M Downs and Associates

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M Downs and Associates

High quality specialist psychological services including therapy, training, supervision and medico-legal reports.

Providers of medico legal reports and psychological services.

08/06/2026

Rebecca explains why using trauma in its simplest and most literal sense can help us to demystify it.

03/06/2026

“Comparison with others and an intense negative critical perception of one’s own body is for too many people sadly a yearlong reality; summer can pose extra challenges and take the negative volume up even higher. This doesn’t have to be a never-ending story”

Clinical Psychologist at M Downs & Associates, Dr Renate Pantke specialises in working therapeutically with those with eating problems and diagnosed eating disorders.

Summer can be a trigger for negative feelings about our own bodies, but it doesn’t have to be this way….
If your relationship with your body, eating or exercise is impacting your day to day life, there is help available.

Call us or email us to book your initial consultation; it’s free and can be done over the phone, and our team will talk you through the options availability to find the right person and therapy to make a lasting difference.

28/05/2026

Remember there are billion pound industries trying to make you unhappy with your body this summer - Don’t let them take away your joy.

You are already ’summer ready’.

Every body is a ‘summer body’.

Let’s show some appreciation for our amazing bodies and all that they do for us: but recognise and validate that those doubts and insecurities are totally understandable, by taking a look at some of the things that might be happening right now…. ➡️ Swipe to see.

05/05/2026

Our latest email update for lawyers and local authorities is out now! 📧

We’re rounding up everything that happened in April…..

Talking attachment in the workplace, sharing our latest team news, meeting expert Dr Charlotte Merriman, finding out where Lara has been and more….

If you’d like to join our mailing list; send us a DM.

28/04/2026

Attachment Styles Vs Attachment Disorders
What are the differences and why does it matter?

There are four attachment styles. These are how you learned to attach to early care givers and they are malleable, and not fixed. They are not right or wrong, nor good or bad.

Attachment styles are malleable. You’re not stuck with the one you learned first.

Attachment disorders require a professional assessment.
They are not the same, and disorders cannot be self-diagnosed.

24/04/2026

We’re coming to the end of Stress Awareness Month and in today’s blog post we’re discussing the importance of personal agency in handling stress and why this years theme is

LinkedIn in bio ⬆️

30/03/2026

Today is World Bipolar Day, marked every year on 30th March, the birthday of Vincent Van Gogh, who was posthumously believed to have lived with the condition.
Bipolar disorder is one of the most misunderstood conditions in mental health. It is often sensationalised in the media and poorly understood in professional and legal contexts, yet it affects an estimated 1 in 50 people in the UK.
What is it?
Mind Mental Health charity describes it as ‘a mental health problem that mainly affects your mood. If you have bipolar disorder, you’re likely to have times where you experience:
Manic or hypomanic episodes, which means feeling high Depressive episodes, which means feeling low Potentially some psychotic symptoms during manic or depressive episodes’
If you suspect you, or someone you care about, is living with this condition and would benefit from a diagnosis, you can reach out to your GP for support. Further information is available on the Mind website below;
Mind
https://Inkd.in/dpxWWkw
Any diagnosis, does not define a person’s ability to parent, work, or live well; context, support, and stability matter enormously.

27/03/2026

Children, Social Media and Mental Health: the latest insights 💡

A new study from Imperial College London found that children aged 11–12 who spent more than 3 hours a day on social media were more likely to show symptoms of depression and anxiety by ages 13–15.

The association was especially strong for girls.

Interestingly, while much of the discussion and debate around social media use often centres around themes like bullying, harassment, unrealistic lifestyles, inappropriate adult content and body image….. the key factor identified by these researchers was the impact that screen use has on sleep.

The study suggests that later bedtimes and too little sleep help explain why higher use (compared to less than 30 minutes a day) is associated with poorer mental health outcomes over time.

That matters because it shifts the conversation from simple blame to something more useful:
how do we help children build healthier digital habits without oversimplifying a complex issue?

“The relationship we see is complex…but we see that children who use social media above a certain level when they are in Year 7 are more likely to develop mental health problems when they reach Years 9 and 10, and we believe this is largely due to sustained disruptions to sleep,” added Dr Chen Shen, School of Public Health at Imperial College London.

The challenge is not just reducing screen time, and managing what content children are being exposed to, but it also requires protecting the routines and behaviours that support children’s wellbeing in the first place.

Source; Open Access Government

Education Parenting

25/03/2026

Clinical psychologists assist the courts by providing expert, objective evidence on mental health, capacity, and psychological risk to aid legal decision-making.

They conduct comprehensive assessments, usually involving interviews, testing, and reviewing documents such as medical records to provide comprehensive reports, and testify in criminal, family, immigration and civil cases regarding competency, trauma, risk and more.

They are independent witnesses and use their expertise to provide insights and recommendations, that assist judges and juries in their legal decision making.

expertwitnesspsychologists

23/03/2026

Our team member Dr Sarah Harper shares her recommended books on attachment and relationships and how they influence a child’s development - Perfect for parents, carers or professionals looking to deepen their knowledge and understanding.

Address

M Downs And Associates Ltd, Barracks House, Hillsborough Barracks, Langsett Road
Sheffield
S62LR

Telephone

+441143035053

Website

http://www.mdownsandassociates.co.uk/

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