Clare Shanahan

Clare Shanahan Somerville, MRes, MSc, is the PBS Lead at Cedar Health and Wellbeing and a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst (BCBA), with over 19 years’ experience working in the field of neurodevelopment across health, education, and social care settings. Clare brings a highly specialised clinical skill set, underpinned by advanced postgraduate training and extensive hands-on experience supporting individuals with complex and overlapping neurodevelopmental needs.

Clare holds a Master’s degree in Applied Behaviour Analysis and a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology, with a specialist focus in neuropsychology, providing a robust clinical foundation for her work. Her academic background offers in-depth understanding of brain–behaviour relationships, cognitive functioning, emotional regulation, and evidence-based behavioural intervention. This expertise directly informs her approach to Positive Behaviour Support (PBS), ensuring interventions are ethical, person-centred, data-driven, and tailored to each individual’s neurodevelopmental profile.

Throughout her career, Clare has specialised in working with individuals with Autism, Learning Disabilities, SEMH needs, and behaviours that challenge, across a wide range of settings including residential services, specialist education, behavioural support units, and community-based provision. Her clinical practice is grounded in comprehensive neurodevelopmental and behavioural assessment, enabling her to design and oversee individualised PBS frameworks that reduce distress, improve quality of life, and promote long-term stability.

As a PBS Lead, Clare provides clinical oversight, develops PBS capability across staff teams, and supports services to embed best practice at both individual and organisational levels. She has led multidisciplinary working, supervised and mentored behaviour analysts and PBS practitioners, and consistently achieved measurable outcomes, including significant reductions in behaviours of concern and improved emotional regulation, engagement, and independence.

Clare shows strength in her ability to translate complex neuropsychological and behavioural theory into practical, compassionate support strategies. She is passionate about prevention, skill development, and reducing the need for restrictive practices, while strengthening clinical governance and ensuring individuals are supported in environments that respect dignity and promote autonomy, and individuality. Through her role at Cedar Health and Wellbeing, Clare is committed to embedding robust, neurodevelopmentally informed PBS frameworks that support people to live safer, more meaningful lives within homely, supportive environments.