NCIM - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Founding Director of Nourishing Families CIC
- Nutritionist BSc Nutr. Med. MBANT CNHC
Anna Thomson is a registered Nutritional Therapist with a degree in Nutritional Medicine from the University of West London. She also holds a Master Practitioner Award in Eating Disorders & Obesity from the National Centre for Eating Disorders and has additional training in Intuitive Eating, Mindful Eating, Motivational Interviewing and Functional Imagery Training.
Anna works collaboratively with a client and focusses on small doable changes rather than a complete dietary overhaul to create sustainable long-lasting outcomes. Being able to work with and refer on to members of the NCIM team, offers a truly whole-person approach to health and wellbeing. She supports a wide range of conditions but has a particular interest in digestive issues, no-diet approaches to weight management, and emotional or disordered eating challenges.
Anna is also the founding director of Nourishing Families CIC, a social enterprise that supports parents, children and young people build a positive relationship with food to nurture wellbeing. The organisation works in partnership with children's centres, schools, and social enterprises to deliver community nutrition and food education.
Audrey is a holistic nutritional therapist and food enthusiast, fascinated by the intricacies of the human body. She specializes in hormone and reproductive health, which includes taking a deep dive investigating the underlying root cause of these imbalances often related to gut health, thyroid health, and autoimmune conditions. Audrey supports women to nourish themselves using natural foods, love and selfcare.
When she's not coaching, Audrey loves to transform the veg she grows in her allotment into sensory experiences for the mind, body, and spirit. She is a constant learner and believes in the power of natural medicine.
Christina Shewell, MA, FRCSLT ADVS, is a spoken voice teacher, and speech/ language therapist, and has long working experience with a wide range of clients in both voice therapy and voice development. She has particular expertise in working with performers, and other professional voice users. For 11 years, she was senior lecturer in voice and counselling skills at University College London, has been a staff member of major British acting schools, a coach in the business world and has spoken at many conferences. She leads a wide range of training courses, both nationally and internationally.
Christina's book Voice Work: Art and Science in Changing Voices (2009) addresses voice work along the continuum of normal-abnormal voice, in singing, spoken voice coaching and voice pathology, and is a core text for a wide range of voice practitioners. She has a particular interest in the relevance of mindfulness and imagery in voice work and well-being, and in the links between voice, neuroscience, body and emotions. Her most recent article, Poetry, Voice, Brain and Body was recently published in the Voice and Speech Review - the journal of the Voice and Speech Trainers Association (VASTA), based in the United States.
Job Titles:
- Director of Online Learning & Core Tutor - Diploma in Integrative Healthcare
In addition to his role at NCIM, Alastair teaches at and heads up the academic, operations, course development, compliance research and learning technologies departments at the Academy of Homeopathy Education NYC | World.
He holds various consulting roles: academic (Endeavour College, Australia and College of Health and Homeopathy, NZ) as well as consulting to many organizations on homeopathic provings and e-learning world-wide. Prior, at Endeavour in Australia he was the National Academic e-learning Manager as well as heading up the homeopathy department, later the bioscience department. Other operational roles included the Campus Manager at the Sydney and Gold Coast campuses.
Alastair has lectured under and post-graduate Integrative Medicine, CAM, homeopathy and naturopathy for 22 years, including theory and philosophy, case taking and management, ethics, business practices and scope of practice. A regular forum and conference presenter worldwide he is the author of 23 books and numerous articles on primary research in natural medicine. Originally educated as an historian, he teaches the history of health, healing and medicine at schools, colleges and universities in multiple countries.
He is passionate about e-learning and educational technology in his academic and teaching work. He has completed a PhD at the University of Technology Sydney exploring the intersection of Education, CM and learning technologies. Clinical practice (30 years) remains a significant focus of his work with a practice that specializes in Anxiety, Drug and Alcohol compulsion and working with men. Alastair lives in Philadelphia with his wife Denise Straiges.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Founder
- Adademic Director
- Holistic Doctor
Dr Elizabeth Thompson trained in Medicine at Oxford University and completed her clinical training at Guy's Hospital in London. Qualifying in Palliative Medicine, she obtained Membership of the Royal College of Physicians in 1991 and Certificate of Completion of Specialist Training (CCST) in September 2000.
