Frankie Zimmerman

Frankie is interested in working with families where there is adult mental illness and of using systemic ideas to both assess and work therapeutically with a wide range of clinical presentations.

She is also developing a systemic consultation service for clinicians within GOSH where they can present their cases and consider their dilemmas using a systemic perspective.

BSc. Nursing Studies, SRN, RMN, MSc Systemic Psychotherapy

Having obtained her SRN, Frankie initially worked as a staff nurse in general medicine at St. George’s Hospital. She then completed her RMN at Guy’s hospital after which she staffed on an acute admissions ward at St. James Hospital, Leeds. She then worked at the Marlborough Family Service (MFS), CNWL Health Care Trust, London in the Day Unit providing an intense opportunity for many families to work together to bring about changes to their parenting given concern and risk identified by Social Care. During this time she obtained her Diploma in Family Therapy.

Frankie took a year sabbatical and travelled the world presenting the work of the MFS and on return completed a MSc in Systemic/Family Therapy Training at the Tavistock Clinic, in conjunction with Birkbeck College, University of London, 1995. She has since worked in the field of both adult and child and adolescent mental health services as a Family Therapist.

Frankie is interested in the impact of gender on the experience of caring and being cared for. She is also interested in using a multi-family model for working with children living with adults/parents/carers with a diagnosis of mental illness. She has run a group for adoptive parents, utilising a therapeutic multi-family model incorporating psycho-education and evaluating the impact on parental attitudes towards their adopted child.

Ms. Frankie Zimmerman can be contacted through the hospital switchboard 0207 405 9200, Ext 5577 (secretary).

Departmental reception is 0207 829 8679.