Our training team

Iain Adenis

Iain is a certified trainer, NLP Master Practitioner, and coach with extensive experience in mental health and learning disabilities.

Iain worked for over 23 years as a Nurse, supporting people with complex emotional difficulties. He worked in all areas, including the Health Sector, Social Services, and private and voluntary agencies. He has worked with diverse groups as a Specialist Advisor in areas such as change management and conflict resolution. He has been deeply involved with service development, both setting up and running regional services. He has worked closely with universities in advising on appropriate curriculum development and delivery, advising those educational establishments in their integration with local service providers.

Suzi B

Suzi is an experienced life coach and trainer with over 25 years of expertise helping individuals and organisations build resilience, achieve balance, and create meaningful transformation. Specialising in overcoming stress and nurturing life-work balance, Suzi provides tailored coaching and training solutions for individuals, teams, and businesses. Her practical, results-driven approach focuses on enhancing well-being, improving productivity, and enabling lasting growth and personal development.

Ralph Buckingham

Ralph is an experienced trainer in fields related to mental health and safeguarding. He delivers bespoke training in areas such as listening skills, safer lone working, adolescent anxiety, and Emotional First Aid to schools, charities, churches and businesses. While working as a youth leader, Ralph authored the ReMind programme to support young people who struggle with anxiety. Founded on cognitive behavioural principles, ReMind has been shown to significantly reduce young people’s elevated anxiety, and Ralph now trains and licenses other professionals to run ReMind in their own settings. He also consults on adolescent anxiety, as well as First Aid for Mental Health Levels 1 – 3.

Alison Bushnell

Alison is a qualified teacher with a Master’s in Education, specialising in mental health. She has more than 18 years’ of experience working in schools and has a passion for promoting mental health and wellbeing for all. She has a breadth of personal experience in managing mental health challenges herself, as well as those within her family, and has had outstanding support in working through those experiences.

Alison is a qualified Youth Mental Health First Aid trainer and also works with a charity who supports and develops mental health and wellbeing of girls and young women in the community to build confidence and self-esteem with the ambition of helping them to reach their full potential.

Jane Cattermole

Jane is a qualified Integrative Counselling Psychotherapist with a background in Human Resources and Corporate Recruitment in Sydney and the UK and is a MHFA England Instructor. Jan is part of the MHFAE National Training Team, an MHFAE Associate Trainer and delivers all Adult and Youth programmes. She is also a Suicide First Aid Tutor and provides bespoke training around mental health, stress, performance and communication.

Charlotte Crowe

Charlotte has worked in training, learning and development for 15+ years, across a range of sectors, geographies and demographics. Her professional experience as a trainer and personal experience of anxiety and depression (linked to workplace and caregiver burnout) are a powerful combination that shapes the care and compassion she provides her learners. As well as designing and delivering bespoke training courses around mental health and workplace wellbeing, Charlotte is a qualified Mental Health First Aid Instructor, Suicide First Aid Instructor and Action Learning Facilitator.

Ellen Fenna

Ellen trained as an Occupational Therapist at Oxford Brookes University, qualifying in 1999. After working in a range of clinical areas, including physical health and learning disabilities, both in hospitals and the community, Ellen spent 11 years with the secure mental health service in East London. During this time, she completed an Advanced Practice MSc at Canterbury Christ Church University. Ellen left London for West Sussex in 2017, initially working in secure inpatient services before taking a secondment role as Interim Head of Sussex Recovery College which included co-delivery of an online course. Ellen took up her present post in January 2024, leading a community mental health rehabilitation team, and continuing to enjoy teaching OT-specific in-house training.

Rebekah Few

Rebekah Few (GMBPsS) has a passion for creating and facilitating engaging, impactful training. Rebekah has worked with businesses big and small to enable workplace transformation and culture change.

