Maladaptive Daydreaming Support

About me

I am Dr. Wanda Fischera, and I offer tailored psychological therapy by ensuring a safe, holistic, and compassionate environment for individuals. With clinical training in therapies like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Emotion-Focused Therapy, Dyadic Developmental Therapy and Systemic Family Therapy, I offer a flexible, evidence-based approach tailored to individual goals. I also use principles of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Dialectic Behavioural Therapy in my work.

Working with several approaches in mind helps me to create a therapeutic environment and plan for you that will be truly holistic. I will meet you where you are at, considering your context (relationships, background, culture), and we can collaboratively work to find the best approach for you. I am a firm believer that you are an expert in your own difficulties and experiences, and I will support you along the way with making adjustments to your needs, values and goals. 

I offer both short-term and long-term individual therapy, and I am in the process of rolling out several group programs that allow you to join a small community of people with similar difficulties. 

I am active in clinical research by supervising Clinical Psychology Doctorate thesis projects on maladaptive daydreaming. When you work with me, you work with someone who is actively consulting the latest research developments and contributing to the evidence-base to improve support for you and the many others like you.

I am also a volunteer collaborating with the International Society for Maladaptive Daydreaming to provide accessible resources on maladaptive daydreaming, specifically on topics such as navigating relationships, shame, and co-morbid difficulties.

I provide free mentoring to aspiring Clinical Psychologists from minoritised backgrounds to build their experience in the NHS, give career advice, and support them through the application and interview processes to provide a more equitable access in the profession. I do this via The Psychology Platform (@thepsychologyplatform on Instagram).

I am in the process of rolling out a free peer support group for people with maladaptive daydreaming. Get in touch if you are interested!

Educational Background

• First-Class Honours in Psychology (University of Strathclyde). Research on body image and the impact of social media and self-compassion.

• Master's in Health Psychology (University of St Andrews)

  Nominated for the UK Health Psychology Masters Research Prize for my study on improving students' eating behaviour through belonging and social identity.

  This Master's equipes me to work with health conditions via a bio-psycho-social approach, addressing both physical and mental health needs. I received specialist education on health conditions such as cancer, chronic pain, weight management, stress-related acute conditions and I can support individuals to successfully change health behaviours.

• Clinical Psychology Doctorate (DClinPsy) (Canterbury Christ Church University)

  My doctorate research focused on maladaptive daydreaming, specifically, relationships and sharing the diagnosis with loved ones.

  My clinical training encompassed both research and clinical education on a variety of difficulties and it included 3 years of placements working with various conditions across the lifespan. 

Clinical Research and Endeavours

Clinical work

I have worked in various settings including private, third sector and NHS services, enabling me to work with a diverse range of conditions in individual, family and group settings. This includes several years of experience in adoption and fostering (ADHD, developmental trauma, attachment, parent and foster care support), the National Adult Autism and ADHD Psychotherapy Service, a Specialist Crisis Autism Team, and in a national hospital in paediatric health and staff support. Additionally, my clinical training experiences afforded me the experience to work in secondary mental health services for psychosis and complex emotional needs.

Individual Therapy Sessions

Personalised online therapy sessions with me.

Group Therapy Options

Join supportive group sessions focused on shared experiences and difficulties with other individuals. (Coming soon...)

Testimonials

Hear from my clients and NHS colleagues about their experiences working with me. (Names are pseudonyms to protect anonymity.)

Wanda was very caring and seemed to understand my problems. There was nothing that was unhelpful at all. I feel that I was gaining a lot of self-help skills as the sessions were going.

Alex (54) - support with OCD

London

On behalf of the Early Intervention Psychosis Service, I'd like to thank you for everything you've done for [client's name] and their family over the past 6 months. From the very first sessions, I noticed your professionalism, knowledge, and certainly your patience with [client's name].

As a novice to ASD (autism), I found your input invaluable. Your sessions were clear, concise, and pitched at the perfect level for [client's name]. I admire the patience and diligence you showed in being able to convey important information to [client's name] in a way they understood. I was very impressed with your ability to allow [client's name] to see ASD from a knowledgeable perspective, as if they were learning without even realising it.

