I am an academic psychologist, psychological therapy practitioner, and senior executive with over 25 years’ experience spanning advisory work, financial services, higher education, mental health, policy development, and scientific research.
I am currently appointed Chief Clinical Officer at Onebright, one of the largest UK providers of outpatient mental health services (supporting over 60,000 people a year), where I am a member of the Executive Board and have responsibility for the delivery and governance of the company’s clinical services. In this role I lead a 5 strong Clinical Leadership Team which oversees over 30 clinical and team leads, 130 FTE clinical assessors and psychological therapy practitioners, and a national network of more than 2,000 clinicians. I am also Emeritus Professor of Addictive Behaviours and Mental Health at London South Bank University.
As a senior executive I have a track record of achieving success in building, motivating and engaging teams to deliver on set goals in the higher education and mental healthcare sectors. My advisory and policy development work has included co-authoring governmental guidelines for psychological therapists in supporting their clients discontinue prescribed psychiatric medication, assisting in the establishment of new mental health services/platforms, and acting as a trustee and chair of the board of trustees for two charities. My corporate training work has focused on improving mental wellbeing for individuals and organisations and my media engagement has centred on thought pieces/commentaries in the area of mental health.
As an academic and researcher, I have made a significant contribution to psychological theory and therapy by leading on the development of the field of metacognition in addictive behaviours. I am in the top 1% of globally cited scientists with over 230 scientific journal articles published and serve as Editor-in-Chief of Addictive Behaviors, one of the leading scientific journals in addiction psychology and psychiatry. Both the British Psychological Society and the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies have awarded me a Fellowship in recognition of my work in this field.
For more than 25 years I have also been working, in both private practice and in community mental health settings, as a psychological therapy practitioner specialising in both Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Metacognitive Therapy, and have over 20 years' experience as a trainer and supervisor in both these psychological therapy modalities.
