Dr Elif Gökçen (DClinPsy, PhD, MSc, BSc)
Clinical Psychologist
Adult and Child Mental Health, Anxiety Disorders and OCD

Hello, my name is Elif and I am a Clinical Psychologist with over four years’ experience of working therapeutically within the NHS. I am passionate about and driven by delivering person-centred care in a compassionate and accessible way. Over the course of my clinical training and in my roles post-qualification, I have worked in a range of mental health settings, such as adult metal health, community and specialist child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), acute medical settings, and post-acute neurorehabilitation services.
I am particularly interested in anxiety disorders and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). I have primarily worked from a cognitive-behavioural framework and have strong experience in delivering evidence-based CBT interventions for a range conditions (i.e., social anxiety disorder, health anxiety, generalised anxiety disorder etc.), with extensive training in CBT for OCD. My therapeutic work has also involved using models such as motivational interviewing as well as drawing upon a range of integrative models that incorporate principals from third wave approaches, such as acceptance and commitment therapy and compassion focused therapy. I have experience in teaching on Doctoral Clinical Psychology and CYP IAPT courses as well as training NHS professionals in identifying and working with mental health difficulties. I am also fluent in Turkish.
Prior to my clinical training at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, I completed an undergraduate degree in Psychology at Goldsmiths University, followed by an MSc in Research Methods in Psychology and a PhD in social and neurocognitive functioning in individuals with and without autism at University College London. I currently work in a National and Specialist service at the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust where I provide specialist assessment and evidence-based treatment to young people and their families across the UK.
In addition to my clinical role, I am also a trustee for Autism Forward which is a charity supporting funding for specialist employment mentoring for individuals with autism. This is an area I have worked in for several years with the aim of raising awareness of and support for neurodiversity in the workplace.
I am fully registered with the Health Care Professional Council as a Registered Clinical Psychologist: PYL37901.
I offer remote therapy online only.
Research
I have a particular interest in autism research in clinical and subclinical groups and have approximately 10 years of research experience in this area. I have a strong interest in making ongoing contributions to this field by developing and delivering effective psychological interventions for individuals with autism spectrum conditions as well as carrying projects aimed at improving outcomes for young people and their families accessing mental health services more generally.
Select publications
Gökçen, E., Frederickson, N., & Petrides, K. V. (2016). Theory of mind and executive control deficits in typically developing adults and adolescents with high levels of autism traits. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 46, 2072-2087.
Gökçen, E., Petrides, K. V., Hudry, K., Frederickson, N., & Smillie, L. D. (2014). Sub-threshold autism traits: the role of trait emotional intelligence and cognitive flexibility. British journal of psychology, 105(, 187–199.
Smillie, L. D., & Gökçen, E. (2010). Caffeine enhances working memory for extraverts. Biological Psychology, 85, 496–498.
I am particularly interested in anxiety disorders and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). I have primarily worked from a cognitive-behavioural framework and have strong experience in delivering evidence-based CBT interventions for a range conditions (i.e., social anxiety disorder, health anxiety, generalised anxiety disorder etc.), with extensive training in CBT for OCD. My therapeutic work has also involved using models such as motivational interviewing as well as drawing upon a range of integrative models that incorporate principals from third wave approaches, such as acceptance and commitment therapy and compassion focused therapy. I have experience in teaching on Doctoral Clinical Psychology and CYP IAPT courses as well as training NHS professionals in identifying and working with mental health difficulties. I am also fluent in Turkish.
Prior to my clinical training at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, I completed an undergraduate degree in Psychology at Goldsmiths University, followed by an MSc in Research Methods in Psychology and a PhD in social and neurocognitive functioning in individuals with and without autism at University College London. I currently work in a National and Specialist service at the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust where I provide specialist assessment and evidence-based treatment to young people and their families across the UK.
In addition to my clinical role, I am also a trustee for Autism Forward which is a charity supporting funding for specialist employment mentoring for individuals with autism. This is an area I have worked in for several years with the aim of raising awareness of and support for neurodiversity in the workplace.
I am fully registered with the Health Care Professional Council as a Registered Clinical Psychologist: PYL37901.
I offer remote therapy online only.
Research
I have a particular interest in autism research in clinical and subclinical groups and have approximately 10 years of research experience in this area. I have a strong interest in making ongoing contributions to this field by developing and delivering effective psychological interventions for individuals with autism spectrum conditions as well as carrying projects aimed at improving outcomes for young people and their families accessing mental health services more generally.
Select publications
Gökçen, E., Frederickson, N., & Petrides, K. V. (2016). Theory of mind and executive control deficits in typically developing adults and adolescents with high levels of autism traits. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 46, 2072-2087.
Gökçen, E., Petrides, K. V., Hudry, K., Frederickson, N., & Smillie, L. D. (2014). Sub-threshold autism traits: the role of trait emotional intelligence and cognitive flexibility. British journal of psychology, 105(, 187–199.
Smillie, L. D., & Gökçen, E. (2010). Caffeine enhances working memory for extraverts. Biological Psychology, 85, 496–498.