THE OPTIMUM HEALTH CLINIC - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Founder
- Founder & Chairman of the Optimum Health
Alex Howard is Founder & Chairman of The Optimum Health Clinic, which he set up after his own 7 year struggle with ME...
Alex Howard is Founder & Chairman of The Optimum Health Clinic, which he set up after his own seven year struggle with ME/CFS. He is also the creator of the Therapeutic Coaching methodology, and since March 2020, has been documenting his therapeutic work with real life patients via his In Therapy with Alex Howard YouTube series.
In the last few years, Alex has created some of the largest online conferences in the health and mind-body markets; including the Trauma Super Conference. Alex's online conferences have been attended by over 1.5 million people.
Alex has published academic research in publications such as the British Medical Journal Open and Psychology and Health, and is the author of three books: WHY ME? My Journey From ME to Health and Happiness, Decode Your Fatigue, and his most recent It's Not Your Fault - Why childhood trauma shapes you and how to break free.
Ana Bárbara's interest in integrative health and psychology began while dealing with her own chronic illness...
Bebe entered into nutrition quite unexpectedly when she went to an open day at the Institute for Optimum Nutrition, just to find out what they did and, to her surprise, left enrolled on a 3 year diploma course.
Following the course she became a tutor and also ran a branch of the Optimum Nutrition Company, which sold various companies' supplements to students and patients of nutritionists. She then went on to work for one of the UK's leading health writers, managing his events and website. She joins the clinic team as the Practice Manager.
Charlotte initially trained as a musician and worked as a performer and teacher for several years before embarking on...
Job Titles:
- Head of Research and Protocol Development
Claire is an educator, researcher and functional medicine trained nutritional therapist. Claire has over a decade of specialist clinical experience working with complex illness, neuropsychiatric conditions and chronic viral infections including Lyme disease, chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia. She currently researches and develops cutting edge protocols for our fatigue and complexly-ill community.
Originally from Scotland, Denise worked as a music journalist before becoming a web developer for The Guardian newspaper...
Helen spent the first 15 years of her career in marketing and advertising where she held various senior management roles...
After working in fashion for over a decade, a Chronic Fatigue Syndrome diagnosis brought Jana to The Optimum Health Clinic...
Jess completed a psychology degree in 1995 followed by a PGCE in primary education and, after a 10 year career in teaching, retrained as a psychotherapist and joined the psychology team at the OHC in 2010. Prior to her role as Clinical Director, Jess held the position of Director of Psychology for over a decade and she continues to enjoy leading and supervising the psychology team, and also teaching on the Therapeutic Coaching course. By combining her own personal clinical experience with that of the team, Jess has led on the creation of new and innovative OHC psychology programmes, which meet the needs of clients with a wide range of challenges including fatigue, trauma and anxiety.
Prior to joining the OHC Jess worked as a person-centred psychotherapist in both a hospice setting and as an independent practitioner, working with a wide range of issues including depression, anxiety, sleep issues, bereavement and stress. Jess also has over 10 years of clinical experience working with clients with fatigue-related conditions and trauma.
Jess has completed further training including the OHC Therapeutic Coaching™ program, Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (a trauma specific psychotherapy), and Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (a form of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy). In addition to her professional qualifications, Jess brings lived experience from her own health journey of healing Lyme disease and chronic fatigue and consequently she enjoys supporting others in finding their own answers by assisting them on their personal health journey.
With a deep-rooted passion for nutrition that was nurtured from a young age, Jessica embarked on a journey that was inspired...
Having suffered with ME/CFS for many years, Johanne became determined to find a way back to good health. On her road to recovery she gained a deep interest in hypothyroidism, and published Dr Durrant-Peatfield's book The Great Thyroid Scandal. She is currently studying for a Diploma in Nutritional Therapy at BCNH College of Nutrition and Health. Johanne is passionate about helping people find their way back to a healthy happy life, and brings that passion to her role as one of the New Patient Co-ordinators at the OHC.
Nutrition and healthy living have always been a huge part of Julia's life. She has used nutrition to overcome her own health...
Juliana has passion for nutrition and brings energy, tenacity and sharp clinical focus to her practice. Juliana has completed...
