​

I am a Clinical Lead, Registered Social Worker, and Neurodiversity Advocate with extensive experience supporting adults with complex mental health, neurodevelopmental and social care needs across NHS and Local Authority services.

 

Over the course of my career, I have worked in a range of specialist roles, including:

• Senior Mental Health Social Worker

• Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP)

• Dual Diagnosis Practitioner (Mental Health and Substance Misuse)

• Clinical Lead within Community Mental Health Services

​

My professional experience includes supporting individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), ADHD, mental health needs, learning disabilities, and complex presentations across different stages of life.

​

I am also an Independent Social Work Practitioner and am listed as a BASW Independent Social Worker.

The British Association of Social Workers (BASW) describes BASW Independents as social workers who practise in a self-employed capacity, either full-time or part-time, and who bring a wealth of professional knowledge, skills, expertise and academic experience to their work.

My practice combines:

• Social work values and ethics

• Strengths-based practice

• Trauma-informed approaches

• Neurodiversity-affirming principles

• Care Act 2014 and SEND legislation

• Lived experience alongside professional expertise

Whether supporting a young person with SEND, a neurodivergent adult, a parent carer, or another professional, my aim is always to promote rights, remove barriers, strengthen wellbeing, and support people to achieve outcomes that matter to them.

I believe that everyone deserves to be heard, understood and empowered. My role is not to tell people who they should be, but to work alongside them to identify strengths, navigate challenges and build the foundations for a meaningful and fulfilling life.

 

Professional Registration and Memberships

​

• Registered Social Worker

• BASW Independent Social Worker

• Certified in ADOS-2

• Certified in ADI-R

• Certified in Adult ADHD Assessment

• ADHD Coach

​

At KindMindsWithKM, my mission is simple: to support people not only to survive, but to thrive.

​

BASW Independent Social Worker Directory

​

Everyone listed within the Directory are:

• Members of the British Association of Social Workers (BASW)

• Required to work within the terms of  The Code of Ethics and The Code of Ethics: Addendum, additional guidance for independent social workers 

• Price professional services in a way that both reflects professional and market value and is fair to customers - Page 4, Running a business, BASW Code of Ethics Addendum, July 2012.

• Covered by £5 or £10 million Professional Indemnity insurance, with some also protected by £5 million Public Liability Insurance.

​​

More information are availabe on: BASW Independents directory | BASW

​

To honour my commitment to providing a safe and secure service, I registered KINDMINDSWITHKM LTD with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) KINDMINDSWITHKM LTD | ICO and invested in the BASW Independent Plus package. This gives me access to a secure, encrypted messaging system, allowing all communication to be sent through a protected BASW‑branded email service. These steps ensure that both client and business data are handled with the highest level of care, confidentiality, and professionalism.

​

My practice is grounded in clinical leadership, safeguarding expertise, and a deep commitment to strengths‑based and evidence-based neurodivergent‑affirming approaches.

​

Over the past decade, I have supported multidisciplinary teams, overseen high‑risk and high‑complexity cases, and delivered specialist assessments, interventions, and safeguarding decisions. My work spans mental health, neurodevelopmental diagnoses, dual diagnoses, substance misuse, crisis pathways, and forensic contexts, giving me a comprehensive understanding of the systems that shape people’s lives—and the barriers they face within them.

​

Alongside my statutory practice, I have developed a strong focus on neurodiversity.

​

I understand the realities, strengths, and challenges of neurodivergence across the lifespan. My coaching blends lived experience with professional expertise to empower neurodivergent people to thrive with clarity, confidence, and self‑understanding.

​

Completing the ADHD Works Coaching Programme, alongside other ongoing professional development in the neurodiversity field, deepened something I had always sensed: ADHD and other neurodivergent profiles are not deficits to be fixed, are not problems to be solved, but rich, diverse and meaningful ways of thinking, feeling, and engaging with the world. 

