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We've just launched a brand new site for our work with ME, CFS and Fibromyalgia,
please visit www.FreedomFromME.co.uk
for more info

Team

Founder and Clinical Director - Alex Howard BSc(Hons)
Alex Howard is Founder and Managing Director of the clinic.  Alex suffered from M.E. for seven years, and spent two years virtually bed-bound. After reaching the point of near suicide, Alex made the commitment of doing everything he could to turn around his own situation and help others in similar situations.  Since his recovery Alex has worked tirelessly and with great dedication to help those affected by M.E., and is the author of “WHY ME? My Journey from M.E. to Health and Happiness,” has released over 100 audio CDs including the clinic's highly successful www.SecretsToRecovery.com, and in addition to thousands of hours of clinical work, has given hundreds of talks all over the UK.

In addition to his role as Managing Director of the clinic, Alex is also heavily involved in The Optimum Health Clinic Foundation, researching and writing several new books, is a presenter for www.Conscious.tv, and still heavily dedicated to his own journey of personal development.  Alex also still does a very limited number of client sessions, teaches on the clinic's professional training courses, and runs the clinic's Conscious Transformation seminars (www.ConsciousTransformation.co.uk).

Click here to view Alex's latest video blog.

Director of Psychology - Anna Duschinsky MA(Hons)
Anna suffered from M.E. for a number of years, and through determination and tenacity was able to make a full recovery, using many of the techniques now offered by the clinic. Anna holds a degree from Cambridge University, numerous qualifications in mind-body approaches, and is known for her caring and compassionate style. In her role as Director of Psychology at the clinic, Anna has been responsible for researching all of the latest approaches out there to treating M.E. from a non-physical view point, and has been responsible for creating the most cutting edge protocol we believe to be available in the world today.

Click here to view Anna's recent video blog.

Director of Nutrition - Tanya Page BSc.(Hons) Dip ION mBANT NTCC CNHC
Tanya is a clinical nutritionist with a background in food technology and process engineering. After gaining a 1st class honours degree in Food Technology at Reading University in the early 90s, Tanya's interest in health through nutrition was sparked when her terminally ill mother appeared to gain some precious months through eating well. This inspired her to put her food industry career on hold and re-train in nutritional therapy. She went on to produce the best dissertation in her year with her work on essential fats and their role in cancer treatment. Tanya joined the clinic team in July 2006, and since then has played a key role in the research and testing of the clinics protocols, and has extensive experience working with patients with M.E.  In addition to her technical experience and background, Tanya is also known for her caring and empathic style.

Click here to view Tanya's recent video blog.

Director of Research - Dr Megan Arroll B.Sc. (Hons), M.Sc., Ph.D.
Meg was diagnosed with ME at the age of 14 and was severely affected for a number of years. Once recovered, she pursued an academic path and completed a bachelor’s degree in Psychology, followed by a masters in Research Methods and Psychological Assessment, including a BPS Level ‘A’ qualification in psychometric testing. Meg was awarded her Ph.D. from the University of Surrey in 2009 on the topic of ME/CFS, in which she utilised a number of diverse methodologies and research techniques (please see http://www.iacfsme.org/Portals/0/pdf/Arroll%20vol17%20n2.pdf for an example of one her doctoral studies). Meg has taught research methodology and psychological science in a number of Higher Education institutions, most recently the University of East London and the Open University.

In her role as Director of Research, Meg plans and conducts research studies, analyses retrospective and prospective data and prepares reports and publications on the clinic’s work. The current research programme includes a full-scale evaluation of the clinic’s therapeutic approaches, construction and standardisation of the clinic’s questionnaires/measures and submission of peer-reviewed articles. In addition to the research carried out within the clinic, Meg holds a Visiting Research Fellowship at the University of East London and is a member of its Chronic Illness Research Team.

Medical Director and Consultant Psychiatrist – Dr Nicki Crowley MB ChB MRCPsych.
Dr Crowley qualified from the University of Birmingham Medical School in 1993, with an interest in neuropsychiatry and complementary and alternative medicine.  She subsequently specialised in psychiatry, training with both the Royal College of Psychiatry (UK) and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatry between 1995-2003.  She gained entry onto the GMC specialist register in 2003 and has worked as an NHS Consultant since then.  She has maintained a specific interest in liaison psychiatry which specialises in the psychological aspects of physical illness, and has continued to follow the field of mind-body medicine which is predominantly based in the US.  Dr Crowley has also undertaken extensive training with Stanislav Grof on the Grof Transpersonal Training programme in Holotropic Breathwork.  This work uses modern consciousness research to support natural healing and growth.

