This work is deeply personal

I AM NOT THE EXPERT 

Yes I have done training (which you can learn about below), yes I have experience, so I am an expert in those practices/skills/approaches. But do you know who knows the most about what is going to help you (and your family/ tender little being)? What's going to be most supportive? What's most accessible? What's going to be sustainable long term? Yes, it's you! I see our work together as very much a collaborative process - I can offer invitations, practices and reflections, and together we can explore how this integrates, what needs adapting, where we need to go next. You are the expert in what you need from a facilitator - you have a right to access services without barriers and sharing your access needs is hugely helpful for me, so that I can better support you in these spaces. 

FORMAL TRAINING ISN'T EVERYTHING

I have included my formal training below, as I know this can be reassuring for some to see my 'scope of practice', to know that I have learned about the practices I am sharing, and for me this forms part of the trauma-informed principle of transparency and trustworthiness to be clear about this. I also include it because I know that I always want to see other people's training, so sharing for any other nosy nellies out there..! 

But a really important reminder for all of us is that formal training isn't the be all and end all, and also a recognition of the fact that it has taken many layers of privilege for me to able to access these trainings (middle class, family wealth, financial support from partner and family, English speaking etc).

Our society tends to prioritise formalised learning and education, but actually we need to recognise the value and importance of lived experience, intergenerational and somatic wisdom. We need to commit to wider learning and unlearning, and applying an intersectional and justice-based lens to our work. I talk a bit more about this in my Knowledge Lineage section below.

SLOW IS THE FASTEST WAY

My work is about trying to step out of autopilot. Working from a place of embodiment rather than pushing. Slowness allows us to start building more of a sense of safety, connection and trust - this isn't something that can be rushed. It is my strong belief (and experience) that meaningful change is able to happen quicker when we decide to go slow in our approach. There is so much wisdom in our bodies, our intuition, and especially our children (if you are looking for family support) but we need to slow down enough to access and really hear this.

At the root of this work is the honouring of natural needs - we are learning to slow down and tune in to what we really need and feel. Taking care of ourselves is a fundamental building block of taking care of our families and communities. I commit to embedding this in my approach to myself as a practitioner, as I try to embody these values and lead by example.

CHILDREN ARE AMONG THE MOST OPPRESSED  IN SOCIETY

 Our world is designed by adults, for adults and children are often viewed as not full humans. They are potential / future people, but for now they are yet to be a fully valid person in their own right. They are deprived of agency, autonomy and respect in their everyday lives in ways that create a deeply oppressed experience. 

And yet, if we took the time to move past this adult supremacy and to embrace a child-centred approach, we could learn so much about interdependence and care and community and humanity from them - which would benefit all of us greatly, whether we are parents/caregivers or not. 

My son continues to be my most influential teacher and collaborator in both my personal and professional life. 

WE FOCUS TOO MUCH ON BEHAVIOUR WITH CHILDREN

So much of our discussions around children will be about how they behave. With the idea of a 'good' child or baby, really meaning an obedient and placid child or baby, that causes minimal inconvenience. But actually there are very few children who are naturally of this level of 'easy going' temperament. 

Developmentally it is very appropriate for babies to cry and to wake frequently, for toddlers to scream and hit out and have huge waves of emotion, for teenagers (and all children) to have both a drive for autonomy and a need for support. 

Even in conversations that purport to be about 'regulation' and supporting children's nervous systems often still come from a place of desiring 'calm'. But children aren't meant to be calm all the time. Humans aren't meant to be calm all the time! We are meant to be moving and shifting and responsive. Behaviour can be seen as a signal of what's going on for that child in that moment. 

Instead of focusing on calmness, we can focus on felt safety. Checking in with whether our children seem to have a base of safety from which to explore the world, or whether they seem to be coming from a place of heightened stress where they might need our support to feel safer (rather than our 'boundaries' to control their behaviour).

Formal Qualifications

• Body-Oriented Coach – The Somatic School 
• The Resilience Toolkit Facilitator - Lumos Transforms
• Advanced Coaching Training - SBCA with Sas Petherick

• Mindfulness Teacher – Breathworks 
• Certified EcoNidra™ Teacher – EcoNidra™ 

• Integrative Forest Therapy Practitioner – Nadur, Centre for Integrative Forest Therapy & Hillingdon MIND 
• Circle Facilitation - Sister Stories
• Climate Cafe Facilitation - Climate Psychology Alliance

• Radical Mental Health First Aide -  N'Deye Oumou Sylla
• Mental Health First Aid – MHFA England
• Youth Mental Health First Aid – MHFA England
• Certificate in Therapeutic Skills and Studies – Metanoia Institute 
• Trained Listening Volunteer with The Listening Place

• MA Applied Anthropology & Community Development - Goldsmiths University

• Birth & Beyond Community Supporter - NCT
• Certified Circle of Security Facilitator (COSP) - Circle of Security International 
• Holistic Infant & Baby Sleep Coaching (Level 6 OCN) - Dr Lyndsey Hookway 
• Baby-Led Sleep™ and Well-Being Specialist - Lauren Weber, Isla Grace (ongoing)
• Mindful Breastfeeding Practitioner - Anna Le Grange (ongoing) 
• Beyond Behaviour - Mona Delahooke (ongoing) 

• Reclaiming the Inner Child: Techniques for Emotional Repair - Embody Lab (ongoing)
• Holistic Nervous System Science - Trauma Geek (ongoing) 

My listing of these is to show the training I have received, it is not to say that these trainings are perfect or that I would necessarily recommend them as a whole. I weave together the aspects from these trainings that have found important, helpful and importantly that have aligned with my values. Similarly, my listing of these is not representative of a belief that these trainers or training providers are perfect.  If you want to discuss any of these trainings or have questions, concerns or feedback you'd like me to have about these, then please feel free to get in touch. I know how hard it can be to get honest feedback on trainings you might be considering, or to know what these mean for you as a service user. I'm open and grateful to gain your insights into any problems with these approaches/ teachers, as well as any questions. We should always hold these things lightly and be willing to adapt and change as needed.

Work Experience 

My background is in Anthropology, Community Development, Disability Advocacy, Early years Family Support, Teaching and Facilitating Community spaces and trainings. 

A highlight has been my involvement in the creation of a research Project with Dr Kirsten McEwan (Derby University) – ‘An Evaluation of the effects of Forest Bathing on Long Covid’

I absolutely love facilitating and holding spaces for groups and individuals. Some examples of spaces I have held include groups for young people with learning disabilities, community health workshops for refugees, women’s groups, support groups for new parents and social spaces for isolated community members.

Lived Experience

I have lived experience of chronic illness (more specifically Long Covid, POTS, chronic migraine and MCAS) for years. These are fluctuating conditions, creating a dynamic disability. 

I am a late identified (diagnosed) AuDHDer - Autistic ADHDer, meaning that I now have a whole new lens through which to understand my experience of the world, as well as the grief and complex emotions of missed diagnosis. 

I also have lived experience of anxiety and depression, as well as burnout.  

I am a parent who struggled hugely with the transition to parenthood and now parents a wonderful and highly sensitive toddler. 

The practices and modalities that I share are all ones that have been (and continue to be) deeply beneficial to me personally. I am always teaching and sharing from a place of being a learner as well as a teacher / practitioner.