Breakthrough can only run with the help of some exceptional people.
We know that going to a new building or an initial appointment with someone can feel quite scary, so we’ve created dedicated sections of our website where you can have a virtual look around our Support Centre before you arrive, and find out a little about each of it’s team members, from the therapy team through to support/admin staff!
Senior Management Team
Giles Lascelle – CEO & Clinical Director
He/Him
Giles has over 35yrs experience as a psychotherapist and trainer. He’s worked in the NHS, social services, foster homes, and with a number of voluntary agencies in the fields of mental health, addiction and homelessness. He worked with the first ever NHS Staff Support Service, providing therapy and training for NHS and Emergency Services staff and was previously part of the executive committee for the British Psychodrama Association (BPA). He specialises in helping adult survivors of childhood abuse and trauma. He also has a passion for seeing communities and organisations trained and equipped to support to survivors and develop a greater understanding of mental health needs – because ‘it takes a village’!
Holly – Operations Manager
She/Her
Holly is the glue that holds Breakthrough together. She heads up everything that is Breakthrough, both at our Support Centre and with our training and partnerships. She oversees all our day-to-day activities from our referral pathways and people starting therapy, through to running all our services, our drop-in support, clinical placements, and trauma training programmes for organisations. It’s a busy job! Should you ever need post-therapy chocolate or a natter, she always has some chocolate in her desk drawer for those who need it and will find a way to give people time even when it’s manically busy. She lives on coffee and snacks, and has an unnecessary number of photos of pretty looking meals on her phone that one day she may remember to put on Instagram!
Johanna – Clinical Team Lead & Therapist
She/Her
Johanna is an Art Psychotherapist from Bristol with a background in social care, education and creative arts. She has worked in a wide range of services supporting those with learning disabilities, autism, complex trauma, perinatal mental health, and palliative care with a special interest in neurodiversity and sensory-based therapies to make therapy accessible for everyone. Johanna leads our clinical team and oversees all clinical services at Breakthrough. She loves getting messy with art materials (sometimes this results in art) and cycle commuting, so on a rainy day expect a slightly soggy therapist!
Therapy Team
Janet (Sin-Yin) Yick – Psychotherapist
She/Her
Janet is from Hong Kong and moved to Bristol to pursue further training in counselling and psychotherapy in 2021. She has a special interest in understanding issues on gender, sexual and relationship diversity, and their relationship with mental health. Over the past 10yrs, she has worked in different settings, including HIV/AIDS organisation in Hong Kong, a charity for minority ethnic communities, and the NHS. She loves music and always seeks for new adventures through travelling. She is keen on meeting new people from different backgrounds. Janet offers therapy in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin.
Lucinda Marland – Trainee Psychotherapist
She/Her
Lucinda is a qualified counsellor and in her final year of psychotherapy training at the Institute of Psychosynthesis. For the past three years she has worked with survivors of domestic violence offering emotional and practical support to overcome barriers and move towards their goals. She has also worked with people affected by cancer and she co-facilitates a behavioural change support group for male perpetrators of domestic violence. Lucinda loves yoga, dancing and wild swimming – although only in the summer months! She is also a keen board game player and vegetable grower.
Alicia Ridley – Psychotherapist
She/Her
Alicia worked with Breakthrough on placement across 2020-21 with our art therapy group, and has now joined the team part-time as our new Art Psychotherapist. She has worked with community art groups, schools and youth groups and is currently working for a perinatal mental health charity in Bristol. She loves Dance and Dance Movement Therapy , making things out of clay and mixed media art making. She lives near Bradford on Avon with her husband, two boys, two Italian street cats and Milo the lurcher.
Louise Turner – Psychotherapist (on Maternity Leave)
She/Her
Louise has worked in many mental health charities and services over the years and currently works for Bristol’s specialist NHS clinics for FGM survivors. She loves yoga, making pottery and slowly turning her home into an indoor jungle. We jokingly call Louise our office goat, it’s not as harsh as it sounds! She finds an artistic use for almost anything we’re about to throw out, so our art cupboard is full of weird and wonderful bits of scrap she’s gathered from around the Support Centre! Louise is also the queen of weird but wonderful questions, “shower thoughts” (Google it!) and Netflix recommendations!
Georgie – Trainee Psychotherapist
She/Her
Georgie will be joining our Friday morning Psychotherapy Group on placement from January 2023.
Georgie is on the third year of a five-year MSc in Integrative Psychotherapy at Metanoia Institute in London and volunteers with the Samaritans and Mind. Previously, she worked at Channel 4. She is a keen bread and ice cream maker and lover of Stephen Sondheim musicals.
Support Team
Alexandra – Clinical Administrator
She/Her
After living in Spain for 17 years, Alex returned to the UK to follow her passion in working in social work. Since then she has completed a Level 2 Health and Social Care course, after which she decided social work wasn’t for her and she wanted to work in mental health. Alex joined our team in September 2023 as our administrator and is the first person you’ll probably speak to when getting in touch about appointments and referrals. She’ll talk you through the process of starting therapy and is there to answer any questions you may have (big or small!).
Alex loves music and is absolutely book crazy! So much so, she is nicknamed by those closest to her as “The Unsocial Bookworm” as her happy place is sat reading several books in one go!
TBC – Student Support Worker
TBC
Each year Breakthrough offer a 9 month placement for psychology students looking to build their experience in mental health settings. Our placements run from August to July each year, with interviews taking place across April and May.
So watch this space and we’ll introduce our new student soon!
Craig – Yoga Instructor
He/Him
Craig has been teaching yoga for 2 years and started practicing after a life-changing event in 2018, which saw a significant change of career and direction. Craig is Trauma Sensitive Yoga trained and has led Julian House clients in yoga classes.
Outside of yoga, Craig has worked for Julian House since 2019 and currently runs a Day Centre for rough sleepers in Bath. Craig also practices Vipassana (silent meditation), which those who know him find slightly comical as he also loves to talk! Craig lives in Bath with his wife and three children – and three cats!
Lucy – Community Cat
After 18 months of cat antics, due to the Support Centre being so busy and needing to re-shuffle some of the space for different uses, Lucy will be moving out of Breakthrough and back in with Holly.
We know everyone will miss her (and she’ll definitely miss how many visitors bring her Dreamies), but there aren’t enough rooms in the building to give her her own space.
But we’ll still give service users the odd update and ‘postcards’ from her new home!
New Staff!
We have new staff members joining the team over the coming months:
TBC – Fundraising & Communications Coordinator
TBC – Men’s Therapy Group Facilitator
We’ll be updating their bios in the coming weeks so you can “meet” them before any appointments with us.
Trustees
Breakthrough is governed by a Board of Trustees whose job it is to oversee the operation and development of the charity.
Our amazing Board of Trustees are:
Jen Cowderoy
(Chair of Trustees)
Hannah Cox
Emily Curtis
Jon Bees
Elena Hailwood
Sarah Thomas
Susan Crichton
TBC