Rebekah has worked for 16 years in mental health and wellbeing, working in patient-facing roles as a Wellbeing Practitioner and Behaviour Change Specialist (within the NHS), alongside facilitating, teaching and training (in the public, private and charitable sector). She also provides academic support, including lecturing to a variety of higher education institutions.

Nicola Gardner

Nicola is a Trainer and Practitioner specialising in trauma-related mental health with over 20 years of experience working with traumatised adults, children, young people, looked after children and those with differing learning needs. Underpinning her practice is sound knowledge and understanding of the developing brain, child development and relationships. She recognises that life experiences are held within the mind and body and of our innate ability for change.

Kate Gillhespy

Kate is an HCPC registered drama therapist with extensive experience working creatively as a therapist with children and young people in schools, for charities and in private practice. Kate currently also works as a practice development trainer for adult community mental health and housing support services.

Lorna Holloway

Lorna is a qualified Mental Health First Aid Instructor with over 5 years experience delivering mental health training and wellbeing workshops to workplaces and community groups.

As well as delivering training, Lorna shares yoga, mindfulness & breathwork through classes and workshops to reduce stress and anxiety and works as a social prescriber for the NHS, helping people to improve their health and wellbeing through active listening, coaching and linking in with social and community support.

Elly Johnson

Elly is an experienced and dedicated nursing professional with a proven track record of strong communication, interpersonal skills and effective working relationships with patients, colleagues and various members of a multidisciplinary team. She is hardworking, caring and conscientious, with a broad range of experience across the care and nursing spectrum.

Elly is also an accredited Mental Health First Aid trainer.

Dr Lidiia Kondratyk

Lidiia is a qualified Counselling Psychologist and Psychotherapist, with over 10 years of experience. She specialises in helping individuals and couples navigate behavioural patterns, personal development, and relationship dynamics. With a PhD in Sociology and over five years as an Associate Professor at the Ukrainian Catholic University, Lidiia brings a rich academic background to her practice and lecturing. She is a member of BPS, NCPS, and EMDR-Ukraine, which is a part of EMDR-Europe, ensuring the highest standards of care.

Jenny Langley

Since her son recovered from anorexia 20 years ago, Jenny Langley has campaigned to raise awareness of eating disorders and the impact on the whole family, and to provide practical help and support to families affected by eating disorders.

Jenny has worked closely with the Eating Disorder Research team of The Institute of Psychiatry for over 15 years, and is trained in the New Maudsley Model. She has become an “experienced carer” coach for the research programmes and delivers regular skills workshops for carers, as well as training for facilitators and clinician training and supervision.

Jenny co-authored the New Maudsley Skills-Based Training Manual with Prof Janet Treasure and Gill Todd which was published by Routledge in 2018. Jenny also wrote of her family’s experiences in the book Boys Get Anorexia Too, published in 2006.

Jenny is also a Schools & Families Trainer for the Charlie Waller Trust.

Tony McKernan

Tony is an experienced Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the mental health care industry for 27 years. He has developed training modules in Mental Health for online training, specifically focusing on the origins of stigma and how to manage in the workplace to address discrimination. He has also delivered lectures to sixth form students addressing the media and its effect on mental health prejudice.
Tony is employed by C.Q.C as Inspector and Specialist Advisor.

Tony is an i-Act instructor for Mental Health and Wellbeing in the workplace - i-act is the UK’s leading evidence-based and accredited mental health and wellbeing programme for understanding and managing mental health and wellbeing in the workplace. It remains the only course recommended and accredited by the Royal College of Psychiatry.

Jake Morrison

Jake is a mental health trainer and workplace mediator committed to fostering compassionate and supportive work environments. Jake has trained over 1,000 MHFAiders. He provides workplace mediation and conflict coaching to inspire and prepare individuals to foster positive mental health cultures within their teams and organisations. He is a former Charity leader, as Chief Executive at Citizens Advice Wokingham and Director of Services at a Local Mind.

