Yanina Upton

Our first sessions are mostly about understanding what's going on: what's weighing on you, what keeps repeating, and what you'd like to be different. You don't need to arrive with the right words or a clear problem.

A lot of the work is learning to notice your thoughts and feelings without being run by them, getting clear on what matters to you, and taking steps in that direction even when it's uncomfortable. It's less about getting rid of anxiety or self-doubt, and more about loosening the hold they have on your decisions. We try things between sessions and look at how they went, so the work keeps moving.

My background is in sport and exercise psychology, and I draw on it regularly, not just with athletes. It gives me practical ways to work with focus, pressure and motivation, and to build routines that hold up on the days you don't feel like it. We'll also look at sleep, movement and daily structure, since they affect how you feel more than people expect.

There's no fixed script. I bring my training and experience, and we shape the work around you and what you want to change.

My clinical training took place at a multidisciplinary mental health practice where I worked directly with clients experiencing stress, anxiety and adjustment difficulties. This included intake assessments, clinical interviews and short-term support, under weekly supervision from senior clinicians.

I also have a background in neuropsychological research, at the Boundaries of the Brain Lab (University of Malta) and the Department of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology at Maastricht University. There, I contributed to a published study on how attention, memory and learning work. It gave me a real appreciation for how the brain shapes the way we think, feel and cope, and I bring that understanding into sessions, helping you make sense of what’s happening for you, not just what to do about it.

What has stayed with me across both is how differently people respond to adversity and change. Working with clients from varied backgrounds, and moving between countries myself, has strengthened my belief that distress is usually an understandable response to difficult circumstances, not a sign that something is wrong with you. That shapes how I work: meeting each person with compassion, curiosity and respect.

MSc Sport and Exercise Psychology (BPS-accredited)
Staffordshire University, United Kingdom
Focused on motivation, performance under pressure, and the psychological factors that support consistency and wellbeing, in sport and beyond.

MSc Neuropsychology (WO)
Maastricht University, Netherlands
Focused on the relationship between the brain and behaviour, including how attention, memory and emotion regulation shape the way we think and act.

BSc (Hons) Psychology
University of Malta