Advisory Team

Positive Health Strategies Ltd is a specialist health consultancy dedicated to optimising business performance. Recent occupational research has highlighted how an individual's psychological health or 'state of mind' is the best predictor of performance, productivity and work absence.

 

Our main objective is to improve the health, well-being and performance of individuals and teams in the workplace. All our work is under-pinned by evidence based practice - which means it is informed by the best and latest knowledge of what actually works for both the individual and the business.

 

Our multidisciplinary Advisory Team provides the latest expert knowledge from relevant disciplines including: organisational psychology, occupational medicine, clinical and health psychology, fitness and exercise, nutritional medicine, neuroscience, executive coaching, leadership and development, and employment law.

 

 

Our Advisory Team includes:-

 

BSc PhD MB BS FRCPsych

 

Tom is Emeritus Professor of Psychological Medicine at Imperial College. He works part-time in theHealth at Work Team at West London Mental Health NHS Trust, assessing healthcare professionals and other staff presenting with mental health problems.  Tom has extensive clinical and research experience in the psychological aspects of chronic illness, both physical and mental.  He has a long-standing interest in evidence-based practice, and has run workshops on evidence-based psychiatry or psychotherapy nationally and internationally.  He is Director of Clinical Excellence of the London Division of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, and has held other offices within the RCPsych, including Deputy Director of Continuing Professional Development.  He is a member of the Disability Living Allowance Advisory Board.  Tom has been President of teh International College of Psychosomatic Medicine, and was elected Founder Member of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy.

 

 

Steve has held a variety of client-facing, operational and strategic roles within Grant Thornton being appointed to the National Leadership Board in 2001.

 

In 2007 he was appointed to a newly created role with responsibility for the partner and director teams, with a specific objective to develop strategies to maintain well-being and optimise performance.

 

 

Paul is a Visiting Professor in Organisational Neuroscience at London South Bank University and in Individual and Organisational Psychology at the Nottingham Law School; an Associate of the National School of Government, and for fifteen years has taught at the Royal College of Defence Studies.

 

He is currently a Director and a past Chair of the Association for Professional and Executive Coachnig and Supervision (APECS); and an accredited executive coach and supervisor.

 

He has contributed over thirty chapters and scientific papers in academic texts and journals; and is also a contributor to The Oxford Companion to the Mind.

 

 

Meriel Schindler is head of Withers LLP's employment team and advises employers and employees, particularly in the financial services sector.  She also advises charities.

 

Meriel is a trained medicator and was described in the 2006 Chambers directory as having 'considerable expertise, sensitivity and responsiveness', and in the 2009 legal directories as heading a 'faultless practice'.  Meriel lectures on all areas of employment law, including recently age discrimination, diversity and stress at work.

 

Meriel is a member of the Employment Lawyers Association; the Industrial Law Society and the Equal Opportunities Commission (panel of approved solicitors).

 

MB BS DRCOG MSc (Psychol) MRCGP

 

After fifteen years in general practice he gained a Masters in Health Psychology and went on to train in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) at the Intitute of Psychiatry, London.  Brian currently works as an Associate Specialist at The Royal Free Hospital in the Fatigue Clinic and previously worked in the Academic Department of Psychological Medicine at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, London, specialising in the assessment and treatment of 'medically unexplained symptoms' including CFS/ME. 

 

For the past fifteen years he has been Clinical Lead of a multidisciplinary Occupational Health Psychology service for 800 doctors funded by the NHS Primary Care Trusts.  Previously he was the Medical Director of the Department of Health Psychology at King Edward VII Hospital and the Clinical Lead for the NHS Sussex-wide CFS/ME service.  He is a visiting lecturer at Surrey University;  Institute of Postgraduate Medicine, Brighton & Sussex Medical School;  and at British Insitute of Musculoskeletal Medicine.  He is the Occupational Health Psychology Advisor to the West Sussex Primary Care Trust.

 

He wrote his Masters' thesis on occupational stress and continues to research the causes, consequences and prevention of stress related illness.  In the corporate sector he has over ten years experience of delivering, evidence-based, learning and development programmes designed to promote physical and mental health and optimise performance.  Clients include;  Grant Thornton, Shell, CBRE, BBC, Praesta, Syngenta, The Dorchester Collection, Wyeth, IBM, Price Waterhouse Coopers, Petronas and the NHS Trusts.

 

He has written numerous articles, taught and lectured widely on well-being and the prevention of stress related illness.  He has contributed to two recent books:  The Mind; A User's Guide. Bantam Press 2007.  Biopsychosocial Medicine;  An integrated approach to understanding illness.  Oxford University Press, 2005.

