About Us

Nikki is a HCPC registered Sport and Exercise Psychologist and a Chartered member of the British Psychological Society. Alongside training for chartership Nikki completed a PhD at Brunel University which involved being embedded within a professional football academy to understand and analyse the impact of an elite academy environment on the psychosocial needs and development of youth footballers. In 2023 Nikki published the paper ‘Mind the gap: Environmental influences on player psychosocial needs and development in an elite youth football academy’.

Prior to joining Changing Minds Nikki gained experience at GB Paralympic Archery as well as working with AASE athletes and elite youth footballers. Nikki’s role with Changing Minds currently involves supporting players and staff at Fulham FC Academy, GB hockey and City Football Group. Nikki works to understand and support the psychological needs of the organisation which involves working at individual, team and system level. Nikki primarily works from an Acceptance Commitment Therapy framework to develop psychological flexibility in those she works with to enhance both wellbeing and performance.

Andrew (Andy) is a Chartered Consultant Clinical & Forensic Psychologist and Co-Director of Changing Minds UK. He has over 20 years’ experience in delivering applied psychology provision across a broad range of care and performance environments, including elite sport, business, NHS, mental health, social care and the criminal justice system. He also has substantial experience in clinical management, leadership and psychological service development.

Andy has a particular interest and expertise in supporting the implications of relational attachment, threat and trauma on human development, resilience, wellbeing and performance. He is passionate about the value of psychological understanding in developing potential and realising ambition.

Andy has provided psychological support for CEOs, high-performance leaders and elite athletes across professional and Olympic sports, and has worked with a range of sporting and performance organisations in developing client performance, resilience and emotional wellbeing.

He has also worked in and managed specialist psychological services within community, residential, prison, and hospital settings supporting children, adults and families presenting with high-risk and complex needs. He believes strongly in delivering high-quality psychological services within a robust ethical framework, and working with the inherent strengths within people and systems in their pursuit of wellbeing and performance.

Andy was the lead for psychological provision in a nationally-recognised NHS adolescent forensic mental health service until moving to work full-time in independent practice in 2014.

He has provided consultancy services in the UK and internationally in relation to psychologically-informed culture change, strategic development of mental health services, complex adolescent mental health, looked-after children and youth justice services. Other accomplishments include being a visiting lecturer at several British universities; presenting research and clinical interests at conferences nationally and internationally; being published in a variety of books and peer-reviewed journals; plus mainstream TV and radio appearances promoting psychological understanding of human development and mental health. 

A National Clinical Advisor for ‘Secure Stairs’, an NHS England-led project supporting the development of a psychologically and trauma-informed framework of integrated care for young people within the secure estate. Andy currently clinically supervises professionals from a wide range of backgrounds, as well as supervising trainee and qualified practitioner psychologists.

James is a Chartered Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Co-Director of Changing Minds UK.   He combines a passion for sport with a desire to support others – particularly those at risk of exclusion – in realising their potential, achieving their goals and enabling them to Perform Well.

James has over 20 years of experience working with challenging presentations in a breadth of care and performance environments. He has led or developed psychological services in mental health, youth justice, and high-performance settings. He has specialist knowledge and considerable experience in working with young people who present with high-risk behaviours.

Through his work, James has developed an ability to make sense of complex presentations or needs, and enables others to work effectively with these challenges through the provision of training, supervision, consultation, or expert opinion. He promotes the importance of developing shared understanding and firmly believes that an effective consultant or practitioner leaves an individual or system more psychologically-informed, more empowered, and ultimately in a better place.

An Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society, and a Practitioner Psychologist registered with the Health and Care Professions Council, James has presented research and clinical interests at both national and international conferences, and has been published in a variety of books and peer-reviewed journals.

Sue is a Senior Clinical Psychologist who has experience in working with people across the lifespan in a variety of service contexts including community, inpatient and applied settings. Prior to joining Changing Minds, Sue worked in a NHS child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) for 2 years. She has also worked as a mental health mentor at the University of Warwick and as an Associate with St Basils, supporting the delivery of training for staff in providing psychologically informed environments.