Job Titles:
- Admin Support
- Member of Association of Polish Teachers Abroad
Kinga started work in OHC in January 2013 as an administrative assistant. After 3 years as an open market sales person Kinga decided to change her career and emigrated to the UK where she started working as a volunteer in a charitable organisation. For her dedication, she received Unsung Women's Award from Mayor of Haringey.
Kinga also worked for supplementary school as a PA to the head mistress. Kinga is also a member of Association of Polish Teachers Abroad and passionate about helping children to reach their full potential.
Kirsty worked within the executive recruitment industry for 10 years, operating at senior management level. Her interest in nutrition began as a consequence of health issues experienced by her own daughter. Having investigated ways in which to support her daughter's health, Kirsty was inspired by the improvement in her daughter's condition following the application of nutritional therapy principles and dietary change. This proved to be a turning point both personally and professionally, and Kirsty made the decision to pursue a career in nutrition, later graduating from BCNH - UK College of Nutrition and Health with Distinction.
Following graduation, Kirsty embraced a number of different and exciting career opportunities through the establishment of her own nutrition clinic, which encompassed working within the corporate wellness sector and also undertaking a number of nutrition roles within the professional sports arena. This included working as a Nutritional Therapist at St George's Park National Football Centre and also for the League Managers Association, assessing and advising football managers and elite athletes on health and nutrition. Kirsty also worked as Lead Nutritional Therapist at Derby County Football Club, establishing an umbrella nutrition strategy for the club, in addition to providing one-to-one nutrition and health advice for all players from the first team through to academy players.
Kirsty joined the team at The Optimum Health Clinic in 2011 working within the nutrition support team initially, followed by a role within the practitioner team and then subsequently as Director of Nutrition for the clinic. Having witnessed her own mother's acute struggles with ME/CFS, Kirsty has always had a particularly strong personal interest in complex, chronic health concerns and advocating for those clients who feel either misunderstood or frustrated. She strongly believes in empowering her clients; firstly by equipping them with an improved understanding of their own biochemistry and personal health requirements, and then by supporting them on the roadmap to improved health and self-advocacy.
Lee became interested in psychology following his own journey in recovering from ME, he crashed in 2016 preceded by years of...
Lesley chose to study food and nutrition having suffered from ME as a teenager...
Martina's journey into the world of nutrition started after pursuing a career in logistics, where she discovered...
Nicky was first diagnosed with ME in 2008 following a viral illness, she was able to recover and return to work as an external..
Job Titles:
- Nutrition and Admin Support
Nicola comes from an administrative background, having worked as a legal secretary for over 20 years. After discovering she had Crohn's disease in her early 20's, Nicola embarked on a health journey which culminated in her studying with the Institute of Optimum Nutrition and graduating in 2012 with a Foundation Degree in Nutrition. Nicola enjoys helping friends and family achieve their health goals and live healthier lives.
Sam has had an interest in health, healing modalities and therapeutic practices since her 20s, and trained in a number of them..
Sanna spent the first 10 years of her career in the financial industry enjoying the challenges of the corporate world...
Having worked in senior management roles in the fashion industry in her first career, a cancer diagnosis caused Sara...
Sarah grew up in a food conscious environment, raised in the 1970s by one grandmother who had been an army cook, another who was a ‘pollo-vegetarian', and a working mother who believed in the importance of freshly prepared food. She also saw the effects of food sensitivities in her younger brother, demonstrating the potential power of what we put in our bodies.
Sarah is a natural systems thinker with degrees in Environmental Biology (Manchester), Urban Regeneration (Liverpool), and Personalised Nutritional Therapy (CNELM). She also has an interest in the impact of childhood trauma on physical health and emotional wellbeing, and has contributed her research skills to two books on related subjects. With her own experience of chronic, unexplained, and invisible fatigue related illness, Sarah has experienced first hand the power of Nutrition and Lifestyle in supporting our health and happiness, and she finds it immensely rewarding to be working amongst like minds at the OHC.
Taru's first career was in the film and arts sector before she retrained in nutritional therapy at the University of Westminster. Her training in nutrition was based on holistic functional medicine principles, which make much sense to her both personally and clinically. An avid believer in the potent interaction between the physical and psychological, Taru is proud to be part of the clinic's skilful team as a New Client Coordinator.