 

 BA Hons Clin Psych, MA Clin Psych, DTh, Dip Clin Hyp EMDR

 

Jannie was the clinical lead of the INPUT Pain Management Unit, St. Thomas' Hospital in London and the RealHealth Institute, London, prior to becoming the Clinical Director of Positive Health Strategies.  He has been active in the private and public sectors as a Clinical Psychologist for fifteen years;  seeing patients individually, working with groups, working within primary care, and managing and leading teams involved in condition management programmes.  He has set up and developed condition management programmes for occupational stress, anxiety, depression and people suffering from chronic pain and persistent mental health problems. 

 

The main focus of Jannie's work is to apply evidence based practice using CBT and neuroscience in the treatment of psychological and physical problems.  This involves focusing on optimising psychological and physical wellbeing, stress management, preventing burnout, and return-to-work initiatives. 

 

He acts as a referee for papers submitted to the British Journal of General Practice and has published chapters on CBT and neuropathic pain in The Handbook of Clinical Neurology and Pain Measures in Clinical Pain Management, second edition.

 

 

 

 

Dr Broughton qualified from Guy's Hospital in 1979 after the unusual route of doing 'A' levels in English, French and German.  Following several years of hospital medicine he worked as a GP in rural Canada and New Zealand before joining a practice in West Sussex in 1986. 

 

His medical interests included ophthalmology, psychology and diabetes and he set up one of the first specialised diabetic clinics in General Practice in 1987.  A research project in diabetic eye problems took him to Washington CD for a short period.  He became a GP Trainer and Appraiser before leaving full time General Practice in 2003.

 

He subsequently joined the Department of Psychological Medicine at St. Bartholomew's Hospital in London as an associate specialist in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and in 2005 became the clinical lead for the Sussex-wide CFS/ME service.  He also specialises in Personal Injury and is a member of the Expert Witness Institute.

 

A keen amateur cook, his other interests include fine wine, visiting France and trying to get his golf handicap down to single figures.

 

 

Dr Alan Stewart qualified in 1976 from Guy's Hospital and worked in general medicine becoming a member of the Royal College of Physicians in 1979.

 

He started his own independent medical practice in Sussex in 1981 concentrating on advising about lifestyle change and nutrition.  In 1987 he co-authored the popular book Nutritional Medicine with Dr Stephen Davies.  Subsequently with Maryon Stewart he also co-authored several books on Women's health.  In addition to general medical and nutritional interests he lectures on nutritional assessment and the safe and appropriate use of nutritional supplements.  He has a detailed website that provides information on these topics, www.stewartnutrition.co.uk

 

He enjoys gardening, helping his mother on her allotment, running and a good walk in the Sussex countryside.

 

 

Tom Marien has been involved and passionate about sport all of his life and has competed in both County cricket and County rugby for his age group. He is a qualified ski instructor, sailing instructor, windsurfing instructor and has a Diploma in personal training and sports therapy.  Tom continues to enjoy ski touring, rugby and cricket.

 

Tom founded ONE ELEMENT in 2006.  His vision was to develop the best environment for clients to achieve fitness results with a unique multi faceted approach.  Tom carefully selects the very best trainers, coaches and therapists to provide group training, personal training, sports massage, physiotherapy, nutrition and events.  Tom consults for companies including Grant Thornton and Petronas, advising and presenting on optimizing business performance through health and fitness.  Tom has also written RESET, a 12 day programme of nutrition, exercise and coaching to help kick start long term positive change.

 

SMA, REPS, MAR

Sports Massage Associate (level 4), Register of Exercise Professionals (level 3)

Association of Reflexologists (MAR), MSc. Occ. Psychology

 

Clare started her career in Occupational Psychology with a strong desire to improve the workplace for everyone.  She worked initially in recruitment then in management consultancy specialising in leadership identification and development.  Seeing the impact of workplace stress on happiness and performance she changed direction seven years ago into hands-on bodywork.

 

Training initially as a Reflexologist and seeing the positive health results it brought her clients, she qualifiied as a Sports Massage Therapist and Personal Fitness Trainer.  She continues to learn new massage and bodywork forms to further benefit her clients.

 

Clare works with a diverse range of clients;  from the professional sports player and weekend adventurer, to the deskbound worker.  She treats both the physically fit and the chronically ill.  She stongly believes that everybody has the potential to feel and perform well.  Her advice is as much about long term lifestyle changes as it is about short term pain relief.

 

Clare works with individual clients and also within the corporate sector.