SPEAKERS

Joanna Abrahams is a Partner in the Family Department and a director at Valemus Law, who supports clients with complicated family matters to resolve difficulties with compassion, sensitivity and expert insight gained from over 20 years' experience. As a specialist in the phenomenon of children's alignment with a parent and rejection of the other, she has written and spoken on the subject for publications such as The Guardian, BBC Two's Victoria Derbyshire programme, GB news, The Lawyer, Huffington Post, Family Law Week, The Law Society Gazette, the Family Law Journal as well as Today's Family Lawyer and Lawyer Monthly. She campaigns for legal recognition of emotional and psychological abuse of children under the Children Act, having been cited during House of Commons debates, and is a passionate advocate for child-centric resolutions to family matters. Joanna is also a child abduction specialist having first been, in 2000, on The Lord Chancellor's panel of recommended solicitors which later came under the auspices of the international child and contact unit.

Dr. Hamish Cameron is a distinguished retired consultant child psychiatrist with a wealth of experience in child and adolescent mental health. Renowned for his compassionate and holistic approach, Dr. Cameron has dedicated his career to helping young people navigate complex emotional and behavioral challenges. He completed his medical training in psychiatry with a specialisation in child and adolescent psychiatry, where he developed expertise in trauma-related disorders, anxiety, depression, and behavioral issues. Dr. Cameron has worked in various clinical settings, including hospitals and community mental health services, always emphasising the importance of individualised care tailored to the needs of each child and their family. Beyond his clinical practice, he has been an active contributor to the field through research, teaching, and mentoring. Dr. Cameron has presented at numerous conferences and has published widely, sharing his insights and advocating for improved mental health services for children. His commitment to his patients and his contributions to the broader psychiatric community have made Dr. Hamish Cameron a respected leader in his field.

Michelle Chapman-Newbigging is a certified and ICF accredited Life & Wellness Coach, certified Grief Educator, experienced Therapeutic Parenting Coach and certified Emotional and Relational Intelligence Practitioner. She offers clients a wide breadth of transformative, trauma and grief-informed coaching, specialising in issues including grief, loss, life transitions, parenting, separation, divorce, blended family integration, life threatening illness, sudden death, suicide, parent loss, pregnancy loss, disrupted relationships, and the loss of a relationship with a child as a result of complex divorce or separation. Michelle also has training in Mindsight to Wellbeing Using Interpersonal Neurobiology (Dr. Dan Siegel), Certified Youth and Adult Mental Health First Aid (Mental Health Commission of Canada), and Advanced Trauma Response (Dr. Peter Lavigne and Dr. Janina Fisher). Most recently, Michelle has been supporting Karen Woodall, of the Family Separation Clinic, in the delivery of therapeutic parenting skills for parents of children affected by relational trauma in the context of divorce or separation.

Eveline van Dorp studied Education and Child Studies at Leiden University (Netherlands). For almost two decades, she worked as a behavioural scientist advising professionals in working with families experiencing severe parenting problems (after divorce). Nowadays, she runs her own business, named Pantser’ (meaning shield). Pantser focuses on helping parents and professionals to stand strong and create a face-saving way for children to stop rejecting (contact with) one of their parents after divorce. She uses attachment theory and modern trauma theories to substantiate her work and training sessions. She is the co-creator of ‘Family Ties'®, a dynamic model that visualizes (primary) attachments and their effects on people. The model shows what alienation means to a child and it provides practical tools for change. Eveline is the first professional in the Netherlands working as a Family Co-rdinator supervised by the Family Separation Clinic.

Claire Francica, a former English teacher and dyslexia specialist in Malta, is a counselling psychologist and an existential psychotherapist with a doctorate in Existential Counselling Psychology and Psychotherapy from Middlesex University and the New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling (NSPC, London). She is presently a diploma candidate at the C.G. Jung Institute in Küsnacht, Zurich, and a practitioner in training in eye movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR). Claire is also a Jungian Sandplay Therapist (BISS/ISST), holds a postgraduate diploma in Play Therapy from Play Therapy International, has accreditation in Psychologically Informed Mediation (Civil Mediation Council, UK), and a specialisation in alienating behaviours in children (Family Separations Clinic, London). Claire's most recent paper explores the use of projective drawings in assessing alienation of children in divorce and separation, an analytically informed intervention through evaluating parents' and children’s drawings.

