About BACP Workplace
Towards an emotionally healthy workplace

Vianna Boring, MBACP - Chair

Vianna is a person-centred counsellor based in Poole Dorset. Originally from Northern California, she has worked extensively within secondary and university education settings in Northern Ireland, Hampshire and Dorset. Equally passionate about the impact of EAP counselling and the link between organisational culture and staff wellbeing, she is currently both a staff coach at Bournemouth University, and a Placement Development Advisor working with students during their year in industry.

Email: vianna_renaud@yahoo.com 

Sue Christy, MBACP (Accred)

Sue's main specialism is critical incident stress management (CISM) in the workplace - preparing for, responding to, and supporting after critical events.

She is passionate about helping organisations increase awareness and understanding of workplace critical incidents, particularly how the organisational response in the early hours, days and weeks following an event can make a huge difference and significantly reduce human suffering. She is also keen to help develop key competencies and best practice for organisations and individuals working in this field.

Sue is the psychological trauma and training lead for Gloucestershire County Council and Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Services. She also provides a critical incident response, consultancy and training service for organisations and EAPs across the UK and is a Kenyan International Disaster Response team member.

Claire McCluskey MSc BA Relate Cert CC Systemic Practitioner

Claire has worked as a counsellor for over two decades- the first in Northern Ireland where she trained and worked as a Relate couples and family counsellor. She currently lives in North Wales, having worked in the local NHS as an occupational health counsellor and a primary care counsellor since 2009.

Claire has been working as an EAP counsellor since 2005 as part of her private practice work. She has worked with various organisations in North Wales providing counselling for workplace issues and has recently started working with PAM Wellbeing as a stepped care counsellor.

She's passionate about talking about workplace issues for clients counsellors and organisations, especially in the context of the physical, economic and psychological load due to the pandemic and remote working. Claire’s heart will always be in connection and relating – whether that’s in relationships, family, workplace teams or bigger systems and organisations. She believes wanting to be well and stay well in whatever the context is universal. 

Nicola Neath

Nicola is an accredited integrative psychotherapist and trainer, working in the Staff Counselling and Psychological Support Service at the University of Leeds. She has a small private practice, which is mainly for collaborative training. Nicola is passionate about bringing different psychological perspectives into practice in her training, psychotherapy and coaching work.

Email: n.e.neath@adm.leeds.ac.uk

Andy Price

Andy is an accredited integrative counsellor who co-manages a busy GP counselling service and who also works in the third sector providing free counselling to disadvantaged groups. He has a strong interest in the connection between personal distress and how society is organised. He has a particular professional interest in trauma and is an EMDR practitioner.

Andy came to counselling after 30 years’ service as an operational firefighter and a trade union official. He brings with him a wealth of experience in industrial relations and was a founding member of the Psychotherapy and Counselling Union. He is a keen football supporter and proud to have been instrumental in helping his local club to become a fan owned community club.

Andy believes it is only through working collectively that we can we achieve goals that will improve society and personal wellbeing for all.

Jack Jackson

Jack Jackson is an Accredited MBACP Counsellor currently living in North Wales and working in Higher Education as the Wellbeing Manager at Bangor University

Over the past 25 years, Jack has worked in a variety of organisations from Education to NHS and Voluntary Sector.

He came out openly as Transgender in 2016 at a job interview in the NHS having known about his gender identity from around the age of 7 years old.

Jack was the Stonewall UK & Cymru Transgender Role Model 2018 and nominated for the Pink News LGBT+ Role Model award in 2019. He has also been nominated for staff achievement awards within the NHS for his work around Mental Health as well as Equality & Diversity.

He supports Local and National Transgender Organisations across Wales and offers support across the UK to the transgender and non –binary community. He is also a stakeholder on the Trans Wales Partnership group and has previously been a joint coordinator of a research group - SURAGth led by the Nottingham University Professor of Mental Health & Transgender Health.

He is passionate about challenging the stigma around Mental Health and strongly believes in the value of safety planning and talking openly about suicide with compassion and hope. He is an associate trainer for an organisation specialising in Suicide Awareness and prevention as well as being a member of their Expert Reference Group. He has taken part in filming a short personal story around the value of safety planning.

Jack also has a small private practice working as a Queer Therapist and specialising in working with LGBTQi+ clients.

“Being authentic has changed my life completely – living my life as Jack has enabled me to not only love myself but also be loved by others. By being authentic at work and in my personal life I have a deeper connection with and better understanding of myself. It’s had a really positive effect on my well-being, both mentally and physically. And it’s enabled me to feel a much stronger and deeper sense of self-worth and confidence.”

Contact email: jack.jackson@bangor.ac.uk

Andrew Wood

Andrew worked in the financial services industry for over 25 years, holding senior finance and business management positions within large multi-national organizations in the UK, Singapore and Australia. He returned to the UK to complete his MSc in Counselling and Psychotherapy, and since then has worked as a therapist with Mind, Relate, a bereavement counselling charity and as a workplace counsellor with two NHS Trusts, as well as setting up his own private therapy practice. He was previously the Counselling Service Manager for TalkingSpace Plus, the NHS’ IAPT service in Oxfordshire, and is currently the Clinical Director at Care first.

Email: andrewwoodmba@gmail.com

Jonny Ward

Jonny lives in Glossop just outside Manchester. Jonny wears two hats from which he draws his experiences. He is an active Watch Manager, or front-line engine officer with Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, working at Moss Side station. Jonny is also a registered Psychotherapist with the BACP and works in private practice and for Anxiety UK.

Jonny combines these two unique experiences under the hat of "The Anxious Firefighter" where he carries out mental health awareness training and public speaking engagements.

Email: Theanxiousfireman@outlook.com

Julie Hughes

Julie is an accredited integrative psychotherapist and brings over two decades of experience working within workplace counselling. Julie is a Co-Director of Mind Matters Counselling LLP, specialising in providing workplace counselling to employees nationwide. Julie is particularly interested in trauma, providing Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) to organisationsis. She is also a Supervisor and an accredited EMDR practitioner.

Julie was elected Chair from 2019 to 2022 to the Workplace Division and currently holds the position of Deputy Chair. During her time with the Workplace Division, she has been part of the Expert Reference Group developing the Workplace Competencies launched in 2001.

Julie also has her own small private practice specialising in long-term complex trauma.

Email: Juliehughes@mindmatterscounselling.org.uk