Across 21 years of clinical practice, I have had the privilege of supporting adults and teenagers in both community, inpatient and secure settings on their journey to psychological well-being and recovery. Between 2005 and 2023 I practiced in NHS Lanarkshire, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and latterly NHS Tayside. Since 2023 I have been working exclusively in private practice. I have worked with individuals in relation to a range of needs including chronic low mood and suicidality, anxiety and emotion dysregulation, interpersonal and attachment difficulties, self harm, addictions, obsessions and compulsions and complex trauma. Working together with individuals to develop a shared understanding of these experiences guides which blend of evidence based psychological interventions and therapeutic approaches will be most beneficial. These may include Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Schema Therapy, Mindfulness approaches, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT). Specialism in neurodivergency has enabled me to develop significant experience and skill in adapting these therapies to ensure neuroaffirmative therapeutic experiences for all neurotypes. Through this an individual can make sense of their core psychological needs and develop adaptive ways to meet them. In many cases my role has been to support the systems around the individual to create a neuroaffirmative and person-centred environment in which they can recover and thrive.
From 2013 to 2022, I was the Principal Clinical Psychologist for NHS Tayside’s specialist adult autism team. Within this role I led on the delivery of specialist Autism diagnostic and psychological needs assessments. These assessments were used to plan post diagnostic interventions and supports, but also often informed wider processes such as legal proceedings, local authority assessments of support need or parenting capacity, and reasonable adjustments in educational and occupational settings. A key aspect of my role was the provision of expert consultation to other services and agencies. I was also directly involved in the provision of consultation to te Scottish Government (Scottish Strategy for Autism Review 2013/2014) and in the development of the NHS Education for Scotland training framework for Autism (2014). During my time in the NHS Forensic Mental Health and specialist autism services, I was regularly involved in providing case consultation to Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) and criminal justice services in relation to neurodivergent offenders. Between 2019 and 2020 I worked as a neurodivergency expert witness for Carter Brown legal services.
Since 2022 I have been working exclusively in private practice with The Edinburgh Practice undertaking Autism diagnostic assessments, Autism and ADHD post diagnostic support interventions and neuroaffirmative psychological therapy for teenagers and adults with a range of neurotypes. In addition to providing adapted evidence based interventions for a range of co-occurring mental health conditions, I have provided specialist neurodivergency support in relation to executive functioning issues, arousal and emotion regulation, Autistic identity and masking, relationships and intimacy issues, adjusting to late diagnosis, interpersonal and systems trauma, neurodivergency burnout prevention and recovery.
Core passions in my therapeutic work are working with neurodivergent adults who have experienced trauma. This work requires the creation of an optimal neuroaffirming therapeutic environment for that individual, with particular consideration of the transactional relationship between trauma and neurodiversity across an individual’s lifetime. I am also passionate about working with adults following late diagnosis. Many of these individuals may have had a complex and sometimes traumatising pathway through services. Working therapeutically to process and re-narrate these life experiences whilst validating their needs and promoting adaptive ways of having these needs met can support the development of a more secure and coherent sense of self. It is my strong belief that an Autism diagnostic assessment in itself can in itself be a therapeutic and healing process, and seek to provide that experience in the work I do.
Dr Amy Kilbane
Qualifications and further training-
M.A (Soc Sci) Psychology (First Class Honours) University of Glasgow 2004
Doctorate of Clinical Psychology - University of Glasgow 2008
Accreditation in use of Diagnostic Interview for Social Communication Disorders (DISCO) - Lorna Wing Centre 2009
HCR-20 Violence Risk Assessment - 2008 (NHS Scotland Forensic Mental Health Directorate)
RSVP-20v1 Sexual Violence Risk Assessment - 2008 (NHS Scotland Forensic Mental Health Directorate)
Psychopathy Checklist Revised (PCL-R) - 2008 (NHS Scotland Forensic Mental Health Directorate)
International Personality Disorder Examination (IPDE) - 2009 (NHS Scotland Forensic Mental Health Directorate)
Autism Clinical Interview for Adults (ACIA) - 2025 Newcastle University