Roger Newman

Roger Newman is an HR Consultant, Qualified Trainer and Organisation Development professional who works with companies to improve their business culture and results through their people.

His work in organisation development led him to him recognise the importance of resilience in the workforce and hence workplace mental health. He is a Mental Health First Aid Instructor and delivers a range of courses to support mental health in the workplace both in the classroom and online.

Mike O’Hara

Mike O’Hara is passionate about mental health based on his own lived experience, combined with 13+ years of service in the Royal Air Force. A qualified Mental Health First Aid Instructor, Suicide First Aid Tutor and experienced keynote speaker, he focuses his energy on promoting workplace wellbeing and reducing the broader stigma around mental health. In 2020, Mike was announced as the winner of the Legal and General national Inspiration Award for championing mental health conversations in the workplace. He was also recognised in the 2022 Queen’s New Years’ Honours list for his services to mental health within Defence and beyond.

Ed Richardson

Ed’s background was originally in Child Protection Social Work supporting young people aged 11-17 in Sussex.

As the YMCA DLG Boys and Young Men’s worker, he supported males at risk of sexual exploitation and/or at risk for displaying harmful sexual behaviour. He is a passionate advocate for boys and young men’s health and social needs including mental health, risks around violence and the need for male specific services. Between 2023-2024 he worked as a WiSE Schools Liaison Worker which supported schools in Brighton & Hove to address harmful sexual behaviour by providing staff training and resources.

Amy Sayer

Amy has a written widely about supporting the mental health of school staff and was previously the Mental Health Lead in a Secondary School. Amy has a wide experience delivering mental health workshops to support children and adult’s mental health and wellbeing and is a Mental Health First Aider, as well as holding a BA (Hons) Humanities (Psychology and Philosophy) and a Diploma in Depression Counselling.

Denise Snook

Denise delivers training that focuses on supporting children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs. Teaching in both mainstream schools and special schools created a wealth of first-hand experiences, and after further advisory and leadership experience, Denise now offers high quality training for parents, carers and professionals. Her training sessions reflect her broad and detailed knowledge in SEND and SEMH, and course participants are responsive to her warm, compassionate and realistic support. Denise lives in West Sussex with her husband and 2 children aged 13 and 19 years old, and has lived experience of SEND and SEMH needs as her son was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 12.

Michelle Stone

Michelle is a Youth Mental Health First Aid instructor and has run community mental health workshops around chosen topics.

Outside of work she is a mum to 2 amazing children, 1 of whom is a teen and the other is not far from entering the teen world. Her oldest experienced separation anxiety from 6 and can still have moments of panic and anxiety, her youngest is currently waiting to be assessed for ADHD. Her children have taught her so much more than the training courses but having the knowledge to understand what might be happening for them and having ways to respond has been so helpful and empowering.

Lizzy Van Tromp

Lizzy is a late diagnosed Autistic female and mother to two Autistic boys. She has worked as a Learning & Development professional most of her adult life but moved into Autism training after her own diagnosis in 2017. Lizzy uses her professional and lived experience to educate and inspire parents, carers and professionals. Lizzy specialises in the design and delivery of practical, 'bite size' 60-90 minute training sessions on a wide variety of topics including Sensory Processing Differences, Autism & ADHD, Understanding Demand Avoidance, Alternative Communications Methods and ARFID.

Jo Woodhams

With 18 years’ experience in the mental health field, Jo is passionate about increasing awareness and reducing stigma around mental health and mental illness in the corporate, statutory, and charity sectors. Empathy, personal insight, and professional knowledge are at the core of Jo’s multi-disciplinary approach. An accredited Mental Health First Aid trainer and Connect 5 trainer, Jo has delivered impactful training to hundreds of individuals, both face-to-face and online, equipping them with knowledge and tools to promote wellbeing.

Jo is also Trained in ASIST, Brief Solution Focussed Interviewing, Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Group Work and Trauma Informed Approaches.