In 2014 she set up the National Centre for Integrative Medicine (NCIM) and is passionate about how bringing conventional, holistic and lifestyle approaches together could transform modern healthcare into a wellbeing model and create diversity and choice for patients and practitioners.
Dr Thompson is CEO and founder of NCIM and is a member of the NCIM Holistic Doctor team. She is an experienced Medical Homeopath specialising in women's health including menopause and supporting the health and wellbeing of cancer patients.
She is a Board Member of the College of Medicine, European Society of Integrative Medicine and President of the European Congress for Integrative Medicine in London 2021. http://ecimcongress.com
Dr. Elizabeth Thompson trained in Medicine at the University of Oxford and completed her clinical training at Guy's Hospital in London. Whilst training in Palliative Medicine to Consultant level, she also trained in a range of integrative approaches including Medical Homeopathy. In 2000 she was appointed as an NHS Consultant and Homeopathic Physician and set up an Integrative Cancer Care service at the University Hospital Bristol, and then went on to be Lead Clinician for the Bristol Homeopathic Hospital.
In 2014 she set up the National Centre for Integrative Medicine (NCIM) as a not-for-profit Community Interest Company, focusing on both clinical and education services, which includes a two-year Master's Level 7 Diploma in Integrative Healthcare. In 2019 she stepped out of the NHS to focus on her work as CEO of NCIM. She is passionate about supporting a transformation of healthcare towards a wellness and empowerment model that combines conventional, holistic and lifestyle approaches to support health and wellbeing, as well as creating diversity and choice for patients and practitioners.
She is a Council Member for the College of Medicine, for the European Society of Integrative Medicine, the Faculty of Homeopathy and the British Society of Integrative Oncology. She has also been President for the European Congress for Integrative Medicine (2021).
Along with her Membership of the Royal Colleges of Physicians, she also has a Doctor of Medicine Thesis from the University of Oxford, focusing on complex trial design and understanding placebo responses when investigating complementary approaches. She specialises in Integrative Cancer Care and Women's Health, including the use of Mistletoe Therapy.
Job Titles:
- Core Tutor - Diploma in Integrative Healthcare
- Holistic Doctor
Dr Nikki Curtis is part of both our Education and Clinical teams. Having completed the Master's Level 7 Diploma in Integrative Healthcare with NCIM, she is now one of our Core Tutors. She is an experienced NHS GP, Holistic Doctor, Clinical Hypnotherapist and Mindfulness teacher, and centres her integrative practice around mind-body and lifestyle medicine; recognising our body's incredible, innate ability for self-healing given the right environment, the right care and the right resources.
Given the wealth of evidence relating to nutrition, physical activity, stress management and sleep in such conditions, she specialises in mental health, chronic pain, insomnia, irritable bowel syndrome and lifestyle-related conditions (including diabetes and obesity).
Finding that many of her clients struggle with significant overwhelm and don't know where to start, Dr Nikki will support you to identify important changes to your physical and mental habits. Then, using a combination of conventional, integrative, functional and lifestyle medicine, mindfulness and clinical hypnosis, will provide teaching, recommendations, tools and resources to help motivate and empower you to make a transformational difference in your life.
She lives in Kent with her family, three large dogs, 20 koi, three guinea pigs and a marine tank full of beautiful coral. She spends her time looking after them all, reading, diving when she can and always has a crochet project on the go.
Dr Roger Smith is an NHS doctor, who studied at St Bartholomew's and the Royal London Hospital Medical School and works in Supportive Care. He has an NCIM post-graduate Diploma in Integrative Healthcare. Roger also trained at the Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine and gained clinical experience at Glasgow NHS Centre for Integrative Care.
He is interested in conventional, holistic, and lifestyle approaches to support the health and well-being of patients with cancer and other long-term conditions. Roger's work for NCIM focuses on education and clinical support for the Mistletoe service. He has a Certificate of Completion of Higher Specialist Training (CCT) and joint membership of the Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO) and the British Society for Integrative Oncology (BSIO).