Since joining Changing Minds in October 2018, Sue has been working with the performance team across a variety of professional and elite sport settings. Her role includes supporting individuals and systems to enhance wellbeing and performance in a way that is sustainable. This includes individual psychological support, consultation with systems, strategy development and education/training.

Sue has a longstanding passion for sport. She has undertaken research into mental health and help-seeking within professional football and hopes to collaborate on further research in this area. Sue has also competed at junior international level for football and continues to play both football and hockey at a national level.

Sue was awarded a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology jointly from the University of Warwick and Coventry University in 2016, and also holds an MSc in Clinical Applications of Psychology and a BSc in Psychology, both from the University of Warwick. Sue has training across a range of psychological approaches and has undertaken further introductory courses in Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT) and Dialectic Behavioural Therapy (DBT). She is registered as a Practitioner Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).

Kay is the Lead for Operations for the Performance Services team at Changing Minds. Kay is responsible for managing all aspects of operations to ensure the smooth delivery of our services. This includes oversight of contract management, financial and business planning, reporting and internal communications. Kay’s approach is friendly, collaborative and purpose driven.

Kay worked for ten years in the administration and delivery of Olympic and Paralympic sport and was lucky enough to support Team GB in Sochi 2014, Rio 2016 and Toyko 2020. These experiences have given Kay great insight into elite sport and how these environments can thrive.

Prior to joining Changing Minds in 2016, Amanda worked for 7 years in a specialist Local Authority Looked After and Adopted Children’s Psychology Service. She is highly experienced in working with children, families and those in the care systems around the child using attachment and trauma frameworks to offer psychological assessments, consultations and therapeutic intervention.

Amanda’s current clinical practice involves undertaking comprehensive psychological assessments and working therapeutically with children and their families and individual adults to support their emotional wellbeing and mental health needs. Amanda continues to specialise in providing attachment focused intervention and provides post adoption support to a number of families, funded through the Adoption Support Fund. Amanda has undertaken training in Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP) and Theraplay® and regularly uses these approaches in her clinical work.

Amanda also manages a psychological consultation service commissioned by a local authority for both foster carers and residential staff. Amanda has extensive direct experience of offering consultations to staff teams (foster carers, senior social work managers, social workers and teachers) who support children and young people who have experienced complex trauma, separation and loss. The focus of these consultations is to create shared understanding and promote therapeutic parenting approaches in all aspects of the child or young person’s life.

Amanda is currently leading on the development of our services in the Midlands and supervises a staff team of Clinical Psychologists and Assistant Psychologists.

Prior to working as a Clinical Psychologist, Amanda worked for the Youth Justice Board supporting the development of offending behaviour programmes in secure and custodial environments. She has also held a Senior Management position (Head of Youth Offending Services) within a custodial setting for young people, managing a multi-disciplinary team responsible for psychological intervention (including offence focussed work) within the centre.

Amanda’s interest in working in youth offending developed when studying criminology as part of her undergraduate degree. She went on to complete a PhD in Forensic Psychology and wrote her thesis on the impact of film violence on young offenders.

Amanda is registered as a Practitioner Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). She holds an enhanced DBS certificate.

Shreeta is a HCPC registered Senior Clinical Psychologist, and has over 10 years’ experience in the NHS, working with people across the lifespan and in settings ranging from community to forensic inpatient.

Much of her work has been working with young people, young adults and families with complex clinical presentations and with the services that support them, in order to increase psychological understanding and wellness. She has particular experience in working with care-experienced young people and those who have experienced adversity and trauma.

Shreeta also has considerable experience working within the area of elite sports, recognising that many of the same psychological theories and skills she had used in other settings can be applied to the high-performance environment. Since joining Changing Minds, Shreeta has worked with individuals (elite athletes and support staff), performance teams and organisations to improve performance and promote overall wellbeing through psychological consultation and individual work. Shreeta is working to support the development of the Changing Minds provision in London.

As a Clinical Psychologist, Shreeta draws on a range of psychological knowledge and theories to understand human behaviour and performance, including complex trauma and attachment theory. She integrates a number of therapeutic approaches into her work including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Cognitive Analytic Therapy and recognises the high value of working systemically. In addition to her clinical work, Shreeta is a past member of the British Psychological Society’s national committee for children, young people and families and has published on traumatic presentations in young people at risk of entering the criminal justice system. She is registered with the Health and Care Professions Council and the British Psychological Society.

