Beatriz Folch
Psychologist | Attachment, Adolescence & Education
About Beatriz Folch
Beatriz Folch is a qualified psychologist with experience across clinical, educational and Special Educational Needs (SEN) settings in the UK and Spain. Her work focuses particularly on adolescence, psychological development, education and the application of attachment theory within relational practice.
Beatriz currently works as a psychologist in a sixth-form centre in Madrid, supporting young people's emotional and academic development and their transition beyond school. Her work includes providing tailored psychological support around anxiety, motivation, academic pressure, low mood and self-esteem, as well as developing inclusive approaches to meet diverse learning and developmental needs.
Before working in Spain, Beatriz spent more than ten years teaching Psychology at a school in Oxford. She has also worked extensively within Special Educational Needs settings, supporting young people with a range of learning and developmental needs.
Her professional experience across the UK and Spain contributes to a cross-cultural and integrative perspective on adolescent psychology and education. Attachment theory is central to her approach, with particular attention to how secure and attuned relationships can support emotional wellbeing, development and learning.
Beatriz is a member of the International Attachment Network (IAN UK) and contributes to IAN's professional learning and discussion around attachment, autism and family experience.
Areas of Expertise
Beatriz’s professional interests and experience include:
Attachment theory and relational development
Adolescent psychology and emotional wellbeing
Autism, neurodiversity and attachment
Special Educational Needs (SEN)
Psychology within educational settings
Anxiety, academic pressure and self-esteem in young people
Family relationships and the caregiving environment
Inclusive approaches to learning and psychological support
Cross-cultural perspectives on psychology and education
Her work brings together psychological, educational and attachment-informed perspectives, with particular attention to understanding young people within the wider context of their relationships, families, learning environments and individual developmental needs.
Attachment, Autism & Neurodiversity
A particular area of Beatriz’s interest is the relationship between attachment, autism and neurodiversity, including how attachment-informed perspectives can contribute to understanding autistic children and their families without confusing neurodevelopmental difference with attachment difficulties.
Her approach emphasises the importance of understanding behaviour within its developmental and relational context. Similar behaviours may have very different meanings and functions, and careful formulation requires attention to both neurodevelopmental differences and the relationships within which a young person develops.
Beatriz is particularly interested in how attachment relationships may support emotional regulation, security and resilience for autistic children, while also recognising the pressures that parents and caregivers can experience when navigating educational, clinical and support systems.
She explores these questions in her IAN article:
Autism and Attachment: How Relational Processes Shape the Experience of Autistic Children and Their Families → here.
Adolescence, Education & Relational Practice
Beatriz’s work with adolescents brings together psychology, education and attachment-informed thinking. She is particularly interested in how relationships and learning environments can support young people’s emotional wellbeing, development and capacity to engage with education.
In her current work within a sixth-form setting in Madrid, Beatriz supports students navigating a developmental period that can involve significant academic, emotional and relational change. Her work includes psychological support around anxiety, motivation, academic pressure, low mood and self-esteem, as well as helping young people prepare for transitions beyond school.
Her experience within Special Educational Needs (SEN) settings also informs her interest in creating educational environments that recognise individual developmental and learning differences rather than expecting all young people to respond to the same approaches.
From an attachment-informed perspective, relationships with teachers, families and other significant adults can provide important sources of security and support during adolescence. Beatriz’s work considers how greater understanding of these relational processes can contribute to emotional wellbeing, inclusion and learning.
Beatriz Folch and IAN
Beatriz Folch contributes to the International Attachment Network (IAN UK) through her psychological and educational perspective and her particular interest in attachment, autism, neurodiversity and the relational experiences of children, young people and families.
Her work reflects IAN’s commitment to bringing attachment theory into dialogue with contemporary psychological, developmental and educational perspectives, while recognising that attachment and neurodevelopment are distinct but interacting dimensions of human development.
As part of her contribution to IAN, Beatriz writes and facilitates professional discussion around autism and attachment, with particular attention to the importance of understanding behaviour within its developmental and relational context. Her work emphasises that autism should not be explained as an attachment difficulty, while also recognising the importance of attachment relationships in the lives of autistic children and their families.
Beatriz has written for IAN on Autism and Attachment: How Relational Processes Shape the Experience of Autistic Children and Their Families and contributes to IAN’s programme of professional learning and discussion around attachment, autism, family experience and clinical practice.
Read Beatriz’s IAN article → here
Explore IAN Events & CPD → here
Explore Attachment Theory → here
View Beatriz in the IAN Therapist Directory → here
Clinical Practice
Alongside her work in educational settings, Beatriz works therapeutically with an attachment-informed and relational perspective.
Her approach considers the individual within the wider context of their relationships, development and environment, with particular sensitivity to adolescence, neurodiversity and the different ways in which people experience and communicate emotional needs.
Beatriz is an IAN-recognised attachment-informed therapist and is listed in the International Attachment Network Therapist Directory. She currently offers therapeutic work online.
View Beatriz in the IAN Therapist Directory → here.