​

Over the years, I’ve seen how profoundly someone’s life can change when they are met with understanding rather than judgment, and when their brain is worked with—not pushed against. This belief now sits at the heart of Kind Minds with KM. That insight now sits at the heart of my work, guiding how I support others to make sense of their minds with compassion, clarity, and confidence. My aim is to help people identify and create environments that strengthen their potential — spaces where their needs are understood, their strengths are recognised, and their way of being is genuinely supported.

 

My work brings together clinical expertise, social work values, and coaching principles to help people recognise their strengths, navigate challenges with compassion, and build environments that honour who they are.

​

It’s a practice shaped by lived experience, professional insight, and a deep commitment to creating spaces where neurodivergent people feel seen, supported, and empowered to thrive.

​

Safeguarding, risk management, and ethical practice remain central to everything I do. I bring clarity, compassion, and statutory rigour to complex situations, ensuring that safety and dignity are never compromised. At the same time, I champion autonomy, agency, and lived experience — recognising that people thrive when they are seen, heard, and supported without judgement.

​

Kind Minds with KM is where my professional experience and personal values come together—a space dedicated to empowering neurodivergent individuals, breaking down stigma, and fostering a more inclusive and emotionally safe society. My mission is simple: to help people understand themselves, get the support they deserve, and shift from merely surviving to truly thriving—enriching their own lives, the lives of others, local communities, and society as a whole.

​

Kind Minds with KM promotes wellbeing in line with the Care Act and, through assessment and intervention, supports quality of life using recognised frameworks such as WHOQOL and the ONS (2025) wellbeing measures — helping to ensure support is meaningful and person‑centred.

​

​​​​

​Core professional skills, knowledge and experience

​​

• The Care Act 2014: Strengths-Based Assessment and care and support planning

• Preparation for adulthood for young people with SEND, and young carers.

• Severe Mental Illness (SMI) and complex co-morbid diagnosis, including ASD/ADHD/LD, and an eating disorder.

• Neurodivergent Coaching, Mentoring and Advisory Services

• Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD/EUPD) – Insight into emotional dysregulation and trauma-informed approaches.

• Adolescent Mental Health

• Safeguarding Adults and Children & Crisis Work

• Motivational Interviewing – Behavioural change tactics grounded in empathy and autonomy.

• Substance Abuse Prevention and Recovery.

​

I bring extensive experience in expert‑level clinical and professional mental health social work, with a strong track record of assessing and managing highly complex and high‑risk cases. I regularly provide guidance, consultation, and support to colleagues across multidisciplinary teams, partner agencies, and wider services.

​

My practice is grounded in a thorough understanding of the legislation, regulations, and statutory guidance that underpin mental health and social care. This includes safeguarding frameworks, mental health law, housing legislation, and the legal mandates governing children’s social care. I apply this knowledge confidently and consistently to ensure safe, ethical, and person‑centred decision‑making.

​

I am skilled in identifying, analysing, and mitigating risk — including the use of positive risk‑taking — and I work collaboratively with individuals, families, and professionals to support shared decision‑making. My approach is rooted in delivering high‑quality, evidence‑based, and person‑centred interventions tailored to the unique needs of each individual.

​​

I also hold in‑depth knowledge of the Care Act 2014, including the ability to conduct complex Section 117 and Care Act reviews, with a clear understanding of the financial and commissioning implications of care packages. My experience includes delivering strengths‑based assessments and care and support planning for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), neurodivergent profiles, and mental health needs — always aligned with trauma‑informed principles and the core values of dignity, autonomy, and empowerment.

​​​​​​​

Education

 

• 2020 - PgCert Applied Mental Health Practice. The University of Hertfordshire

• 2014-2016 - MA Social Work, Middlesex University

• 2000-2003 - BA Sociology, University of Lodz/Poland

​

Relevant Training Courses

​

• ADHD Works - ADHD Coaching​ - Dec 2025

• IPSEA (Independent Provider of Special Education Advice) - SEND 0-25 Law - Level 1 - December 2025

• The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism - March 2025

• DBT®Skills Essentials Workshop British Isles DBT Training 2019​

• Adapting Your DBT® Programme For Substance Use Disorders British Isles DBT Training – 2020

 

