30 Years of Frontline Experience

As the founder of ‘Frontline Minds’ and with 30 years of operational experience across UK policing, I’ve seen first-hand the pressures, demands and emotional weight that come with working in high‑stakes environments. I understand what it means to navigate critical incidents, support teams through difficult moments, and carry the quieter, often invisible impact that builds over time.



I joined Merseyside Police in 1996 with pride, purpose and a belief in making a difference. Like many who enter frontline roles, I wasn’t prepared for the emotional toll that comes with supporting people through some of the hardest moments of their lives. Over the years, I witnessed trauma that most people will never encounter. I carried the constant alertness, the fatigue, the burnout, the hyper vigilance —often silently, because that’s what the culture encouraged. Alongside the challenges, I also found deep camaraderie, connection and belonging with the people I served alongside.

By 2007, aged just 35, the pressures of the job collided with significant personal challenges. I was navigating a marriage breakdown, caring for a parent with cancer, coping with bereavement, and raising a young family while working shifts. The long hours, cancelled rest days and relentless pressure began to take their toll. I felt myself becoming emotionally detached from the work I once cared deeply about, yet shame stopped me from speaking out. As an experienced firearms officer, I believed I should be stronger. I assumed everyone else was coping better than I was.

What I didn’t realise then was that I was living with unrecognised trauma. At that time, there was little awareness or support around the psychological impact of frontline work. In emergency services, stigma around mental health was even stronger than in wider society. We didn’t talk about it, didn’t know how to recognise it, and certainly didn’t know how to ask for help.

By 2019, the demands of promotion, long shifts and years of accumulated stress were catching up with me. The pressure and emotional strain slowly eroded my resilience. I was doing everything I could to keep going, but underneath, I was burning out.

Then, in 2020, my life changed in an instant when my son was killed at the tender age of 26. In the moment I needed support the most, the organisation I had devoted my life to was unable to provide it. That experience left a profound moral injury and forced me to confront the impact of decades of unprocessed trauma.

In 2022, I began the difficult but transformative process of rebuilding. I created a peer support programme for more than 6,500 employees, determined that others would have access to the help I didn’t. I retrained as a psychotherapist, combining professional knowledge with lived experience, and embraced the idea of post‑traumatic growth.

Today, through Frontline Minds, I support people across emergency services, the military, healthcare, education, social care and other high‑pressure professions. My work is grounded in compassion, authenticity and a deep understanding of what it means to carry invisible burdens. I help individuals and teams build resilience, manage the impact of trauma and chronic stress, and strengthen long‑term wellbeing.



Your journey matters. You don’t have to walk it alone.

Professional licences & qualifications

Registered member of the BACP No - 01034340

Suicide First Aid (SFA)



Mental Health First Aid England (MHFA)



BA (Hons) First‑Class Honours

Critical incident Stress Management (CISM)

TACKLING GAMBLING RELATED HARMS

Mental Health Counselling & Risk Assessment

Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling

Rewind Therapy

DEMOBILISE & DEFUSE TRAINING

Trauma Impact Prevention Techniques (TIPT)

Certificate of Education in Training

Mental Health Advocacy in the Workplace

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