Our Trainers and speakers

Sarah is a BACP Accredited Counsellor and Psychotherapist with additional post graduate qualifications in Coaching and Nutritional Therapy and has been a qualified Adult Mental Health First Aid Instructor since 2012.

With more than 20 years’ experience in mental health, she has worked in a range of settings including youth work in schools and as a counsellor for children and young people in the charity sector. For 12 years, she was Mental Health Co-ordinator and Head of Mental Health at the University of Warwick, where she developed and delivered mental health awareness training for staff and students and led an experienced team of mental health professionals who supported students experiencing many different mental health issues.

She delivers training and teaching on topics including:

• Anxiety, depression and psychosis
• Recognising and responding to distress including suicidal thoughts and behaviour
• Staff wellbeing
• Building resilience
• Exam stress
• Whole person and whole institution approaches to mental health

Sarah also teaches accredited counselling and mental health modules for the University of Oxford and the University of Warwick and has a small private practice as a therapist and supervisor.

Rachel has 20 years' experience working across the sector including as Director of SelfharmUK, providing Mental Health Advocacy in a medium secure hospital, and as a Youth Mental Health First Aid Instructor. She has a MSc in Mental Health Science and runs marathons for fun.

Ian has held various roles in public health including Healthy Schools, You’re Welcome, substance misuse services and HeadStart.

He teaches on young people’s health, including devising CPD programmes on mental health, substance use and relationship and sexuality education, as well as currently teaching for the Open University.

Ian delivers training mainly in the South East of England and London, on the following topics:

• Developing whole school approaches to mental health
• Depression
• Self-harm
• Substance use
• Building resilience

Julie provides support on whole school leadership and is particularly keen to encourage sustainable student mental health and wellbeing initiatives. Julie works alongside staff to develop a whole school approach appropriate for the setting. Key areas include:

• Developing resilience
• Anxiety and stress, particularly during exam periods
• Managing social media.

Julie has worked in education for over 30 years as a teacher, school counsellor and the leader of a multi-agency student services team in an Oxfordshire school. As Deputy Head of a school in Somerset, she helped it progress from an OFSTED rating of requiring improvement to being outstanding in all aspects.

More recently Julie was asked to advise a school in West Berkshire that required improvement, becoming interim headteacher with an immediate emphasis on the emotional health and wellbeing of staff and students. This was when she began collaborating with Charlie Waller.

Gemma is an experienced primary school teacher, having taught for six years in the UK and Melbourne, Australia. She has worked in a range of settings including SEND, Steiner and mainstream, and is a qualified PSHE specialist teacher currently developing a PSHE curriculum for schools.

Gemma’s educational background is in Human Communication and child development with a focus on parental effects on children's emotional wellbeing.

Following teaching, Gemma joined the NSPCC where she works as an Area Coordinator for the schools service, managing a team of volunteers. Together they deliver key safeguarding messages to children in primary schools across Somerset. She also runs parent online safety workshops with the NSPCC.

Gemma delivers training for Charlie Waller in schools, including sessions on supporting anxious learners and helping to support a healthy approach to using social media and the internet.

After qualifying as a psychiatric nurse in 1996, Claire worked in a variety of mental health services settings, both in-patient and community. In 2005, she joined the University of Northampton as a senior lecturer, where she teaches on numerous undergraduate and post graduate courses as well as the mental health nursing degree.

Claire is currently undertaking a PhD exploring the emotional wellbeing of primary school children.

Claire delivers training mainly in and around the Northamptonshire area.

Gemma has over 20 years’ experience working in the field of mental health.

She worked at the University of Huddersfield for 5½ years as a Mental Health Advisor supporting students with mental health difficulties and set up a number of peer support groups including an Eating Disorder Support Group. Gemma continues to deliver training at the University including the MHFA Adult course, Eating Disorder Awareness training and bespoke training sessions, including workplace sessions.

Prior to working in education she worked in the NHS within specialist eating disorder services as a Clinical Team Manager. She is an associate clinical trainer for Beat, the National Eating Disorder Charity.

Gemma is involved in both our Schools and Families Programme and our Workplace Programme.

