Email: heather.rawle@gstt.nhs.uk
Tel: 02071882718
Dr Heather Rawle is a Consultant Clinical and Health Psychologist at Guys and St Thomas’ Hospital Foundation NHS Trust (GSTT). Heather has worked in the GSTT Haematology Health Psychology Service since 2002 and has led the service since 2016 when Dr Nicky Thomas (Consultant Health Psychologist) retired. Nicky set up the service in 1997 and at that time she was the first psychologist to work specifically with people with sickle cell disorders in the UK. Nicky continues to offer support to the Haematology Health Psychology Service in a voluntary capacity and also in her capacity as Head of GSTT Psychology.
An important aspect of the GSTT Haematology Health Psychology Service is supporting patients with sickle cell disorders and their families, and also the staff who work with them. The psychology team are an integrated part of the multidisciplinary team which helps all health care professionals to embrace a holistic approach to patient care. Alongside the other psychologists in the service, Heather provides psychological support using a range of psychological approaches such as cognitive behavioural therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, solution-focussed therapy, and motivational interviewing. Heather is also responsible for the neuropsychological aspects of the service which supports patients who are concerned about their memory and other aspects of cognitive functioning. She supervises and manages the Haematology Health Psychology team, teaches on Doctorate Clinical Psychology and MSc Health Psychology courses, contributes to teaching on psychological aspects of health care for health care professionals, contributes to multidisciplinary research, and supervises psychology trainees. She is on the Peer Review Haemoglobin Disorders Steering Group, chairs the British Psychological Society Special Interest Group in Haemoglobinopathies, and is a member of the Haematology Institute Red Cell Working Group. She is co-lead psychologist for South Thames Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Network and for NHS London Haemoglobinopathies meetings.
Heather obtained her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the University of Southampton, her Masters in Health Psychology from the University of Surrey, and her Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Clinical Neuropsychology from Institute of Psychiatry/King’s College London.
Specialist and Research Interests
Psychological and neuropsychological aspects of haematological disorders
Download a list of Dr Heather Rawle’s publications