Having had her own experience of ME/CFS and found significant benefits in the OHC approach, Dr Crowley is deeply passionate about the importance of using a truly integrative framework and pulling together the best of traditional medicine with some of the more innovative approaches developed at OHC.  Dr Crowley’s role is currently to offer a diagnostic service within OHC with the vision of expanding the department to full integration with the psychology and nutrition teams over time.  Dr Crowley is known for her kind and empathic style, backed up by 20 years of clinical experience as a medical Dr.

You can watch an interview with Dr Crowley about her background here

You can find out more about our Medical Department here

Visionary Psychology Practitioners

Clinical Nutritionists

Julia Alderman BSc, DipION, mBANT, NTCC, CNHC
Nutrition and healthy living have always been a huge part of Julia’s life.  She has used nutrition to overcome her own health problems and is passionate about giving others the knowledge and support needed to regain their health too.  Julia has a background in science with an honours degree in biology, and after graduating she went on to follow the path of nutritional therapy.  On completing her training, Julia worked as the residential nutritionist for a five-star hotel in Cyprus where she ran a variety of detox programmes for guests from all over the world.  She has since held a busy nutrition clinic in central London treating a range of chronic conditions, as well as presenting nutrition workshops and writing articles.  Julia’s approach combines her strong scientific knowledge with her holistic understanding, and she is popular with patients for her compassionate and encouraging style.

Click here to view Julia's recent video blog.

Helen Lynam BSc, mBANT, NTCC
Helen spent her first career as an Engineer with British Airways, rising to Senior Manager.  Having lost one close member of her family to chronic disease she was inspired to study nutrition when another close family member overcame a dire prognosis through dietary changes and supplementation. After gaining a first class degree in Nutritional Therapy Helen established herself in two busy private clinics seeing clients with a range of disorders, before joining the clinic team at The Optimum Health Clinic. In her spare time, Helen runs healthy eating evening classes, is a subeditor of a journal for nutritional therapists and she also lectures to degree level in nutrition. Helen is known for her tenacity and determination to get to the root of a problem, always done with a sense of humour and lightness of touch which can help make the process enjoyable.

Tara McKearney BA (Hons), DipION, mBANT
Tara’s interest in nutrition stemmed from learning to manage severe Repetitive Strain Injury after years of long hours sitting at a computer in her job in academia. By following an anti-inflammatory diet and taking good quality supplements, Tara was able to reduce her pain substantially.  After seeing the positive effects a change of diet could have on her health, Tara decided to pursue a career in nutrition. While studying for her nutrition qualification, Tara became interested in digestive issues. Having worked and travelled in Asia and South America for most of her 20s, Tara was left with compromised digestion. Again through nutritional changes, she was able to overcome the complaints she had experienced since returning to the UK. Since qualifying Tara has run a clinic in central London and worked at a chiropractic clinic in Kent. In these clinics she has specialised in digestive issues including IBS, parasites, and inflammatory bowel diseases.  Tara is well liked for her warm and friendly approach.

Lisa Blair BA (Hons), Dip BCNH, mBANT, NTCC
In her previous life, Lisa was a management consultant, and so saw first-hand the impact of work stress, deadlines, poor nutrition, and the slippery slope into burnout.  Her move into nutritional therapy gave her the chance to focus on her passionate interests in food and health. She is a dedicated foodie and cook and loves the opportunity to show how to prepare simple healthy meals that taste great.   She is a research fiend and a dedicated sleuth, so is persistent in her desire to get to the bottom of any problem for her clients.  Her experience includes 5 years working at The Food Doctor clinic in London where she specialised in digestive, adrenal and thyroid health.  Lisa has written on a wide variety of nutrition related topics for health & fitness and women’s magazines and she regularly lectures on nutrition related topics to corporate clients.  The loyalty of her clients is testament to her positive and caring attitude.

Angela Walker BSc Nut. Med. mBANT
Before training in Nutrition and Functional Medicine, Angela had a successful career in the Advertising and Marketing Industry, developing and running advertising campaigns for a number of consumer brands. This background helps Angela to communication the benefits of good nutrition is a clear and concise way to her clients and the wider public. The relationship between what we eat and how we feel had always fascinated Angela. Experimenting with an elimination type programme in 2004 led to a transformation in her mental clarity and energy and she felt compelled to embark on a nutritional therapy degree programme.