Henry is a HCPC registered Clinical Psychologist who has experience of working within a range of different contexts. After completing clinical training, Henry went to work with young people and their families in the NHS. Since joining Changing Minds, Henry has worked across several elite performance environments including horseracing, rugby, and cricket. Henry works to develop relationships, enhance resilience, and sustain performance. 

Henry has a particular interest in anxiety research and how this impacts our ability to understand another person’s perspective. He is actively completing research to better understand how emotion impacts perspective taking.

Henry has a passion for sport outside of Changing Minds, with golf and cricket being his favourites to play. Despite the continuing development of applying psychological principles in elite performance, this is yet to transfer into his skill execution.

Alex is a BPS chartered psychologist who holds a PhD in performance psychology from Bangor University. She joins us in the role of Honorary Applied Research Associate for the next two years as part of our KTP (Knowledge Transfer Partnership) with Bangor University. This project is aimed at helping us to develop a more evidence-based and consistent assessment/ decision making process in relation to an athlete’s likelihood to perform well.

Prior to joining Changing Minds, Alex worked with the RFU during her PhD, to explore the efficacy of the RFU’s talent development pathway, with a particular focus on the psychological characteristics which underpin talent and the multidisciplinary factors which influence progression through the pathway. She has also previously held operational roles at major international sports events, working in both rugby and tennis for World Rugby, Gloucester Rugby, and the International Tennis Federation.

Gemma is a HCPC registered Sport Psychologist with over 15 years’ experience working within high performance sport / systems. After completing her studies (MSc / PGDip) in Sheffield and following a 12-month internship with the English Institute of Sport (EIS), Gemma started her applied work with the British Sailing team focusing on pathway psychology skill development and transitions. Following the London Olympic cycle, Gemma took on the role of lead sport psychologist for the British Gymnastics team, driving both the strategic and applied psychology support for the 2016 Olympic cycle. This included working closely with coaches and gymnasts around pressure training skills and principles. Alongside her work in gymnastics, Gemma worked for the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB), providing support for the England Women’s cricket team during their transition to becoming a professionalised sport, and throughout an Ashes & World Cup series.

Following 10 years at the EIS, Gemma moved on to work for the Football Association (FA) in 2018, to help provide the cultural and psychological support to the senior women’s football team during their 2019 World Cup campaign. Following the World Cup, Gemma became strategy lead for youth development phase (YDP) for both men’s and women’s pathways, focusing on leadership development through coaches and captains.

Having worked closely with Changing Minds during many of her applied years, in 2021 Gemma began working directly for the company.  During her first 12 months, Gemma divided her time between her role as Lead Sport Psychologist for the ECB (men’s pathway) and providing executive coaching to clients across our corporate contracts.  Gemma has a passion for trying to make applied psychology clear and tangible, and for using creative ways to bring thinking and performance to life.

Alex is a Senior Sport Psychologist at Changing Minds, who holds a master’s degree in Sport and Exercise Psychology from Loughborough University. He has worked as an applied practitioner within elite sport since 2012, and prior to this worked as an assistant psychologist within a clinical setting with adolescents presenting with complex needs.

Alex has supported child, adolescent, and adult performers, across a range of Olympic and professional sports and businesses. This includes work with Premier League and Championship football clubs, England Netball, GB Canoe, GB Hockey, and both national and domestic cricket. Alex enjoys working as part of a team towards a shared goal and believes strongly in integrating psychological knowledge from a range of theoretical perspectives to help assess and understand the needs of the people he works with.

Alex is passionate about both performance and wellbeing and enjoys supporting both the individuals within a system and their leaders, allowing for a combination of personal and environmental growth within the organisations he works with.

Alex has enjoyed competing in a variety of sports, including rugby, water polo, and mixed martial arts!

Aleksandra leads the development and expression of the Changing Minds brand, aligning our visual identity, messaging, and strategic positioning across all touchpoints.

