ACCREDITED TRAINERS
The Association of Narrative Practice in Healthcare offers accreditation to TRAINERS who have completed a recognised training in narrative practice, supervision and teaching, using the model of interactional skills Conversations Inviting Change.
Here are profiles of our current accredited trainers:
Anna Beug
Anna Beug has been a GP in Dublin’s inner city for over 20 years. She is also a medical educator with a special interest in Child and Adolescent mental health and Communication skills. Anna Lectures at Trinity college Dublin, she is also a GP trainer and an assistant programme director. (In GP training). She has taught extensively at postgraduate level in Ireland and has been involved in the development of teaching materials for the national GP training curriculum. Anna is particularly interested in incorporating narrative skills into medical education at all levels and qualified as a CIC facilitator in 2024.
Pooja Bhambra
Pooja has dual professional training in social work and family therapy. She is currently working as a family therapist, in private practice. She is also in the process of completing a professional doctorate. Her research interest looks at how to support doctors, patients, and their families to have conversations about illness and the end of life. Pooja has been involved with ‘Conversations Inviting Change’ (CIC) since 2019 and was accredited as a CIC trainer in 2023.
Diarmuid Denneny
Diarmuid is a physiotherapist with a specialist interest in working with people with persistent (chronic) pain. He is past chair of the Physiotherapy Pain Association which was what sparked his initial interest in CIC and narrative medicine. He has experience in education of healthcare professionals across a range of disciplines and has a personal interest communication skills and mindfulness applications in healthcare. He is passionate about participatory action and co-production approaches and is currently doing his PhD which explores what emerges in the place between receiving healthcare (treatment) and living well with pain.
Outside work he enjoys walking his dog, playing the piano (badly!), and swimming in cold water, being lucky enough to live by the sea.
Sue Elliott
Sue has been a GP Principal and Trainer in Hertfordshire for many years. She is particularly interested in good communication skills in the context of adult education. She believes that the conversations that we have in every area of our personal and professional lives contribute to the creation of the meanings and values we live by. She also believes that narrative skills are a vital part of reflective practice. Sue is also an Appraiser for Hertfordshire PCT and teaches Supervision Skills in primary and secondary care.
Jens Foell
Jens Foell trained in Germany in Rehabilitation Medicine with special focus on musculoskeletal disability. He moved to the UK and retrained as GP. He worked in the deindustrialised areas of Northwest and Northeast England, in an inner-city practice and as academic GP in London. Currently he is living in North Wales. His research interests are the management of pain, mental health problems and social issues in community settings with special focus on pain communication. His work activities include substantial service in General Practice alongside educational work as Programme Director for GP Training, Mental Health Act assessments and GP appraisals. His book “Fighting for the Soul of General Practice – the Algorithm will see you now” (co-authored with Rupal Shah) has been published and will be out in January 2024.
Devin Gray
Devin Gray is a GP and Clinical Lead for Adult Safeguarding at a practice in South London. She completed a leadership fellowship seconded to the CQC in 2015/16. Devin has been involved with Conversations Inviting Change since 2014 and was accredited as a CIC trainer in 2021. She has hugely valued the inclusion of narrative practice in her development as a GP and strives to incorporate the CIC approach in her consultations as well as teaching supervision skills through CIC with primary care colleagues. Devin is passionate about improving the quality of patient care through leadership and systems change, and is fascinated by how conversations that invite curiosity and reflection can make an impact on meaningful change at all levels. When not being a GP or chasing after her young family, Devin is to be found running, cycling, paddleboarding, gardening or reigniting her love for playing the piano.
Victoria Holt
Victoria was a GP Principal in North London for many years. She is now the Medical Director of City and Hackney Urgent Healthcare Social Enterprise, GP lead of the Primary Urgent Care Centre in Homerton University Hospital Emergency Department and a GP Appraiser for City and Hackney. She is a teacher of Supervision Skills in primary and secondary care and also supervises GP Registrars doing their ‘out of hours’ training. She has a particular interest in embedding a culture of skilled supervision in healthcare teams and departments. Victoria was assistant course tutor on the professional certificate in Supervision Skills at the Tavistock Clinic 2010-11. When not practising medicine or teaching, Victoria loves to run, swim and cycle, grow vegetables on her shared allotment, and to cook.
Clair Jacobs
Clair is a physiotherapist with a specialist interest in working with people with persistent (chronic) pain. She is Co-Chair of the Physiotherapy Pain Association (PPA) https://ppa.csp.org.uk and Vice -chair Pain and Trauma Special Interest Group, International Association Study of Pain (IASP). She has a very keen interest in narrative-based approaches both in the practical application of CIC with health care professionals, reflective practice and supervision as well as skills in Narrative Medicine Workshop methods. She is a graduate from CPA Narrative Medicine Programme, Columbia University. She has experience of education and supervision and teaches on the Psychologically Informed Collaborative Conversations Programme (PIC-C). Clair is passionate about working with people with lived experience and keen to explore and develop CIC and narrative approaches in clinical and non-clinical encounters. She works as Physiotherapy Clinical lead, INPUT Pain Management Dept. Guys and St Thomas’ NHS Trust and Senior lecturer, Brunel University, Physiotherapy Professional Practice. Outside work she enjoys traveling, walking, being outdoors, reading, writing and film.