Angela’s particular areas of focus are digestive health, female health, including the endocrine system, cardiovascular health & metabolic syndrome. She aims to inspire clients to think differently about the power of food and to learn how to harness the biologically active ingredients in whole food, with all their taste, flavours, colours and textures, to support optimal health

Angela has a BSc in Nutritional Medicine from Thames Valley University, enjoys teaching and lecturing and is a clinic tutor at University of West London. She is currently additionally completing an MSc in Nutritional Medicine at Surrey University.  Angela is also a Director and council member of the British Association for Applied Nutrition and Nutritional Therapy (BANT), the professional body for Nutritional Therapy in the UK.  Angela is a member of the Institute for Functional Medicine and registered with the Government funded register for Complementary Medicine, CNHC

Sanna Anderson dip ION, mBANT
CURRENTLY ON MATERNITY LEAVE
Sanna spent the first 10 years of her career in the financial industry enjoying the challenges of the corporate world. She has always been a keen cook and is passionate about good food, but it wasn’t until experiencing the dramatic effects of a diet change on her own health that she realised the impact good nutrition can have on the quality of life. Sanna joined OHC in the very early days in a support role as one of its first employees. In 2007 she became a nutrition practitioner and played an active role in developing the clinic’s nutrition protocols. Sanna has always been popular with patients for her kind and caring style, and this alongside her strong knowledge of the biochemistry involved with M.E. patients, makes her a truly effective practitioner.

Click here to view Sanna's recent video blog.

Amy Pamment BA(Hons) dipCNM MBANT
CURRENTLY ON SABBATICAL
Amy spent the first 10 years of her career in the challenging world of broadcast media working for BBC and ITN News. Over time the high pressure environment of daily news caused a decline in her health which eventually  led to M.E. As her own health deteriorated, she began to look for answers in nutritional therapy and decided to forge a new career helping others to overcome chronic illness. After completing her training as a Nutritional Therapist and regaining her own health, Amy worked with one of the UK’s most high profile nutritionists Dr Marilyn Glenville, who specialises in women’s health and fertility, before joining the team at The Optimum Health Clinic.  Amy brings a wealth of knowledge from her own personal experiences with M.E., and is hugely popular for her compassionate and empathic approach.

Click here to view Amy's recent video blog.

Support Staff

Georgie Brown
Georgie joined the team at The Optimum Health Clinic in December 2010.  She has previous experience of working in a healthcare environment after undertaking her nurse training, alongside working as a healthcare assistant. She moved on from that role in order to gain extra skills working within a specialist healthcare organisation. Her current position involves working within the admin team helping with the day to day running of the office.

Sarah Kaye
Sarah is often the first point contact for new patients in her role as new patient co-ordinator.  Sarah graduated with a BSc Hons Pharmacology in 1997, going on to work in customer service, marketing and recruitment for many years.  Unable to deny her passion for health, Sarah changed career and went on to study naturopathic nutrition with the College of Naturopathic Medicine over a five year period.  Sarah greatly enjoys helping answer questions from prospective patients, helping place them with the most appropriate practitioner, and being involved at the start of their treatment path with the clinic team.

Bebe Kohlap
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 Clinic Manager co-ordinating and managing all appointments on the nutrition side.

Lois Thorpe BA (Hons)
Lois suffered from M.E. for eight years. At her first appointment with Alex he asked her to build the clinic's specialist website, www.FreedomFromME.co.uk. As her health improved she worked on a number of other projects for the clinic and fulfilled her dream of studying music at university. Lois is a freelance webdesigner, and if you would like to use her for one of your projects we can't recommend her highly enough.

Angela Tysoe
Angela has worked in an administrative role within the field of complementary health and nutrition for 10 years. Angela joined the clinic in 2006, and has worked in the company in various roles since then. She now works in the role of "Nutrition Support" to the clinic's team of nutritionists. She is also currently studying for a Nutrition Diploma at The Institute for Optimum Nutrition. As a mother of two energetic little boys she thrives on a challenge and desire to help others.

Steve Wright
Steve is currently recovering from ME and doing the clinic's practitioners' course. Steve has a background in traditional Biology having specialised in modules of Immunology and Neuropharmacology at University. Apart from health and psychology his other passion is music and music-technology. He has been a DJ and producer for over 10 years with 2 record releases under his name, previously running his own club nights. His main role for the clinic is audio and video editing for the clinic's various media projects, including Secrets to Recovery and authoring the clinic's DVD in conjunction with Conscious TV.

Patient Stories