She has a First-Class degree in Business & Management with Modern Languages, and a background as a creative entrepreneur. With a strong focus on clarity, cohesion, and long-term impact, Aleksandra leads brand development across campaigns, content, and communications.

Collaborating across teams, she translates complex ideas into compelling narratives that build trust, resonate with our clients, and drive growth.

Chris has been involved in Sport Psychology for over a decade. During this time, he has worked with multiple professional, Olympic, Paralympic, and World Championship level athletes, coaches, and teams, as well as multiple businesses and registered charities. Alongside his work as a Sport Psychologist, Chris has also worked within coach development, leading coach development programmes and initiatives across a wide variety of sports.

Chris is passionate about supporting people to develop and to deliver consistently high levels of performance. He enjoys not only working with individuals and teams, but collaborating with leaders and coaches to help create sustainable environments that allow people to thrive.

Chris is a Chartered Sport and Exercise Psychologist with the British Psychological Society (BPS) and a registered Practitioner Psychologist with the HCPC. He is also a member of the BPS Division of Sport and Exercise Psychology. Chris was awarded a Doctorate, M.Sc., and B.Sc., all in Sport Psychology from the University of Central Lancashire.

Currently, through his work with Changing Minds, Chris is one of the Podium Psychologists for the Great Britain Cycling Team and delivers within corporate settings.

Jen is a qualified Primary Teacher with 10 years teaching experience within a variety of settings including Nursery, Primary and SEN schools. From her teaching career, Jen has experience of working effectively within a team, prioritising workloads in order to meet targets and deadlines, and using creativity to plan and organise. All of these skills are utilised in her role at Changing Minds UK.

Jen provides support with all administrative functions within Changing Minds UK and 19 Wilson Patten and is lead for HR. She is the first point of contact for booking enquiries and for people visiting 19 Wilson Patten. Jen believes in the importance of delivering a polite, welcoming and effective customer service.

James is a HCPC registered Clinical Psychologist who has experience of working with a variety of different people in different contexts and across the lifespan. James holds a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology which was awarded from the Universities of Coventry & Warwick in 2022. James also has also completed an MSc in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and BSc in Psychology.

Prior to completing his clinical psychology doctorate, James qualified as a CBT therapist from Royal Holloway University in 2017 and subsequently worked as a CBT therapist in NHS mental health services in London. James has also carried out research which explores elite/professional athletes’ experiences of returning to sport following a long-term injury. It is hoped that this research will help sports organisations to effectively support athletes when they transition back to sport following an injury.

Since joining Changing Minds, James has gained experience in providing psychological support at both an individual and systemic level within high performance sport and corporate settings.

Emily is a Sport Psychologist with the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences. Since graduating from her MSc at Loughborough University, she has worked in a range of settings including Premier League hockey, football academies, and Moonshot, a children’s wellbeing and performance company. Emily’s work with Moonshot involved designing online teaching resources which promoted self-awareness and emotional and behavioural management in young people.

Emily believes in combining a holistic approach to understanding the environments and systems which athletes operate within and the importance of developing strong relationships to successfully assess and understand the needs of the clients.

Jon is an HCPC‑registered applied psychologist with a decade of experience delivering performance psychology across elite sport. He has worked extensively within professional, Olympic, and international environments, supporting athletes, coaches and multidisciplinary staff across cricket, football, hockey and other high‑performance systems.

Jon currently serves as Sport Psychologist for the England Senior Men’s Cricket Team, alongside roles with Norwich City FC and Fulham FC. His previous work includes positions with City Football Group, Brighton & Hove Albion, Great Britain Hockey, Huddersfield Town, and Great Britain Short Track Speed Skating.

He brings a personable, system‑wide approach to practice, emphasising collaboration, behavioural understanding and the integration of psychology through coaching and performance staff. Jon holds an MSc and BSc in Sport & Exercise Psychology, the BPS Stage 2 Qualification, and additional training in counselling skills.