In schools, she delivers training for staff, pupils, parents and carers on topics including:

• Mental health and awareness
• Emotional wellbeing
• Eating disorders
• Self-harm
• Whole School Approach to Mental Health

In the workplace, she delivers a range of sessions including:

• Staff wellbeing
• Line managers’ training
• Mental health awareness training.

Gemma is an instructor in Mental Health First Aid (Adult and Lite).

Zoe has worked for ten years in the training, community and health sectors. During this time, she has managed mental health projects for clinical commissioning groups, local authorities and as part of the public health agenda in the north-west of England.

She qualified as a Mental Health First Aid (MFHA) trainer in 2009 and in 2013 became a Workplace Associate with MHFA. In 2017 she became a trainer on the National Schools Government Programme.

For Charlie Waller, Zoe delivers training in both our Schools and Families and our Workplace programmes. Zoe works in many different settings using evidence-based practice to encourage innovative ideas for the health and wellbeing of employees and organisations. She is passionate about breaking down barriers and ensuring wellbeing for all.

Dick has been a housemaster, English teacher, rugby coach and headmaster, and has a passionate interest in the emotional wellbeing of young people.

He delivers talks across the UK on the following topics:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Disordered eating
• Self-harm
• Stress
• Adolescent development

Dick is an instructor in Youth Mental Health First Aid

Jo is a Doctoral Researcher in the Centre for Autism at the University of Reading. Her PhD focuses on the wellbeing of autistic students in mainstream primary schools, and she is committed to enhancing public understanding and acceptance of autism and neurodiversity.

In addition to her research, Jo is a specialist autism practitioner offering support to parents, carers and professionals. She runs courses and workshops on a wide range of topics related to children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities including:

• General autism awareness and acceptance
• Autism and mental health
• Positive behavioural strategies
• Providing social support
• Meeting the needs of neurodiverse learners in the classroom

Jo is working with Charlie Waller to develop a new training programme for schools how best to support the needs of vulnerable learners during unstructured times of the school day.

Lisa has had a long career in a variety of mental health settings within the NHS. She originally trained as a mental health nurse and subsequently worked in in-patient and community settings with adults, children, young people and their families.

Lisa delivers training mainly in the Thames Valley and covers most aspects of children and young people’s mental health including:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Eating disorders
• Self-harm
• OCD
• Phobias
• Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Lisa also leads the PPePCare training project in Berkshire, which delivers training to frontline professionals, and provides training at Oxford University and The University of Surrey on their Doctoral courses in Clinical Psychology.

Lisa’s training is mainly aimed at professionals but she also delivers training to parents and to children and young people.

Debbie has worked for 30 years in boarding education with a special interest in pastoral care needs. As the wife of a housemaster and headmaster of leading boarding schools in the UK, she has been very involved in pastoral care.

Having trained as a special educational needs teacher she moved onto careers education following the completion of a postgraduate diploma in Careers Guidance in 2011. She combined this with teaching Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) with a specific interest in mental health.

Seven years ago she qualified to deliver the Mindfulness in Schools Project (MiSP) “.b” and “Paws b” courses and since then has delivered the “.b” course to 14 and 15 year olds at the boarding school where she has taught and lived for the last twenty years.

Debbie is a qualified Mental Health First Aid Instructor.

Andy delivers training across England and Wales on the following topics:

• Mental health and young men, overcoming stigma
• Body image and self-esteem
• Developing helpful coping strategies, building resilience
• Recognising and supporting friends
• Staff training: understanding mental health and creating a supporting environment
• Self-harm and suicidal ideation

Andy is also a Youth Mental Health First Aid instructor.

Andrew is a Registered Social Worker and BACP Senior Accredited Counsellor and Psychotherapist, as well as a Fellow of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).

He has worked as a practitioner in a range of settings, including secondary care mental health, child protection, schools, higher education, the third sector and independent practice as a counsellor/psychotherapist and social worker for over 30 years.

