Miss Avril McAlees

Profile

Miss Avril McAlees is a Principal Forensic Psychologist with over twenty years’ experience of conducting assessments and delivering therapeutic interventions to both individuals and groups. She has worked across the age range, and with both males and females, and in a wide variety of settings, including both low and medium secure units, secure adolescent units, secure training centres, prisons, community-based settings including CAMHS and the National Probation Service, and acute admission wards. She has worked in specialist (ASD) autism spectrum disorder and learning disability (LD) services, and has worked collaboratively with the Fire and Rescue Service and the NSPCC, acting as a consultant to them, in relation to fire setting behaviours in children, child protection issues, supporting non-abusive parents, and running treatment groups.

Miss McAlees has extensive experience of delivering reflective practice, and of delivering training to staff groups.  In her role as a principal, she has been responsible for the direct supervision of junior staff and has played an important role in the local review of therapeutic interventions including the sex offender treatment group and in implementing new treatment groups such as a DBT-informed coping skills group.  She is a committed and able practitioner who is conscientious, well-considered and thorough in her practice.

Experience of giving evidence

Miss McAlees has vast experience of giving oral evidence.  She has appeared many times in the family courts and in the youth court.  She has given evidence at oral hearings of the Parole Board.  Although less frequently, she has direct experience of giving evidence in the criminal courts.  In her hospital career, Miss McAlees is familiar with giving evidence before the Health, Education and Social Care Chamber of the First-tier tribunal for mental health.  She is comfortable in her ability to speak in public.  She speaks persuasively and confidently and is measured in her delivery.