Dr Maria O’Neill (DClinPsych, MA, BSc Hons)
I am Dr. Maria O’Neill (DClinPsych, MA, BSc Hons), a Clinical Psychologist registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
With over 15 years’ experience, I have dedicated my career to supporting neurodivergent individuals (specialising in Autism and ADHD), across diverse settings, including the NHS, private practice, and charity sectors (National Autistic Society). My professional experience spans health, forensic, and educational environments, where I have contributed to establishing specialist services that prioritise and celebrate neurodiversity.
In senior NHS roles, I have been involved in the setting up of several specialist Autism and ADHD service to enhance accessibility to support, always focusing on recognising and valuing each individual’s unique strengths. My practice is rooted in a neuroaffirmative approach, celebrating the diversity of neurodivergent identities. I provide assessment and therapeutic support for neurodiverse children, adults, and parents offering clear and affirming pathways for those seeking a diagnosis or embracing their neurodivergent identity.
“I am committed and passionate about providing a high-quality service.”
As a clinic, our commitment is to deliver high-quality, compassionate care that respects and uplifts each person’s lived experience. We are a team of highly skilled clinicians, all dedicated to a neuroaffirmative ethos. Through our collective expertise, we deliver comprehensive multidisciplinary assessments and interventions, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), ADHD coaching, Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).
Our collaborative approach ensures that every individual and family receives personalised, strengths-based support, empowering them to thrive authentically.
Qualifications and training
- Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (DClinPsy) – University of Hertfordshire
- MA Autism – Sheffield Hallam University
- BSc Psychology – University of Southampton
- ACT for Adult ADHD – Contextual Counselling
- ACT with young people on the autism spectrum – Contextual Counselling
- Autism Diagnostic Observational Schedule – ADOS-2: Hogrefe
- Administration and Coding for the Autism Diagnostic Interview – Revised (ADIR-r) – Hogrefe
- ADOS Reliability Training – Dr Marianna Murin – Hogrefe
- Compassion Focused Therapy – The Compassionate Mind Foundation
- Diagnosis and Assessment of Adults with ADHD – UKAAN
- Psychosocial Support and Skills Training for Adults with ADHD – UKAAN
- Pharmacological Treatment of Adults with ADHD – UKAAN
- Essential Supervision Skills (British Psychological Society Approved) – SDS Seminars LTD
- ADHD: Moving Beyond Medication – PESI UK
- Assessing for ADHD in children and young people – Dr J Steer
- CBT for ADHD – Young-Bramham Programme
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Pathological Demand Avoidance – The National Autistic Society
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Treatment of Neuro-Developmental Disorders (ASD and ADHD) through behavioural modification approach to CBT – The British Psychological Society
- Understanding and Managing Challenging Behaviour – The National Autistic Society
Simona Daugnoraite, Assistant Psychologist
Hello, I am Simona (BSc, MSc). Alongside this role, I work as an Assistant Psychologist in the NHS. My previous work experience includes working as an Assistant Psychologist within an adult Autism and ADHD clinic. I also have experience working with children with a diagnosis of Autism and ADHD in the supportive role of a teaching assistant.
I enjoy working with neurodiverse children and adults and helping them to live their lives to the fullest.
I am delighted to work with Maria and look forward to providing compassionate support.
Imogen Stringer, Occupational Therapist
I am a qualified Occupational Therapist, registered with the Health and Care Professions Council. I have over 10 years experience of working with children and young people.
I also have experience of working as an OT within Adult Mental Health services in the NHS. I am a member of the British Association of Occupational Therapists. I have worked with children and young people with a wide range of strengths and needs, including diagnoses of Autism and ADHD.
I have extensive experience of working with Education Health and Care Plans, supporting children in mainstream and special schools.
