ABOUT UNLOCK YOURSELF

We are passionate about providing you with the tools to unlock yourself

Unlock Yourself is led by Dr Alastair Pipkin, who is a clinical psychologist, accredited cognitive behavioural therapist and gender specialist. We are a psychology service who provide psychological assessments, therapy, assessment for autism and ADHD, group therapy, well-being courses and workshops, training and e-learning packages.

Dr Alastair Pipkin qualified from the University of Oxford with a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology. He has worked in a range of settings, including adult and child mental health services in the community and hospital settings, and in a gender service supporting the trans community. He setup and led a psychology service in an acute inpatient hospital for adults, which involved managing and supervising a team across two hospital sites. He has also worked in academia, providing teaching and training for trainee therapists, and has setup and led a training course with the NHS to train front-line mental health practitioners. He is an active researcher and published author, with 14 academic articles published to date (see below).

He is passionate about providing high quality teaching, training and supervision, and delivering high quality psychological therapy to help people move forwards. He has particular interests in men's mental health and working with LGBTQ+ people.

Mental health services are over-stretched, under-resourced and limited in the extent to which they can provide effective therapy. Our guiding ethos is to provide you or your company with the tools to unlock yourself - to unlock greater knowledge, self-awareness and skills to address psychological problems. We have experience in providing therapy for a wide range of issues including low mood, anxiety, low self-esteem, perfectionism, self-criticism and many more; and of adapting therapy to meet different needs and experiences, such as therapy for men, LGBTQ+ people and neurodivergent people. We provide individual and group cognitive behavioural therapy and compassion-focused therapy, drawing on other evidence-based approaches as needed, and provide science-based teaching and training, including live, bespoke training and e-learning courses.

Certifications

Registered Clinical Psychologist with the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC).
Fully accredited Cognitive Behavioural Therapist with the British Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP)
Associated Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA)

Qualifications

Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the University of Oxford
Regular continuing professional development in line with professional regulation (additional training in autism and ADHD diagnosis; compassionate leadership; CBT, working with attachment needs)

our publications

Dr Alastair Pipkin has led and collaborated on research with the Universities of Oxford, Leicester and Northampton. He has led clinical research in a range of NHS services and attracted grant funding for a range of community research projects. He provides research supervision for doctoral students.
Full papers can be found at https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Alastair-Pipkin

Pipkin, A. & Rodriguez, L. (2024). Opportunities and challenges facing LGBTQ+ people in employment in rural England post-pandemic: A thematic analysis. Qualitative Research Journal. https://doi.org/10.1108/qrj-12-2023-0195

Kau, F., Lusher, J. & Pipkin, A. (2024). Meaning making in the aftermath of trauma: A narrative review. World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 21(1), 1202-1208. http://dx.doi.org/10.30574/wjarr.2024.21.1.0114

Pipkin, A. & Clarke, C. (2023). You can’t be too many things: the experiences of gender-affirming care for trans people of color – a thematic analysis. International Journal of Transgender Health (Early View). https://doi.org/10.1080/26895269.2023.2295380

Davies, M. & Pipkin, A. (2023). The acceptability and feasibility of a cognitive behavioural therapy managing emotions group on a male psychiatric intensive care unit: a mixed methods evaluation. Journal of Psychiatric Intensive Care (Early View). https://doi.org/10.20299/jpi.2023.008

Pipkin, A., Ward, L., Cotton, S., & Shearn, C. (2023). The experience of navigating sexuality for transgender and gender non-conforming people: A meta-ethnographic review. International Journal of Transgender Health. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/26895269.2023.2260795

Sessions, L., Pipkin, A., Smith, A., & Shearn, C. (2023). Compassion and Gender Diversity: Evaluation of an Online Compassion-Focused Therapy Group in a Gender Service. Psychology & Sexuality, online. https://doi.org/10.1080/19419899.2023.2181097

Pipkin, A., Smith, A., & Shearn, C. (2022). Transition Needs Compassion: a Thematic Analysis of an Online Compassion-Focused Therapy Group in a Gender Service. Mindfulness, 13(6), 1510–1520. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-022-01893-9

Patel, M. & Pipkin, A. (2022). Self-love is to break boundaries: A thematic analysis of the experience of self-love in Johannesburg. European Journal of Applied Positive Psychology. https://www.nationalwellbeingservice.org/volumes/volume-6-2022/volume-6-article-10/

Pipkin, A. (2021). The Psychological Needs of Non-Binary People. Clinical Psychology Forum, 339.

Pipkin, A., Armitage, S., Knight, M. & Hogg, L. (2021). “A Blank Canvas of Me”: An Interpretive Phenomenological Study of Client Self-Disclosure in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Psychosis. Psychosis 13(3), 242-252. https://doi.org/10.1080/17522439.2021.1881597

Pipkin, A., Hogg, L. & Armitage, S. (2021). “Someone on my Level”: A Meta-ethnographic Review of Therapeutic Relationships in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Psychosis. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy 28(5), 1297-1313. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.2578

Pipkin, A. (2020). The Evidence Base for Rural Early Intervention in Psychosis Services: A Critical Review. Early Intervention in Psychiatry 15(4), 762-774. https://doi.org/10.1111/eip.13019

Pipkin, A. (2019). Men’s Recovery Action Service: A New NHS Men’s Group. Workshop presented at the Male Psychology Conference 2019 on 21/06/2019.

Kinsella, A. & Pipkin, A. (2018). "Men's Action Recovery Service: A Pilot Recovery Group for Men." Poster presented at the Male Psychology Conference 2018 on 23/06/18.

Evans, S., Bailey, A. & Pipkin, A. (2017). "Evaluating the impact of Parenting Interventions on contributing factors to child behavioural problems, including Parental Mental Health." Presented at the BPS DCP Faculty of CYPF Annual Conference 2017 on 26/09/17.

Pender, F. & Pipkin, A. (2015). A Peer Education Project in Local Schools. Workshop presented at the Division of Clinical Psychology Faculty of Children and Young People and Families Conference in 2015.