EMPOWERING
OTHERS
//RAY FREEMAN
I am the Director and a Fellow of the National Council of Psychotherapists. I am registered with CNHC as a Hypnotherapist. I attend regular peer supervision and have around 10,000 client hours experience in Psychotherapy, Hypnotherapy, Coaching and Counselling. My background is lecturing in Psychology and Mental Health and this forms the bedrock of my ability to understand client issues and to communicate care and recovery plans. I also have experience of running my own training school in Psychotherapy and Hypnotherapy and with the experience, I formulated my own model of therapy to work with clients and to train others. I first met the Co-Founder Rose Latham over 15 years ago when she was a student at the college I taught at and we have since become firm friends.
I am fully aware of her journey through trauma, which has been a difficult process at times for her. However, she now uses her own recovery and voice to empower others with similar experiences and also uses her personal experiences with professionals to offer educational and CPD workshops to allow professionals a deeper insight into best practice and being better at becoming trauma-informed practitioners. I fully endorse and support the project and recognise the need for the services that Empower the Invisible Project offer.
//MARK GILMAN
Mark Gilman has spent 35 years working in addictions research, policy and practice. He has a first degree in Organisation Theory and an MA in the study of Drugs, Crime and Social Deviance. Mark was the Strategic Recovery Lead for Substance Misuse in Public Health England (PHE) where he initiated the work that PHE published as Facilitated Access to Mutual Aid (http://www.nta.nhs.uk/uploads/mutualaid-fama.pdf). Mark established Discovering Health in 2015. He is an associate of Cormac Russell, an advocate for Asset Based Community Development and the founder member of The Expert Faculty on Commissioning for Substance Use Disorders. Mark agreed to be an ambassador for the Empower the Invisible Project because of his experience of substance use disorders (professionally and personally) and his fundamental belief that childhood trauma is the root of many (or most) of the most challenging forms of ‘addiction’. Addressing trauma is the most urgent need in substance use disorder treatment and recovery world.
//LISA KELLY
My name is Lisa Kelly and I work in the Criminal Justice System with individuals and groups. I work with residents who have Substance Use Disorders using psychosocial interventions so that these individuals can reintegrate back into society and all too often I speak to clients who have had traumatic childhoods that has sadly included childhood sexual abuse which was their gateway to substance use and crime. I witness the full impact this has had upon them, and indeed continues to do so, and I am passionate about giving these men a voice and treating them with a trauma informed approach. I have known Rose for a long number of years and have witnessed her journey from disclosure of her abuse to her recovery and can see that what she is doing is making an enormous difference to those whose lives have been terribly affected by the actions of adults who abused them in childhood. I am proud to support the work and agreed to be an ambassador as its important to me to champion this work so that others can receive support and care and know that they are not alone and meet with others in similar positions with shared experiences so that they can heal from their trauma and lead fulfilling lives.
I have also attended their workshops and its an invaluable training opportunity for any professional who works with or supports those with a history of non-recent childhood sexual abuse who are displaying traumatic responses in the present time.