Takavengwa (Taka) Ziwenga - Clinical Nurse Specialist

Taka qualified as a Registered Nurse Mental Health (RNMH) in 2004. Taka is registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council, and a member of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).

In his career to date, Taka has supported children and young people in a variety of settings, primarily as a CAMHS practitioner for various NHS trusts and as a Psychiatric Liaison Nurse on paediatric wards.

Taka is experienced in assessing and managing complex cases, including those with presentations of low self-esteem, anxiety, ADHD, depression, OCD, eating disorders, self-harming behaviours, ASD and psychosis. Taka has particular interest and expertise in working with young people with depression and anxiety. Taka has worked extensively with children, young people and their families in the community as well in clinical and institutional settings.

Taka is experienced in delivering parenting programmes which enables him to work alongside parents with children who are suffering from neurodevelopmental difficulties.

Within his role at Heads and Hearts Taka uses a wide range of interventions in his work with families including cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) and solution-based therapy. Taka also works with the Heads and Hearts team undertaking ADI-R and ADOS 2 assessments and is often involved in the resulting supportive work provided for young people with neuro-diversity.