Diana Kelly
Diana works part time as a freelance educator and facilitator in health professionals’ education. She has been a CIC accredited trainer since 2016. She was previously Education Advisor at Kings’ College London School of Medicine. She is a member of the Individual Support Team (part of the HEE’s Professional Support Unit) which offers independent support and guidance for HEE trainees facing complex challenges or dilemmas. Diana is a course tutor on the CIC new trainers’ programme for experienced clinical educators who wish to become accredited as CIC trainers.
John Launer
http://www.johnlauner.com, http://www.conversationsinvitingchange.com, johnlauner@aol.com
John Launer is a doctor, family therapist, educator and writer. He is an honorary lifetime consultant at the Tavistock Clinic, honorary senior lecturer at Queen Mary University of London, and associate dean at Health Education England. John was the originator, with Caroline Lindsey, of 'Conversations inviting change' (CIC), a model for training in healthcare consultations, individual and group supervision, as well as team facilitation and conflict resolution. John has given presentations and workshops on 'CIC' in every region of the UK and in Europe, Israel, Japan, the United States, Canada and Australia.
Rupal Shah
Rupal is a GP and trainer in Battersea. She also works as an Associate Dean in the Health Education England Professional Development Team in London. She has written many articles about medical education and is a co-author of the memoir “Our Mothers Ourselves”.
Jo Sudell
Jo has been a GP in Hackney for 18 yrs and is a City and Hackney GP appraiser and an undergraduate GP tutor. She teaches supervision skills through Conversations Inviting Change in primary and secondary care and participates in regular peer supervision with GP colleagues. She has found this narrative approach to be immensely helpful in developing reflective practice and managing difficult consultations. When possible Jo loves escaping to her allotment or heading to green spaces in London or beyond with the family, dogs and/or bicycle.
Lee Wax
Lee is a trainer and life-long educator, and was accredited as a ‘Conversations Inviting Change’ facilitator in 2017. She has co-facilitated CIC courses in the UK, Scandinavia and Greece. She also works as a freelance rabbi and educator.
David Wheeler
David was a GP principal and trainer in Greenwich for 25 years. He is an experienced Programme Director for the Greenwich GP Speciality Training Programme and a seminar leader for the King's Undergraduate Medical Education in the Community (KUMEC). David has a particular interest in the role of empathy in supervision and mentoring, and uses his expertise in professional clowning to devise new teaching tools and learning events. David is a member and past president of the West Kent Medico-Chirurgical Society. He is also a longstanding participant in Nose to Nose: an organisation that runs improvisation workshops in clowning to promote personal, emotional and relational development (and to have fun). Other recreational activities include skiing in winter and sailing in summer.
Anita Wohlmann
Anita is a facilitator in health professionals’ education and has taught Narrative Medicine in Germany, Denmark and Austria since 2016. Her background is in literary and cultural studies. She works as an associate professor of anglophone literature at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) with a research focus on, among others, illness metaphors and illness narratives. Her latest monograph, Metaphor in Illness Writing: Battle and Fight Reused (2022) is published open access. With her colleagues in Narrative Medicine at SDU, she was awarded the university’s Innovation Prize in 2023. Anita has been involved with CIC since 2021 and was accredited as a CIC trainer in 2024.
Geoff Wykurz
Geoff has a background in community development and community-oriented medical education. He has a Masters in Health Professions Education from the University of Maastricht and was Head of Department of Community and Collaborative Practice at the University of Westminster until 2007. He now enjoys a freelance career supporting individuals, teams, groups and organisations to explore their challenges and reflect on processes to effect change. He became an accredited Conversations Inviting Change facilitator in 2016 and currently leads communication skills courses at a London hospital. Geoff has a passion for walking among mountains and enjoys working creatively with silver.
Christine Young
Christine is an educationalist and facilitator of group learning who enjoys working in partnership with health professionals to enhance the quality of patient care. She began working in medical education in 2009 by supporting consultants interested in exploring and enhancing their teaching. Since then she has delivered tailor-made programmes of team building, training and facilitation to trusts across London, led communication skills courses and been accredited as a Conversations Inviting Change facilitator. Since 2003, she has also designed and facilitated a wide range of leadership development programmes at the Institute of Education, University College London. Christine enjoys spending time with family and friends, cooking and walking. She also loves going to the theatre and is a huge Stephen Sondheim fan. chreeesta@hotmail.com