Lavinia Dowling is founder and Psychiatric Nurse Consultant at The M Word. She has practised as a licensed mental health clinician for 25 years in hospitals (General and Psychiatric), nursing homes for those with Dementia and learning/physical disabilities, Huntington’s Chorea (inpatient and community), drug and alcohol rehab, forensics, community teams (CAMHS, Adult and Older Adult), Mother and Baby units, CAMHS (Community, Autism screening and assessment, and A&E), and the military (MoD and the NHS). She works with children, adolescents, young adults, and older adults with a broad range of mental health issues, and has a wealth of experience helping clients who have Autism and military trauma.
Lavinia’s approach starts with risk assessing her clients’ needs with regard to their mental health and wellbeing, and then actively promoting a natural way of repairing self-esteem and confidence to build up resilience. Instead of prescribing medication, Lavinia believes in empowering her clients to move forward in a healthy way by understanding and listening to themselves, identifying negative coping mechanisms, and discovering the positive coping mechanisms that can enhance their wellbeing.
Lavinia graduated from the University of Plymouth as a Registered Mental Health Nurse (1996) and Counsellor (1998). She gained a Masters in Professional Practice (Emotional Problem Solving) in 2012 from the University of Surrey, and is currently studying a Doctorate in Mental Health at Bangor University. In 2006, Lavinia designed a model of care called “Emotional Problem Solving” designed to reduce negative mental health symptoms, boost self-esteem, and build resilience.
Outside of work, Lavinia likes being at home with her family and pets, walking along the beaches of the Isle of Anglesey, writing, listening to music, and has a growing fondness for gardening.