Our Team

DR DUNCAN
GILLARD

Duncan is a HCPC (Health and Care Professions Council) registered Senior Educational Psychologist and an experienced ACT & DNA-V practitioner and trainer. Duncan is the co-author of the popular self-help book Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for Dummies and of several peer-reviewed articles on the subjects of ACT and Contextual Behavioural Science (CBS). Primarily, Duncan’s work focuses on whole-school and targeted interventions to promote and improve children’s wellbeing and resilience, as well as on the delivery of group and individually-based ACT coaching interventions to support teachers’ wellbeing and valued-living.

DR CORINNA
GRINDLE BCBA-D

Corinna is an Associate Professor at the Centre for Educational Development, Appraisal and Research (CEDAR) at the University of Warwick. Corinna has taught numerous university courses for psychologists and educationalists regarding autism, behaviour change, curriculum design and effective instruction. Her research has been published in several peer reviewed journals including the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disabilities and Research in Developmental Disabilities. Her book Teaching Early Numeracy to Children with Developmental Disabilities was published in November 2020.

Dr nic
hooper

Nic is a Senior Lecturer of Psychology at the University of the West of England (UWE). He has authored a number of empirical articles and book chapters, as well as presenting his research at conferences and universities over 50 times all over the world. Between 2015 and 2017 he sat on the board of directors for the Association for Contextual Behavioural Science, which is the 8000-member organisation that oversees a lot of ACT related work. Nic has taken part in various media engagements and his book (The Research Journey of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) was released in August of 2015. 

Dr Freddy
Jackson Brown

Freddy is an HCPC (Health and Care Professions Council) registered, chartered clinical psychologist with 20 years experience working with children and families in the NHS. He has published a range of peer reviewed articles / book chapters on ACT, behaviour analysis, disability and sexuality, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Dummies. His interests include child development, language and communication, challenging behaviour, staff systems, emotional literacy and supervision.

Sarah
gardner

Sarah has been teaching for 7 years in a large primary school in north Bristol, after graduating from the University of Plymouth with a bachelors in primary education. She currently leads PSHE within the school and runs the emotional literacy and pupil engagement team. She also holds a certificate of professional practice in PSHE qualification which she achieved in 2016. 

EMILY
GOYEN BCBA

Emily, who holds a Masters degree, has over 9 years experience working with children and young adults with mild to severe learning difficulties in mainstream and special needs schools, as well as in-home therapy services. She specialises in behaviour support, individualised skills teaching programmes, parent training and staff training.

Emily
Searle

Emily is a PhD student at the University of the West of England. It is pivotal that the curriculum we develop be evidence based and her role, in addition to overseeing the development of lesson plans, is to empirically evaluate our efforts. 

KATIE
PARKER BCBA

Katie has 20 years experience working with children and young people, including those with developmental difficulties. Katie  provides consultation and training to Specialist Schools and Colleges; and Early Intensive Behavioural Intervention (EIBI) Programmes in home and mainstream educational settings. She is a guest Lecturer for the MSc in Autism and related conditions at Swansea University Medical School. 

LAURa
MAKEM

Laura is an MSc Clinical Psychology graduate with a special interest and experience in supporting children and adults with complex needs and psychological wellbeing. She helps with the creation of lesson slides, handouts and audio recordings. In addition, Laura contributes to academic papers and other initiatives within Connect.

BETHANY ROSE
GREEN

After completing her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology, Beth has successfully completed a Masters degree from the University of North Wales, Bangor.

Beth has worked as a Teaching Assistant in the special education field, as well as a private tutor in home-based therapy programs, extending her experience in the implementation of computer-based reading and comprehension interventions, discrete trial teaching and natural environment training interventions. She is particularly interested in the Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) framework and its application to reducing challenging behaviours, executive function(s) interventions, as well as designing and adopting educational evidence-based interventions for children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder and/or Intellectual Disabilities.

Dr Geetanjali
Basarkod

Geet is a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Positive Psychology and Education, Australian Catholic University. She was awarded her PhD in 2019, for which she developed the Six Ways to Well-Being Questionnaire (6W-WeB), supervised by Professor Joseph Ciarrochi and Dr. Baljinder Sahdra. Geet has published papers on a variety of topics, including mindfulness, psychological flexibility, body image, and academic achievement and self-beliefs. She has also served on the board of the Australian and New Zealand Chapter of the Association for Contextual Behavioural Science, and continues to be involved with organising their events and conferences.

DR Joseph
Ciarrochi

Joseph Ciarrochi is professor at the Institute for Positive Psychology and Education, Australian Catholic University.. Joseph has published over 140 scientific journal articles and many books, including the best selling Get out of your mind and into your life teens, and the influential book, Thriving Adolescent. In the adult area, Joseph has published The Weight Escape, and Mindfulness, Acceptance, and Positive Psychology: The seven foundations of well-being, and Emotional intelligence: A practitioner’s guide. He has been honoured with over four million dollars in research funding. His work has been discussed on TV, and in magazines, newspaper articles, and radio.

DR LOUISE
HAYES

Louise Hayes is a clinical psychologist, author, speaker and active humanitarian. Together with Joseph Ciarrochi, Louise is the originator of the DNA-V model; a developmental model based on contextual behavioural science. She is a Senior Fellow with The University of Melbourne and Orygen, The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health. She is a past President of ACBS, and a peer reviewed Acceptance and Commitment Therapy/Training (ACT) trainer. She is the co-author of the best-selling books: Get Out of Your Mind and into your Life for Teenagers: A Guide to Living an Extraordinary Life, and The Thriving Adolescent: Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Positive Psychology to Help Teens Manage Emotions, Achieve Goals, and Build Connection. In 2020 she will release a new book, Your Life, Your Way, using DNA-V with teens. Louise is also a clinician, working with adult and adolescents in private practice. She is an active humanitarian, taking mental health professionals into the Himalaya to develop their mindfulness skills and raising funds for poor children in remote Nepal. For more information on Louise go to – louisehayes.com.au or for information on DNA-V go to thrivingadolescent.com