Dr. Fiona Desira

Dr. Fiona Desira is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist with over 15 years experience of working with children, young people and families in the UK and overseas. Fiona obtained an undergraduate degree in Psychology from Northumbria University (2003) and master’s degree from Teesside University (2004). She qualified with a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Teesside University in 2009.

Fiona worked for the NHS for 8 years. After she qualified as a Clinical Psychologist, she worked for Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Trust in Learning Disabilities Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, also providing input to the acute trust as part of the under 5’s Autism Spectrum Disorder assessment service. Fiona then moved to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where she was Head of Psychology for a private child development centre, before becoming Clinical Director where she provided clinical leadership to the multi-disciplinary team. During this time, Fiona’s clinical work focused on neurodevelopmental assessment and post diagnostic support.

Fiona then transitioned to work for an organisation that was a partnership between an NHS trust and local provider, where she was Head of Psychology and provided input to government services in a leadership and development capacity.

Fiona is highly specialised in the area of neurodevelopmental disorders, with a particular passion for Autism Spectrum Disorder, having supported many families through the complex diagnostic process and beyond. She prides herself on providing high quality, best practice assessment as part of a multi-disciplinary team and has spent many years developing and leading diagnostic services.

Fiona is passionate about helping young people and families. She utilises an integrative approach to supporting families therapeutically, tailoring evidence-based practices to meet individual needs. Fiona draws upon principles from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) in her therapeutic work.

In addition to her clinical work, Fiona is an Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS-2) trainer. Over the last 14 years, she has delivered ADOS training and supervision in the United Kingdom and Gulf region. Fiona has been an invited speaker at international conferences, sharing lectures and workshops relating to ASD, Intellectual Disabilities and staff wellbeing. She has provided undergraduate and doctoral level teaching as an honorary lecturer at universities in the UK and UAE and contributed to Nursing and Psychiatry Residents education programmes. In 2019, she received the ‘Allied Health Professional of the Year’ award at the ‘Health Awards’ in the UAE.

Fiona is a registered Practitioner Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC, PYL24240) and a registered member of the British Psychological Society (BPS, 168252) and Association of Clinical Psychologist (ACP-UK, 1821189). Fiona is also licensed to practice in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.