You may recall me mentioning several times that my background wouldn't allow me to exercise such skill. I was in awe of the way you took the time to ensure the information shared was at a level [client's name] could understand. On the occasions they couldn't understand everything, you were able to rephrase the information so they could grasp it. I also appreciated the time you took to create clear and informative slides that would be there for reference.

What also impressed me was that [client's name] was taken on the journey of learning alongside you rather than being lectured to. This was amazing because it would be very tempting to prescribe the direction [client's name] should take, but you didn't do that. Each and every step of the way, you made sure they understood what was being achieved. I believe the work you did with [client's name] will have a lasting impact on how they perceive ASD. Given their initial reluctance to engage with their family, it's a credit to you and your team that they ended up joining in on their own and contributing to their own development. I never would have thought this possible.

I'm hopeful that their mum understands more about their difficulties, and I've seen a change in the family which gives me hope they'll continue the family sessions with us. I'd also like to extend my thanks to the rest of the team, who have also shown a lot of skill, knowledge, and understanding.

Because I'm unfamiliar with ASD, I found the whole prospect of dealing with this daunting. Thankfully, I'm far more familiar with the current situation and have a better understanding of [client's name]'s and the family's needs. Thank you.

I suspect we'll work alongside each other again in the near future, but for now, thank you again for all your work with this young man who lost a lot of years through being undiagnosed. Through no fault of their own, but now with your intervention, the prospects of achieving a better quality of life have greatly improved. Once again, thank you.

John (social worker) This feedback was submitted to a commissioning body for the government for renewing funding for a specialist autism team.

London

Alice (27) - support with ADHD and insomnia

London

I truly believe that attending these CBT sessions has been life-changing. Wanda was incredibly understanding from the very beginning, explained the issues that I was having and gave me so much helpful information and guidance that going forward I now feel so much more confident in my ability to create long-lasting habits and to achieve my goals. Wanda also explained things so thoroughly and paid such close attention to everything that I told her. It has been so affirming and encouraging to be understood like this, and to be given tools catered to me that really do work.

I'm so grateful to Wanda and I hope that I can continue to build on what we've worked on and apply these strategies to lots of different areas of my life. Thank you again!

It was helpful feeling that I was able to speak freely about the problems I have been experiencing without feeling judged, Wanda gave great tips on how to move forward and gave me an insight into the reasons behind why I got burnt out. We structured the sessions as we went along, which was very useful rather than pre planning the "topics". It always felt like she was fully focused and she truly has excellent listening skills and an excellent memory. I have been equipped with valuable tips on how to move forward within my role in the team.

This is my first experience with having therapy and I was nervous at the beginning, as I did not know what to expect, but Wanda made me feel at ease from the start.

Thank you Wanda, I am truly grateful for the support the service has offered.

Sara (45, midwife) - staff support around burnout, working relationships and stress

London

Not Sure if Therapy is the Right Step Yet?

It’s completely normal to feel uncertain. Therapy can seem like a big commitment—emotionally, financially, and mentally. Exploring the decision to pursue therapy can be a significant step in personal growth.

I’m not here to tell you that now is the perfect time for therapy, because the decision to start is deeply personal. It’s important that you come when you feel ready. If you’re still weighing it out, take your time to reflect on what feels right for you.

That said, don’t let the fear of making a big decision push it out of your mind entirely. If you find yourself avoiding the thought of therapy because it feels overwhelming, it’s easy to get caught up in other distractions.

If you’d like some space to think it through, I invite you to sign up with your email. When you sign up, you’ll receive helpful insights, resources, and tips to support your journey as I develop these—whether or not you’re ready to start therapy just yet.

You are welcome to book an introductory call with me if you are in two minds about starting therapy now. We can discuss your situation and think together whether it feels right. It's tricky to know when it is the right time, but I can give you my clinical advice whether I believe I would be able to support you at this point in time. It is important to note that I do consider my client's circumstances, and I do not offer therapy to everyone. This is to ensure that the therapy experience with me will be helpful and meaningful.

Follow @BeyondMaladaptiveDaydreaming

on Instagram

Follow me on Instagram for practical tips, insightful resources, and engaging challenges on maladaptive daydreaming! I am aiming to build a supportive community of immersive daydreamers. Whether you're contemplating change, want to take action, need motivation or want to learn more about maladaptive daydreaming, I am hopeful that the account will be useful.