counselling Psychology. Sharon accepts assessment referrals in relation to private and public law and criminal proceedings along with therapy referrals.

Dr Judith McBrien

Dr Judith McBrien provides assessments of adults with learning disabilities and borderline functioning, including parenting assessments, risk assessments, capacity and fitness to plead. She has worked in the NHS for the past 28 years and has conducted medico-legal assessments in care proceedings and the criminal Courts since 1996 (with Psychology Associates since 2004). She has extensive publications in the field of learning disabilities and is a Visiting Professor at the University of Plymouth.

Mr Liam Newton

Liam Newton is a Chartered Forensic Psychologist who specialises in risk assessment for sexual offending and for violence, including domestic violence. He provides expert witness services to the courts in criminal and civil cases.  He has worked in NHS Learning Disability, Prison and Special Hospital settings and has a longstanding interest in personality disorder, substance misuse and addiction.  Liam provides therapeutic work which includes CBT and Mindfulness strategies.

Dr Emma Pillinger

Dr Emma Pillinger is a Chartered Clinical Psychologist with 10 years experience of working in both public and private sectors, in community, residential and in-patient services. In addition to providing therapeutic intervention to individuals and groups, she offers specialist assessment, formulation and intervention for mental health, behavioural, organic and forensic issues (including specialist risk assessment). Emma also provides consultation to staff teams and organisations, and supervision to other psychologists and professionals. Emma specialises in working with older people and people who have a learning disability, and has a special interest in the areas of organisational dynamics, risk assessment, bereavement, suicide, and the psychological implications of old age and learning disability.

Dr Andrew Pritchard

Dr Chrissie Robertson

Dr Chrissie Robertson is a Chartered Clinical Psychologist.   She specialises in the assessment and formulation of complex mental health difficulties and the provision of individually tailored psychotherapeutic treatment.  She has worked across a range of service settings including both primary care, secondary and tertiary mental health and secure settings.  She provides assessment of risk, therapeutic needs and suitability for specialist placements.  Dr Robertson is also experienced in working with mentally disordered offenders, ‘hard to engage’ clients and with a variety of complex mental health presentations including self-harm, psychosis, childhood trauma and co-morbid substance misuse. 

Dr Claire Smith

Dr Claire Smith is a Chartered Clinical Psychologist who has worked within forensic mental health services for ten years providing specialist assessments and interventions for mentally disordered offenders within a secure NHS hospital.  She also has prior experience of working within specialist services for brain injury and autistic spectrum disorders.  Since 2000, she has provided expert witness testimony for civil, family and criminal court proceedings, mental health review tribunals and parole board hearings, specialising in assessing risk of sexual or violent behaviour, including domestic violence, in addition to psychological assessment of mental state; personality disorder; complex trauma; substance misuse, and intellectual and neuropsychological functioning.