Dr Lesley French

Dr French has taught across the Workforce programmes and has jointly led the Leadership Programme for eight years.

Dr French is currently leading on a feasibility study for remote working in schools – a national delivery of intervention and support for children and young people presenting with mild to moderate difficulties. This forms part of the Anna Freud Centre’s response to the pandemic and is also scoping out national reach expanding the provision of psychological interventions for young people using new ways of working.   

Dr French is a consultant clinical psychologist and was Clinical Director and Head of Psychological Therapies for Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust prior to joining the Anna Freud Centre. She trained at UCL and KCL and spent many years leading out-patient forensic provision for under 21s in south-east London. Dr French lead on one of the pilot sites for the national CYP IAPT initiative in the first wave of implementation. Dr French worked in the NHS for 30 years, beginning her career working with HIV + young people and their families before moving in to specialist children’s provision. 

Dr French has co-authored several publications on young people presenting to forensic services over her clinical career.  She has co-authored a chapter on Supervision Implementation in the new children and young people’s workforce due for publication this year.