ABOUT ME
I am passionate about empowering women to take control of their mental health through nutrition and lifestyle medicine
I grew up fascinated by how the mind worked. A close family member struggled with mental health for many years. As a child, I saw first hand the devastation anxiety and depression can have on someone's life. I hoped for a magic cure to make my loved one happy and to be able to enjoy life again.
After studying Psychology at university in my home town of Belfast I moved to Manchester and started working within the field of mental health. I trained as a Mental Health Nurse and gained experience in a variety of clinical settings. Always being interested in nutrition I was amazed how little diet and lifestyle was addressed within the mental health service .
Working as a Mental Health Nurse was challenging at times, I loved my job and always felt resilient enough to cope with the role. The stress of working long hours with a high caseload began to take its toll on both my physical and mental health. I was tired all the time, constantly felt overwhelmed and like I wasn't doing a good enough job. I had digestive issues, my mood was low and I wasn't sleeping.
Instead of slowing down, I tried to do more in an attempt to keep on top of things but I was sinking. I was overworked and stressed out in a job I used to love. I took a break from work to get my health back on track. I used this time to increase my knowledge in nutrition and lifestyle medicine to heal my body and mind. I read many self-help books, ate nourishing meals, meditated and journaled for hours at a time.
Slowly I began to feel better, I started to feel alive again. It was during this time I realised I needed to find a new way to help people if I wanted to stay healthy myself. I leapt from full-time Mental Health Nurse to running a private clinic specialising in women's mental and have never looked back.
I am still a Registered Mental Health Nurse as well as a registered Nutritional Therapist. I now integrate my experience of mental health, psychology, nutrition and lifestyle medicine to provide a unique holistic approach to improving women's health naturally.
I am committed to professional development and keeping up to date on current research in Nutritional Psychiatry. I am currently completing Nutritional and Integrative Medicine for Mental Health Professionals certification. I also attend the Applied Functional Medicine Mentoring Programme (AFMMP) to further my knowledge in functional medicine and how to apply this model to clinical practice.
Qualifications
Registered Nutritionist MBANT
Registered Nutritional Therapist CNHC
Registered Mental Health Nurse NMC
BSc Hons Psychology
PgDip Applied Psychology (Clinical Specialism)
Applied Functional Medicine Mentoring Programme