Andrea Pecherek (Chartered Psychologist, Sheffield))

Andrea Pecherek - Chartered Psychologist, Sheffield.

Quite a nice lady upon first meeting, but there is a drker deeper side to this one. She says in her own words & I quote "My time is expensive". What a remark to make a parent who is being assesed for care proceedings! Well Ms Pecherek your time is being well paid for, at the rate of £100 per hour by the legal services commssion and by North Yorkshire County Council.

Ms Pecherek's only qualifications are an Open University Psychology degree attained in the 1970's (well out of date) and she then practised as a Child Educational Psychologist. She now lists her expertise as writing hundreds of court reports on parents as an Independent Expert Witness. There is nothing in Ms Pechereks CV to suggest she has any clinical qualifications at all, so how can she protray herself and an expert in adult psycholgy? She certainly does not have a Ph.D She is not able to diagnose any adult as diagnoses are given by Psychitarist only, yet Ms Pecherek often writes diagnoses in her reports, soemthing she is not qualified to do.

Ms Pecherek uses Freudian theories when these are now well over 50 years old and have been superceeded by others. Freudian theories are largely based on sexual frustration, so I wonder if Ms Pecherek is trying to tell us something, a Freudian slip on her part maybe?

Ms Pecherek writes reports based on the Local Authorities biased, opinionated files re the parent, which she does not check to ascertain if the details are factually correct. She may make recommendations for reunification for the children to be returned to their parents in court, yet she neglects to ensure these critical recommendations are written into the children's care plans. This then permits the local authority to ignore her recommendations. Having a duty as an Independent Expert Witness, one would expect her to ensure this step is taken and that the Local Authority adhere to the recommendation in the best interests of the child(ren), however this matter is regularly an neglected as an oversight on all parties. This leaves the Local Authority to keep the children in their care long-term, alnguishing in foster care (they utilise the Permanence Plan), severing contact with the parents, when the children actually have a right to contact.

Ms Pechereks CV is listed below (please pay attention to where she lists that she has prepared over 800 reports for the courts & at what expense?):

ANDREA PECHEREK
B.A., B.Sc., M.Sc., AFBPS

PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERTISE

Professional Qualification
Chartered Psychologist

Areas of Expertise

• Child Protection
• Assessment of children and families
• Attachment
• Family Dynamics
• Learning Disabilities
• Adoption & Fostering

RELEVANT EXPERIENCE

Experience in Specialist Area

I have been working in the field of Child Psychology since 1981 first as a generic educational psychologist later moving to a specialist area of child and family assessments. Prior to this I was a teacher of children with special educational needs.

In addition to my role as offering independent psychological assessment and advice I have worked both within the field of educational psychology and child and adolescent therapy (community health).

I have also acted in the area of Children Act Consultant with particular reference to psychology and Child Protection.

I have been a member of the Sheffield Area Child Protection Committee Training Group and as such shared responsibility for devising, writing and delivering multi-agency training on aspects of Child Abuse including identification, protocols, psychological implications and remediation.

From 1992 to 1997 I was employed as a Child Protection (Children Act) specialist psychologist, and continue to offer lectures, training events and consultation in this field. More recently, I have produced guidelines on issues pertaining to children and domestic violence. I also offer training events to foster carers on issues concerning child development, child sexual behaviour and behaviour management.


From 1999 to 2004 I was a member of the Sheffield adoption panel to which I continue to offer support on a consultative basis.

From 1993 to 1997 I was Honorary Secretary of the British Psychological Society’s Division of Educational and Child Psychology. I also sat on the BPS Professional Affairs Board. I have been the lead author of a recently published document for the BPS on The Psychologist as Expert Witness and am currently on a reconvened working party looking to revise the guidelines under the auspices of the Professional Affairs Board of the British Psychological Society.

In 2006 and 2007 I am presenting training events for the Central Law Training Agency on ‘Psychological Assessments of Children and Families’. This covers the nature of psychological interviewing and testing; assessment of adults with learning difficulties and the implications for the Courts; Attachment – its meaning and relevance in planning for children.


REPORTS

I have prepared in excess of 800 reports on a regular basis for the family courts for the last 12 years.

QUALIFICATIONS, TRAINING & RESEARCH

Qualifications & Training

B.A. (Open University) 1973 Psychology and Education
B.Sc. (Leicester University) 1980 Psychology
M.Sc. (Sheffield University) 1981 Educational Psychology
Cardiff University Bond Solon accredited Expert Witness (2004)

I attend at training events and conference pertaining to my work for the Courts. The most recent training events which I have attended are:

• The Disability Rights Act (February 2003)
• Parents, Children & Psychology, the International Perspective (Paris, January 2004).
• Contact post adoption – issues and research (Nottingham April 2004)
• Hidden Harm Conference – drugs, alcohol and child protection (Sheffield March 2004)
• Sheffield ACPC Annual Conference – Adult mental health and child protection (September 2005)
• Post adoption contact (Nottingham 2005)
• Domestic Violence (Nottingham 2006)
• Child Psychology issues for the twenty first century (Bournemouth 2006)
• Working with families experiencing trauma (London Institute of Therapy 2006)

MEMBERSHIPS & PUBLICATIONS

Professional Memberships

 British Psychological Society Division of Educational and Child Psychology
 Society for Expert Witnesses
 British Association for Adoption and Fostering





Publications & Presentations

‘Counselling: Aspects and Issues’, written jointly with Dr. H. Cowie (1991) recently translated into 3 languages.

Contributions to edited texts and publications the most recent being a chapter on ‘Living in non-nuclear families’ in Psychology in Action (ed. Sigston et al)

Regular book reviews for professional journals.

British Psychological Society guidelines on The Psychologist as Expert Witness 1997 (currently in review)

OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION

 I have full enhanced CRB clearance.
 I hold personal professional indemnity insurance.
 I hold a clean driver’s license.