His research primarily focused on working with clients at risk of suicide and those who self-injure, and he has written extensively in this area, including single-author books as well as numerous book chapters, research and practitioner articles. Additionally, he is the author of a key introductory textbook in counselling and psychotherapy, as well as co-editor of a number of other books and book series. He was one of the Lead Authors for the MindEd project with the Department of Health

He has delivered training to thousands of helping professionals over the years around working with suicide risk and self-injury, self-care, mental health and working with male clients, both in the UK and internationally, and has an excellent reputation for experiential and inclusive training. He also delivers keynote addresses at conferences to a range of professionals. He was Editor in Chief of Counselling and Pychotherapy Research journal for six years.

As well as his role as Director of Charlie Waller’s Colleges and Universities Programme, he is a Senior Lecturer in Counselling, Psychotherapy and Psychological Trauma at the University of Chester, as well as being Chair of BACP.

Since completing her training as a psychiatric nurse in 1987, Kirsten has spent over 20 years working as a lecturer in counselling and as a counselling supervisor, as well as a counsellor within the NHS, education, private practice and voluntary sectors. She also works as an External Verifier for the Scottish Qualifications Authority for counselling qualifications.

Kirsten’s published work includes Boundaries, Power and Ethical Responsibility, (2017, Sage), Challenges in Counselling: Counselling Students, (2013, Hodder) and Becoming a Counsellor: A Student Companion (2011, Sage).

She is currently completing her doctoral research entitled 'Supporting the Mental Wellbeing of Students in Scottish Colleges’.

Kirsten works with Charlie Waller to support universities and colleges in Scotland.

Julie has over 13 years’ experience of working in the counselling and mental health sector. As a qualified integrative (psychodynamic and person-centred) counsellor with accreditation from the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), Julie has worked in private practice, colleges and universities, providing individual, group and online counselling covering a diverse range of issues. Her most recent position was as the Student Counselling and Mental Health Team Leader at the University of Bath.

Julie has been developing and delivering bespoke mental health awareness and stress management training for over 10 years. She is a Mental Health First Aid National Trainer and an Associate Trainer for Suicide First Aid.

Julie is passionate about raising awareness of mental health and providing training in the wider community, work and educational settings. Her desire is to help build individuals’ confidence in recognising the signs of poor mental health, reducing stigma and enabling the support of others whilst enhancing people's own self-care and resilience.

Reena is a counsellor and psychotherapist accredited with BACP and registered with UKCP.  She is also a trainer and supervisor, delivering and leading psychotherapy courses at the Minster Centre in London.  Reena has a particular interest in training on issues of difference and diversity, and in opening up conversations and explorations around race in the UK.

Barbara has worked in education for over 30 years, initially as a teacher in secondary schools, then as a counsellor, lecturer and trainer in universities and colleges.

She delivers training in Yorkshire and the north east of England on the following topics:

• Building resilience
• Maintaining good emotional and mental health
• Developing confidence
• Recognising when mental wellbeing may be at risk
• How to respond if concerns arise

Jackie has worked professionally as a counsellor since 1987, initially within NHS and then since 1992 within HE. She has also been a Senior Lecturer on Post Grad Professional training at both UCLAN and Warwick universities. She is also a clinical supervisor and has a special interest in ‘compassion fatigue’ and ‘moral distress’ amongst clinicians and frontline helpers.

Paul is a BACP Counsellor working with college students. He also delivers psycho-educational workshops for The Wise Group. Previous work has included being a researcher in a parliamentary office, public speaking, and delivering talks and lectures to students and youth groups. 

John was Head of Counselling, Health and Wellbeing at Cardiff University for 20 years and was given the Vice Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Contribution to the University on his retirement. He previously worked for 20 years in school and further education settings, as well as in primary care.

John has a particular interest in working with organisations to enhance the provision of mental health for students; he was funded by the World Health Organisation to help a university set up a counselling service in Sri Lanka.

A former Deputy Chair of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), John was also Chair of BACP’s Equality and Diversity Committee and its Criminal Justice Forum, and is now a Fellow of BACP.

In his work with Charlie Waller, he supports colleges and universities in South Wales and the Borders.

After qualifying as a social worker in 1998, Lindsay worked in community mental health teams, assertive outreach and a service for early intervention in psychosis, amongst other community services. She practised as an approved social worker and approved mental health professional, undertaking work on behalf of the local authority.

In 2009, Lindsay moved to a higher education setting and has worked as a senior mental health advisor, directly supporting students with significant mental health problems and promoting student wellbeing. She has been involved in service development throughout her career and has developed mental health training for university staff and students.

