Sharon Frazer

I am a Clinical Teaching Fellow / Clinical Tutor, currently employed at 0.5WTE on the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (DClinPsy) programme at QUB. I worked in the NHS as a clinical psychologist, and later, as a specialist clinical psychologist, from 2015 until joining the DClinPsy programme part-time in September 2023. I also currently work part-time as a clinical psychologist in private practice.

Qualifications / Background

I completed my undergraduate honours degree at Queen’s University, Belfast, before spending time travelling, living, and working abroad. Upon my return to Northern Ireland, I took up post as an assistant psychologist in Intellectual Disability (ID) services. During my time working as an assistant psychologist, I completed a postgraduate diploma in Applied Psychology (Clinical Specialism) at QUB. I returned to QUB in 2012 to embark on my clinical psychology doctoral training and graduated in 2015. From 2015 until 2023, I held various positions in ID and paediatric psychology in Belfast, South Eastern and Northern Health and Social Care Trusts and I maintain an interest and passion for both clinical areas.

Clinical and Research Interests

I am interested in working therapeutically with children and young people who have physical health conditions, as well as with both children and adults who have been diagnosed with an ID. I am particularly interested in psychological adjustment, the experiences of parents and of parenting children with physical health / ID diagnoses, the impact of medical trauma on children and their families, and in the experience of trauma in an ID population. I work integratively, with Systemic therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) informing my clinical work.

My DClinPsy thesis explored the lived experience of adolescents who use methotrexate to manage symptoms of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis. I am currently acting as second supervisor for two DClinPsy trainee research project exploring i) restrictive practices in an adult intellectual disability population, and ii) exploring service user experiences of a forensic intellectual disability service.

My experience predominantly involves teaching on the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology within QUB, with some ad hoc input into undergraduate and post-graduate programmes within the School of Psychology at QUB.  I currently teach on the following modules within my areas of interest (personal and professional development, intellectual disability and paediatric psychology): 

QUB: PSY9053- Clinical Psychology 1

QUB: PSY9054- Clinical Psychology 2

QUB: PSY9055- Clinical Psychology 3