Licenses & certifications

​

• ADOS-2 - Issued May 2025

• The Autism Diagnostic Interview - Revised (ADI-R) Issued Apr 2025

 

Skills and knowledge

​

• Neurodiversity

• SEND 0-25

• Adults Social Care

• Transition into adult services

• Discharges from the hospital

• Severe mental illness (SMI)

• Working with Restricted Patients

• Domestic Abuse and MARAC

• MAPPA

• Safeguarding Adults

• Safeguarding Children

• Crisis Intervention

• BPD/EUPD

• Substance Use Disorders

• Adolescent Mental Health

• Mental Health Law

• Social Work

• Section 117 Aftercare

• Case Management

• The Care Act 2014

• Social Services

• Motivational Interviewing

• Mental Health Assessment

• Substance Abuse Prevention

• Mental Health

• Mental Health Care

• Community Mental Health

• Mental Health Treatment

​

Work Experience

 

Clinical Lead –  Adult Specialist Mental Health Service,​ 

- July 2025 – present

​​​

Dual Diagnosis Senior Practitioner​ -

- October 2023 – July 2025

 

Social Worker/Senior Social Work Practitioner – Adult Specialist Mental Health Service,

- July 2020 -October 2023 – Senior Social Worker,

- December 2016-July 2020 – Social Worker

​

My Commitment​

​

At KindMindsWithKM, kindness is not just part of the name, it is at the heart of everything I do.

 

I understand that reaching out for support can feel daunting. Whether you are a young person trying to make sense of the world around you, a parent navigating complex systems, a carer feeling overwhelmed, or an adult seeking greater understanding and direction, you deserve to feel heard, respected and valued.

​

When you work with me, you will find:

• Social work consultation that promotes wellbeing, participation, rights and social justice.

• Strengths-based assessments that recognise not only needs and challenges, but also talents, abilities, aspirations and potential.

• Neurodiversity-affirming coaching and mentoring that meets you where you are and supports you in moving towards where you would like to be.

• Advocacy and guidance that promotes inclusion, self-determination and meaningful participation in decisions that affect your life.

• Compassionate support that recognises the realities of living with SEND, autism, ADHD, mental health needs and caring responsibilities.

• Collaborative working that brings together families, professionals and services to help create positive and lasting outcomes.

 

I believe every person has strengths worth celebrating, a voice worth hearing and goals worth pursuing. My role is not to "fix" people, but to walk alongside them, helping them better understand themselves, navigate challenges, remove barriers and build on what already makes them unique.

​

Through kindness, mindfulness and professional expertise, I aim to create a safe and supportive space where people can feel confident to ask questions, explore possibilities and move forward at a pace that feels right for them.

 

This is more than a service.

​

It is a place where people are listened to without judgement, where strengths are recognised, where differences are respected, and where growth is encouraged.

​

My commitment is to support children, young people, adults and families not only to survive, but to thrive, with confidence, dignity and hope for the future.

​

Let's build something kind, together.

​

Important Information

​

At KindMindsWithKM, I am committed to working within my qualifications, training, professional experience and areas of competence.

​

Coaching, mentoring, social work consultation, advocacy and support services are designed to be educational, supportive and developmental in nature. They do not constitute mental health treatment, psychotherapy, counselling, clinical diagnosis, medical advice, prescribing services, regulated healthcare interventions, or legal representation.

​

As an Independent Social Worker, I provide strengths-based consultation, assessment, advocacy and support planning informed by relevant legislation, professional guidance and best practice. However, any clinical, medical, diagnostic, therapeutic or regulated healthcare services remain the responsibility of the appropriately qualified and professionally regulated practitioner providing those services.

​

Where appropriate, individuals and families may be signposted or referred to other professionals, services and organisations for specialist clinical, therapeutic, healthcare, legal or other regulated support.

​

Working collaboratively and transparently is an important part of my practice. If a person's needs fall outside my professional role or expertise, I will always seek to ensure they are directed towards the most appropriate source of support.

​

My priority is to provide safe, ethical and person-centred support that promotes wellbeing, independence, informed choice and positive outcomes.

​