Suzanne has worked as a counsellor in a sixth form college in East London since 2000. She has 20 years of experience of working within Further Education, working with staff and students on issues affecting mental health and wellbeing in one-to-one settings, small groups, and Continuous Professional Development training.

She is particularly interested in cross-college inter-disciplinary work on wellbeing and mental health, creating safe and healthy learning environments for diverse staff and students.

Kath has a background in education, working as a secondary school teacher in Bristol and Southport for eight years, teaching French, Spanish and IT. She qualified as a counsellor in 2011 and as a supervisor in 2015.

She has since worked as a counsellor at a high school in Cheshire and at the University of Liverpool. She also has a private practice in Southport where she sees clients, mostly adolescents, and supervises other counsellors. She has developed training workshops around ethical practice with children and young people, working with risk, mindfulness, anxiety and self-compassion.

Since completing his counselling training, Jamie has mainly supported clients who are in crisis or have lost someone to suicide. He also works as an External Verifier for the Scottish Qualifications Authority for counselling qualifications and has developed a new PDA in Counselling Children and Young People (10-18): Safe and Competent Practice (SCQF Level 11) in partnership with the Scottish Government, Scottish Qualifications Authority and the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).

He is currently a lecturer in counselling at Glasgow Clyde College.

Jamie works with Charlie Waller to support universities and colleges in Scotland.

Satinder studied at the University of Derby and has an MA in Integrative Counselling. She is an accredited, registered member of the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP) & UKCP.

She is an Integrative Counsellor and Psychotherapist who has worked in the third sector, the NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, and the private sector for the past 25 years nationally, delivering counselling to young people and adults. Satinder has delivered training in a variety of environments and on a range of topics. She is also a clinical supervisor for individuals and groups, and an executive coach.

Satinder has a particular interest in facilitating group clinical and wellbeing supervision and delivering training to students. Amongst other projects, she is working with students across Scotland and providing wellbeing supervision groups for nurses and consultants within a sexual health setting. Her more recent work around wellbeing supervision has been supporting individuals who work at the crisis end of homelessness and employability.

As a Punjabi speaking Counsellor and Psychotherapist, Satinder is able to take into consideration the issues that are faced in small communities. She has a particular interest and vast experience in working with trauma (the Judith Herman Model), in particular working with survivors of rape and sexual assault and child sexual abuse.

Additionally, Satinder is a member of the BACP Healthcare Executive Division for the four nations, the aim of which is to promote and support excellence in healthcare, counselling and psychotherapy, and supervision.

Maryanne is a doctor, psychiatrist & GP educator. She graduated in 1987 from Newcastle Medical School and specialised in psychiatry.

In addition to her clinical work, for the last 20 years, she has been a clinical lecturer in general practice at Newcastle Medical School. Her areas of special interest are mental health training for general practice, (and particularly in remote, rural general practice), and young people’s mental health.

Maryanne has a national reputation in these areas, and with 22 years of experience, has taught GPs and spoken at conferences across England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales & Eire, West Canada, and East USA.  This has involved working with Royal College of GP’s, Department of Health’s, Deaneries and Directors of Public Health. She is also a Winston Churchill Fellow, having travelled and studied General Practice in West Canada.

Sheila is a dual qualified nurse (mental and general) with many years’ clinical experience in primary care and mental health settings. She also works as an independent healthcare consultant and as a post-doctoral researcher for the University of Hull.

Sheila has worked for a foundation trust as a senior research fellow and as an education fellow in an academic health science network. She writes educational articles for nursing journals and has co-authored three books and a number of book chapters. In 2018 she won an Award of Merit from the Royal College of Nursing for her work on the physical health of people with mental illness.

Sheila provides direct face-to-face training and trains healthcare professionals identified by their organisation to be trainers. She has also written eLearning modules which can be completed independently or as part of the programme.

Nicholas provides training for GPs and other professionals working in primary care on mental health in a General Practice setting. This includes sessions on:

• practical Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for general practice
• young people’s mental health
• medical error in mental health
• perinatal depression
• risk management
• medically unexplained symptoms

He provides training for GP trainers and GP CPD events in collaboration with Health Education England Thames Valley.