Job Titles:
- Core Tutor - Diploma in Integrative Healthcare
Job Titles:
- Education Lead ( Dentist ) - PHCE / MFHom
Jamie works with questions of human wellbeing and connection in a number of professional domains. He is a driving force within the Bio-Leadership project that seeks to change the paradigm of leadership by working with nature's rules. He is currently developing VR applications for mental health in a US/UK start-up and is a business partner in a number Bristol based cultural enterprises. He also works as mentor and guide supporting people to bring purpose led projects to life.
Job Titles:
- Pharmacist
- Holistic Pharmacist
Kiriaki Marselou is a highly qualified pharmacist and a medicines expert, who is also trained in medical homeopathy, nutraceuticals and Mistletoe Therapy. Kiriaki also holds a post-graduate Diploma in Natural Health Products and is certified in Plant-based Nutrition from Winchester University.
Inspired by Hippocratic teachings, Kiriaki believes that lifestyle interventions and dietary measures can help enormously in the treatment of disease. She has a special interest in chronic inflammation and how this can lead to several diseases. Her clinics are aimed at restoring health, through a combination of nutritional supplements, an anti-inflammatory diet, and herbal or other natural remedies.
She often works with patients on prescription medicines, who would like to explore natural health options that are safe, and compatible with their conventional treatments. She currently divides her time between her holistic practice, tutoring newly qualified pharmacists, and being a mother of two lively children. She enjoys exercising outdoors and she loves preparing Mediterranean meals for her friends.
Job Titles:
- Medical Technologist ( Fellow
Marion Reid was trained as a medical technologist (Fellow Institute of the Institute of Biomedical Science in Hematology, Blood Transfusion, and Blood Group Serology) at the North East Metropolitan Blood Transfusion Service, Brentwood, UK. She later obtained a Master of Science degree (in Clinical Science), and then a PhD degree (in Biochemistry). She has worked in immunohematology reference laboratories in the UK and USA.
Marion has an extensive serological, biochemical, and molecular knowledge of blood groups and their application to clinical practice and human genetics. Her work led to the publication of over 400 peer-reviewed articles, reviews and chapters as well as three text books. Marion has served on numerous committees and editorial boards, was a reviewer for several journals, has received several grants, holds a patent and has been honored by numerous professional awards.
Marion has long been intrigued by natural cures and alternative approaches to maintain health. She is now retired and keeps busy by volunteering at various organisations. She enjoys walking, socializing, attending live entertainment events and bodging at Tyntesfield.
Marion is a family doctor, working in North Bristol, since 1996.
Early on in her career, she realised that conventional medical teaching had left significant gaps in her knowledge of how to treat real patients with difficult lives, and help them improve their quality of life.
She therefore developed her therapeutic toolkit to include a broad range of approaches, and particularly to nurture patients to find their own wellbeing.
She worked as Self Care Lead for the local Clinical Commissioning Group for many years, and as an Integrative Care doctor at Penny Brohn Cancer Care, alongside her NHS practice.
Job Titles:
- Education Operational Lead & Core Tutor - Diploma in Integrative Healthcare
Megan Odell (L.Ac., MScOM, MBAA) is a member of the British Acupuncture Association and Masters graduate of the American Academy of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine, and has over the past decade, earned a reputation as one of the foremost practitioners in her field.
Serving for nearly a decade at the renowned Penny George Institute for Health & Healing, the largest hospital-based integrative medicine clinic in the USA, Megan has collaborated in the care of thousands of patients with diverse needs, working with GPs, Neurologists, Internal Medicine Physicians, Cardiologists, Pediatricians, Nurse Practitioners, Psychologists, Nutritionists, Chiropractors, and Massage Therapists.
Megan has a naturally gentle needling style that is especially helpful for people who might feel vulnerable or have a fear of needles. She meets each individual where they are, utilising whichever approaches and techniques will help most on their healing journey. This could include acupuncture, cupping, moxibustion, tui na (Chinese bodyworking), dietary therapy, and/or Chinese herbs.
Megan also studied Integrative Oncology with Memorial Sloan Kettering (USA), Foundations in Integrative Health with the National Center for Integrative Primary Healthcare (USA), and paediatric acupuncture with the renowned master, Julian Scott (UK).