Kate is a Trainee Sport Psychologist with the British Psychological Society who holds an MSci (hons) in Psychology and MSc in Sport and Exercise Psychology. Since joining Changing Minds in 2024, Kate’s role has included working with Wolverhampton Wanderers, GB Taekwondo and ECB Umpires to support individuals and organisations to reach and sustain the highest levels of performance. Kate believes that connecting with the person behind the athlete and the people behind the system is where the magic happens.

Kate is also completing her PhD funded by Nottingham Trent University through which she is investigating the protective and promotive factors for elite female athlete mental health, with a focus on the wider athletic environment. Kate is passionate about the practical application of her findings, as well as the importance of leaving participants with personal benefits from taking part in research that seeks to have tangible impact.

Paul is the Finance Lead for Changing Minds group of companies and is responsible for the financial accounting and management accounts, Payroll. Paul gives full financial support to the teams at Changing Minds Ltd & Changing Minds Wellbeing Ltd and supports the board of directors.

In addition Paul has over twenty years experiences within finance and Information technology and has worked within a wide range of organisations. Paul is highly qualified in Accountancy, Payroll and Software.

Vicki is an HCPC registered, enhanced DBS checked and Chartered Consultant Clinical Psychologist with over 30 years of experience in the NHS within mental health services. Much of her time was spent in therapeutic services for children and families and in single and multi -agency training on safeguarding and child protection. The focus of the clinical work was on working in trauma. She has published resources for working with child and adult survivors of domestic abuse. Her role developed into providing consultation to other parts of the service and to other agencies in her role as clinical psychology lead. Prior to joining Changing Minds, Vicki provided clinical supervision to senior staff within the company.

Since joining Changing Minds in 2021, Vicki has been working within the performance team across different contracts including elite sport and business. Her role includes primarily supporting individuals’ wellbeing and performance in their different settings through the provision of a range of psychological therapies, particularly via the EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) approach.

Obss is a Clinical Psychologist and High-Intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapist who completed his Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the University of Birmingham. He has experience delivering evidence-based psychological interventions in various service contexts to individuals across the lifespan, addressing a wide range of mental health difficulties.

His clinical approach is integrative, incorporating Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT), and systemic models, ensuring flexible, person-centred care. Obss aims to thoughtfully consider culture, ethnicity, religion, and broader social identities in his clinical work to provide culturally responsive practice.

He now applies his clinical knowledge and practical skills within elite sport and high-performance environments.

Beyond clinical work, Obss has delivered teaching, workshops, and training in community settings, demonstrating his commitment to promoting psychological well-being in diverse communities.

Asshur is a HCPC registered Sport Psychologist, qualified with the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences. Graduating from St Mary’s University from a MSc in Applied Sport Psychology, she is now completing a PhD in Wellbeing in the Talent Pathway with the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme alongisde her applied work at Changing Minds. Asshur’s previous experience as a Sport Psychologist has been across sporting contexts inclusive but not limited to football, cricket and gymnastics, and across the arts in the national circus and west end performing artists. 

Since starting at Changing Minds, Asshur has been embedded at a professional football academy support players and the support team for the U9-U14 age groups. Adopting a person-centred, systemic approach, Asshur is focussed on developing the environment to foster wellbeing and performance coincide to one another. 

George is a Trainee Sport Psychologist currently completing a Professional Doctorate in Sport Psychology at Liverpool John Moores University, where he previously also completed a BSc and MSc in Sport and Exercise Psychology.

George has experience supporting, both, youth and adult performers across a range of team and individual sports, as well as competitive levels. This includes work with British Lacrosse, Blackburn Rovers and Warrington Wolves, as well as with GB Kickboxers. Outside of sport, George also possesses experience working in higher education and corporate settings.

Since joining Changing Minds, George’s role has included working with Sheffield United and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

George believes in supporting, both, wellbeing and performance to help individuals and organisations reach their potential and achieve long-term high performance. Additionally, George values connecting with the person behind the performer, building meaningful relationships and working collaboratively across systems to help facilitate a psychologically informed environment.

Since young George has trained and competed in Rugby Union & Kickboxing and has previously represented his county and competed internationally, respectively. Along with training & competing himself, George also has experience coaching kickboxing on a 1-2-1 and group basis, as well as at national and international tournaments.