About Me

Hi, I’m Dr Grace Lee-Brindle. Having worked in perinatal mental health, alongside child and family mental health, as a clinical psychologist for several years, I was still not immune to the challenges that can present themselves on the journey to parenthood. I have struggled for many years in my fertility journey, experiencing loss along the way. I experienced a traumatic birth which led things to feel difficult at the start of my parenting journey. I also know first-hand how hard it can be when you feel overwhelmed, and as though you are failing as a parent. And this is why I created Hope in Mind Psychology.

Too often people suffer alone, at a time in their lives when they need support the most. They may feel unable to discuss the challenges they face with others, due to a fear of not being understood or of being judged. I wanted to use my lived experience, and expertise in the field of fertility and parental mental health, to provide a space where people are treated with compassion, where they feel heard and understood, no matter what part of their fertility and parenting journey they are in.

Struggling with fertility and parenthood does not make you a bad person. You may fear that your infertility or the loss of a baby is a sign you should not have a child. It is not. Or that your anxiety, depression, difficult birth, bonding or parenting difficulties are your fault. They are not. It is understandable to have these thoughts and feelings, and many more. They are a response to difficult life experiences, and the challenges that the fertility and parenting journey brings. You did not choose them or make them happen. Becoming and being a parent is hard. I am dedicated to helping you make sense of your experiences in a nurturing therapeutic environment, and to supporting you to work towards your future goals and improved well-being. 

I have experience of working with depression, anxiety, trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder, fertility difficulties, grief (including fertility grief, miscarriage and the loss of a baby), relationship, attachment and parenting difficulties, OCD, phobias, and parenting dilemmas. 

As a result of my lived experience of fertility difficulties, alongside my clinical experience,  supporting people on their struggles to becoming a parent is a passion of mine. 

I also have extensive experience of working with parents who have experienced trauma and grief during their fertility and parenting journey, including birth trauma and traumatic grief.

I have a special interest in parent infant relationships and bonding, and recognise the importance of helping clients reflect on their past experience of being parented, and their journey to becoming parents, to help understand difficulties in this area. 

I am now based in Chichester, serving the West Sussex area and beyond.

• PsychD Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (University of Surrey, 2018)
• Psychology BSc with professional placement (Cardiff University, 2013) – First Class
• Externship in Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT), (International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy, 2024)
• Advanced Parent Infant Practitioner Training (APIP), (OXPIP, in progress)
• Watch, Wait and Wonder (OXPIP, 2024)
• Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR), (EMDR Europe Accredited Training, 2023)
• The Compassion Focussed Therapy (CFT) Approach for Perinatal Distress (2022)
• Perinatal Clinical Psychology Training Programme (University of Exeter and University of Liverpool in conjunction with the BPS, 2020)
• Circle of Security Parenting (COSP), (2020)
• Video Interaction Guidance (VIG), (2020) – Accredited Practitioner
• Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT), (2020) – level 2
• Parent-Infant ITSIEY training (International Training School for Infancy and Early Years, The Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families, 2019)
• Perinatal Clinical Psychology Workforce Training (BPS Faculty for Perinatal
• Psychology, 2018)
• Perinatal Annual Conference: Working with Complex Trauma (BPS Faculty for Perinatal Psychology, 2018)
• Personality Disorder and Parenting (The Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families, 2018)
• Dealing with complexity & risk in the effective delivery of perinatal psychology (BPS Faculty for Perinatal Psychology, 2017) 
• Systemic Training Foundation Level (University of Surrey, 2017)
• Trainings in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Dr. Grace Lee-Brindle is registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). Reg number: PYL36174