Meet the experts! CATCH is powered by a unique community of contributors — clinical psychologists, therapists, education specialists, social workers, and most importantly experts by experience — adoptive parents, foster carers, special guardians and people who have been adopted or fostered themselves.
All these experts are working together to promote trauma awareness. The shared goal is simple: to create practical, evidence-based resources that empower parents, carers, and practitioners to help children heal, grow, and thrive.
Explore the profiles below to discover some of the people whose expertise and experiences make CATCH a trusted source of guidance and support.
Dr Natalie Briant is a Clinical Psychologist who has spent more than 25 years working with children who are care experienced and have moved into foster or adoptive families.
Michelle has worked in education for 20 years and is currently the head of a special school for traumatised secondary school students.
Simon was adopted when he was five weeks old. He was always aware he was adopted and wasn’t conscious of any trauma, until he found out that the teddy bear he’d had for 40 years was a gift from his birth mother.
Alan is a founding member of the UK FASD Research Collaboration, and he is a member of the Professional Advisory Panel for Irish FASD charity EndPAE.
Lauren is a Clinical Psychologist registered with the HCPC and Chartered through the BPS, and a certified DDP practitioner. She works with children, adolescents and adults, in addition to providing support to parents.
Beth Neil is a professor of social work at the University of East Anglia. She has carried out a wide range of studies into adoption over the past 28 years, many with a focus on birth family contact.
Mary van der Merwe, a Parenting Practitioner, is a dedicated neurodiversity advocate with experience in supporting and training individuals and professionals on autism and trauma.