I ended the last century in a psychiatric hospital, diagnosed with schizophrenia and with little hope for recovery.

Seen as a ‘revolving door patient’ with a severe and enduring mental illness, I lived my label – not my life. I bought into the idea that schizophrenia (and the many other illnesses I was labelled with) were life-long mental illnesses. I accepted that the best I could hope for was to manage my symptoms with life-long psychiatric medication.

Life, I’m glad to say, doesn’t always turn out the way you think.

Through a combination of luck, the kindness of others, some fantastic support and my own, not inconsequential, stubborn streak, I see myself as a survivor. I am a freelance trainer and consultant, a writer, a practitioner, a researcher, speaker, designer, musician and PhD student at Nottingham Trent University. I am Chair for the English National Hearing Voices Network. From 2007 – 2015 I had the privilege to manage Mind in Camden’s London Hearing Voices & Distressing Beliefs Projects (including Voice Collective youth project and the London Hearing Voices Prisons Project). I’ve trained as an Open Dialogue practitioner and have worked in private practice as well as in Kent & Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust’s Peer Supported Open Dialogue team. I’m now using these experiences to work alongside Iseult Twamley (and others) as an Open Dialogue trainer.

If you’d have met me 25 years ago, this is a future that you would never have imagined for me.

About This Site

This site includes some of my thoughts and reflections on my ongoing journey, my experiences of working in the mental health field and some of the initiatives that inspire me. If you’re interested in training, consultancy or web design, this site also enables me to showcase a little of what I can offer in terms of services.

Training & Consultancy

I am an experienced trainer with over 20 years of experience in the mental health field. If you’re looking for someone to speak at an event, run a workshop for your organisation or help you think about new ways of working – please see my ‘Services‘ section or email me to discuss your options.

My specialist areas include: Open Dialogue, psychosis, trauma, dissociation (including DID), self-harm, distressing & unusual beliefs, recovery, resilience, mental health in prisons/forensic units and working creatively with young people who hear voices.