Dr Kelly Abraham-Smith, Clinical Psychologist (DclinPsych, Bsc Psychology)
I am an experienced HCPC-registered Clinical Psychologist. From my 15 years of experience working both privately and in a variety of NHS services with a wide range of clients, I have developed a passion for working clinically with individuals with neurodiversity. I also have experience of supporting individuals with neurodiversity in my personal life and have a good insight into the unique challenges they can face.
I understand that seeking psychological support can be a big step for many people and that is why I place emphasis on creating a compassionate, confidential and relaxed space in which I can support them to gain greater understanding of their challenges and to establish new ways of coping to move forward with their lives.
I take a person-centred approach, working flexibly and collaboratively with clients to fit the therapy to the client, not the client to the therapy. I work in an integrative way, meaning that I draw on a range of psychological models to guide my work, including cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), compassion-focused therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, mindfulness, narrative therapy, systemic / family therapy, amongst others.
Bethany Fuller, SLT BSc (Hons), Speech and Language Therapist
I am a qualified Speech and Language Therapist, registered with the Health and Care Professions Council and Royal College for Speech and Language Therapist.
Throughout my career of 15 years, I have worked with children, young people and adults across education settings (including specialist education), learning disability services and adult mental health services. I have experience of working both within the NHS and Education sectors.
I am passionate about working with and supporting the neurodivergent population across the life span and have developed my knowledge and understanding of Autism and ADHD over the years. I am trained and experienced in the administration of specialised Autism diagnostic tools including the ADOS-2. I believe in supporting individuals to understand their own strengths and needs and promote self-advocacy as well as day-to-day strategies to enhance quality of life.
Helen Rognaldsen, MBACP, ACC Integrative Counsellor and Coach (ICF accredited)
I’m a qualified integrative counsellor and coach with many years of personal and professional experience of neurodivergence. I work with parents and carers supporting a neurodivergent child or young person with mental health challenges, and with adults and young people navigating their own ADHD or autism — with or without a formal diagnosis.
Parenting a neurodivergent child who is struggling can be isolating and relentless. You’re fighting for support, trying to understand your child’s world, managing their distress, and somewhere along the way, losing sight of yourself. It’s exhausting in ways that are hard to explain to people who haven’t lived it.
I also understand how overwhelming and even hostile the world can feel when you don’t fit the neurotypical norm. Masking, or constantly feeling like you’re getting it wrong, takes a real toll.
Because I understand neurodivergence from the inside, I won’t make assumptions about what your experience should look like. Every person and every family is different.
Drawing on both counselling and coaching, we can explore what’s happening beneath the surface and develop practical strategies that make a real difference — for your child, and for you.
Steven Hempsall (BABCP, MSc, BSc Hons)
I am a CBT therapist with 25 years’ experience supporting neurodivergent individuals and their families in a range of therapeutic and educational settings (NAS, NHS, Community).
I have worked in a variety of roles supporting young people and adults to manage and improve their mental health delivering trauma informed individual and group psychotherapy sessions utilising CBT, ACT and CFT for a range of common mental health difficulties including Depression, Anxiety, Phobia, OCD, PTSD, Illness, Social and Health anxiety. I am trained and experienced in the administration of specialised Autism diagnostic tools including the ADOS-2.
I recognise the difficulties neurodivergent people face when their needs are not recognised, understood, or accepted and the added burden this can have for people’s mental wellbeing. I ensure I adjust my practice to accommodate people who are later diagnosed or high masking and recognise and accommodate people’s individual sensory differences.
I have advocated for more neuroaffirmative practices and policies throughout my career including transforming approaches to behaviour that can challenge whilst working with the National Autistic Society, delivering autism awareness sessions to staff teams across a range of services and more recently helping neurodivergent voices be heard through embedding coproduction from service users and offering neurodiversity informed supervision and training for staff in NHS mental health services.
Alex MacNaughton, Administrator
I am an experienced administrative assistant offering support with the key administrative operations at Illuminate.
My role includes coordinating all the information we collate in an assessment and supporting with queries. I aim to be warm and approachable and am keen for the process to be as seamless as possible for clients.