As well as being a Charlie Waller GP educator, Nick is a practising GP in Berkshire. He has worked locally in reorganising the way care is provided for young people who self-harm. He continues to volunteer with the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, having designed and implemented a teaching programme, together with local partners in Uganda.

Abigail joined us in 2020 from Acas, the independent national advisory body for employers and employees, where she was Head of Workplace Mental Health and Wellbeing.

She has worked in the field of Mental Health and Wellbeing for more than 25 years, has an MA in Psychotherapy, an MSc in Psychology, and extensive research experience in occupational psychology.

She joined Acas in 2015 as Senior Adviser on Workplace Mental Health and Wellbeing and was appointed to lead this area in 2017. Her work included leading on strategic wellbeing projects with executive boards, advising government on key policy issues and delivering keynote presentations and thought leadership on systemic issues relating to mental health and wellbeing at work.

Until recently she sat as the workplace expert for the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines on mental wellbeing and is an active member of several mental health at work advisory groups.

Katie graduated in medicine from the United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy’s and St Thomas’s hospitals, London in 1994 and then trained to become a GP.

After working in the Cayman Islands, she returned to work at the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in London for three years, working as a Medical Adviser providing care for employees posted overseas and Occupational Health advice.

In 2003, she took up a GP partnership in a Central London teaching practice where she worked as a GP and taught Imperial College undergraduates. In 2011, she moved to Singapore and was part of the team setting up a new medical school - a joint collaboration with Imperial College, London and NTU, Singapore. She created and implemented part of the early clinical practice course, delivered teaching in clinical communication and examination skills, and became a house tutor looking after the welfare of medical students.

Her experience to date has given her wide-reaching insight into varied institutions, cultures and socio-economic groups.

Penny has more than 25 years’ experience as a counsellor and trainer, starting with Relate in 1992. She became a sessional counsellor at the University of Huddersfield in 1995 and then moved to a full-time counselling post at the University of Leeds in 2003, where she became Senior Counsellor in 2006.

Between 1995 and 2003, Penny also worked in private practice and as a counsellor and consultant in two local industries, offering one-to-one support, staff training and policy development. Her Master’s research ‘Is counselling good for business?’ examined the impact of counselling on productivity at Zeneca Huddersfield works.

While at the University of Leeds, Penny developed and managed an extensive group work and psychoeducational training programme for students, as well as delivering staff training on mental health awareness. She worked at the University of Bradford from 2014 to 2018, joining as Head of Counselling and then taking on disability as an additional area of responsibility in 2016.

Penny has also worked in NHS settings as a counsellor in GP surgeries and as a staff counsellor, as well as being a practitioner and clinical lead with Take Time, a counselling and psychotherapy service for junior doctors in Yorkshire and Humber NHS trusts.

Nargis has extensive experience in delivering clinical and research training and supervision, working in a variety of clinical and academic settings both in the NHS and internationally. Since 2009, she has been working within the Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, currently as a community-based Principal Clinical Psychologist and Service Evaluation Lead. Between September 2017 and 2018, she was also Programme Co-Director for the Doctorate in Counselling Psychology at the Metanoia Institute at Middlesex University.

Nargis is a Practitioner Psychologist with the Health and Care Professionals Council, a Chartered Psychologist and Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society, a member of the Association for Cognitive Analytic Therapy and a member of the Association of Clinical Psychologists UK.

She uses her annual leave to work as a Consultant Clinical Psychologist for the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee, providing consultation and training, supervision, and research and project development. She has been involved in mental health intervention development in the Rohingya refugee camps in southern Bangladesh, which has further developed her interest in cultural and contextual resilience and wellbeing.

A successful social entrepreneur, author and conference speaker, Nick is probably best known as the father of Dr Elizabeth McNaught, who is the author of the best-selling book ‘Life Hurts: a doctor’s personal journey through anorexia’.

He now speaks and broadcasts about the personal insights he gained which built upon his professional knowledge as a psychologist and became instrumental in his daughter’s recovery. His talks highlight the practical insights applicable to mental health and wellbeing for all families, in both their personal and professional lives.