Having qualified as a social worker in 1991, Nick Lamprey worked as a Youth Justice Officer in Dorset, particularly with parents and step parents where issues such as adult conflict, poor parenting and various social problems were impacting on children and young people. He subsequently worked, on a self employed basis, with parents and step parents, where concerns about parenting capacity and the impact on children, meant that children were on the cusp of, or already in, care proceedings. Nick is now an independent social worker and family practitioner based in Southampton, UK. His work is now balanced between couples counselling and practice with children who align with one parent and reject the other in divorce and separation. In recent years, he has focused on facilitating reconnection between children and a parent they have rejected working, often online and at distance, in the Hong Kong Family Court in complex cases of children’s rejection. This area of practice is one that he continues to develop, recognising the similarities in the emotional and psychological presentation of children in this cohort with those on the edge of care proceedings.

Kate Stewart is an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker, registered with the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW), Medicare and Victims of Crime. Kate’s experience in social work and human services spans over 22 years working with both adults and children. Kate’s practice is based across the Mid North Coast and Northern Tablelands of New South Wales, along with telehealth Australia wide. Throughout Kate’s career she has worked in academic roles, government and non-government sectors, including business development, leadership & management, policy writing, education and her most preferred role which is therapeutic services and counselling. Kate specialises in and has extensive experience working with individuals navigating post-separation periods. Kate enjoys working with an eclectic approach with respect to relational trauma and integrates a range of modalities such as cognitive behavioural therapy, dialectical behavioural therapy, EMDR and systems therapy along with clinical assessment for NDIS. Kate is eager to connect with an international community focused on the repair of intergenerational trauma, aiming to expand the options available to her clients in Australia.

June Venters KC is a dual-qualified barrister and solicitor who specialises in family law, children disputes and crime. June is a pioneering lawyer who champions equality and access to justice for all. She represents individuals on cases involving children in both the family and criminal courts. Her extraordinary blend of professional qualifications, expertise, and experience means she is uniquely placed to deliver the highest level of client service. Appointed the first woman solicitor Queen's Counsel in 2006, June is a trailblazer and leader in her field who is fearless in her pursuit for justice and fair representation. She currently remains one of a few Women Solicitors to have achieved this highly regarded status and places her at the forefront of her profession and a leader in her field. June is the Senior Partner of Venters Solicitors which she commenced in 1991 and proudly leads a skilled and equally committed team.

Hessel Willemsen is a Jungian psychoanalyst, psychoanalytic psychotherapist and a child, family and adult clinical psychologist. He trained as a clinical psychologist in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom after which he embarked on a training in Jungian Analysis. He is registered with the British Psychoanalytic Council (BPC, Jungian Analyst) and the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC, Clinical Psychologist) and practices under the ethical codes of each of these councils. Hessel offers psychoanalysis, psychotherapy, assessments and consultations for a wide range of professionals working in business, finance, management, the law and health and care professions. He provides clinical supervision for psychotherapists and analysts working in the private and public sector, and consultation and supervision to professionals who are committed to working with children and their families about whom serious concerns of child protection were raised where the child might be, or was, removed from the care of the parent.

Karen Woodall is a highly experienced psychotherapist with over twenty-five years experience in working with parents and children affected by family separation. She has worked extensively in both private and public law and regularly works in the High Court of England and Wales. Using established therapeutic theory and practice, Karen has developed new ways of working with alienated children and is widely regarded as one of the foremost experts on children’s post separation rejecting behaviours and childhood relational trauma in the context of divorce or separation. She is also an author and her influential blog has a worldwide readership. She is currently completing her PhD. Karen was previously the Director at the Centre for Separated Families, a national charity that works with the whole family in order to bring about better outcomes for children. She is the co-author of Understanding Parental Alienation: Learning to Cope, Helping to Heal (Charles C Thomas 2017) and The Guide for Separated Parents (Piatkus 2007) and with her colleague, Nick Woodall..