About Alex

Alex is a highly experienced and skilled mental health nurse who practices independently in Staffordshire as a nurse consultant, specialising in the mental health of children, adolescents and young adults. As the Director and founder of the New Vision Nursing Limited, a small but dedicated service that offers specialist nursing mental health assessments and talking-based therapy treatments, she has extensive experience in assessing a child or young adult's mental health from a holistic perspective. She can identify signs that may be indicative of a diagnosable mental health disorder and develop an individualised care plan incorporating the wishes of the person. The service is shaped by those at the heart of its purpose: the well-being of the child or young adult. 

Working independently, she is now able to practice in such a way that brings her the flexibility to truly prioritise the welfare of each child she supports.. Alex supports her clients to ensure that their care plan addresses the reasons that brought them to the service, therefore ensuring that the care plan captures the voices and wishes of the client. For some clients and families, a care plan might involve individual psychotherapeutic treatment with a focus on a particular area, or specialist support for a child/young adult through a difficult period in their life and help them to make sense of what might be happening around them. Additionally, support might look like children helping children and families access the right care from other professionals or services, such as CAMHS or neurodevelopmental assessment services. 

As a mental health professional, she is skilled in helping children, adolescents and young adults discover their emotional resilience and is dedicated to supporting them through what she considers to be one of the most challenging and confusing times of life. No matter how complex a person's needs may seem, Alex believes that there is no child or family beyond hope of a better future. Many of the clients (and their families) that she works with carry stories about themselves, and their lives, that tell a tale of self-blame, shame and a feeling of being a "problem". She supports clients to begin to tell new stories and helps cultivate a new perspective of self-acceptance, self-compassion and resilience.

Alex’s approach is based on a tapestry of models and evidence-based theories that attempt to explain the roots of psychological distress in children, adolescents, and young adults. Her core profession has afforded her the ability to carefully assess mental health from multiple perspectives and consider a wide range of presenting difficulties that are often complex and deeply rooted. Being a mental health nurse means that she values and nurtures the key initial stage; the therapeutic alliance and fostering a space that invites curiosity, self-awareness, self-compassion and an exploration of the inner emotional and physical world. Alex’s theapeutic work is informed by models of psychotherapy such as Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT), Solution Focused Therapy (SFT) and Systemic Psychotherapy. She also applies theories derived from neuroscientific research with a particular interest in the neurobiological impact of disruptions to the early attachment stages between child and parent. 

Alex has many years of experience working within NHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), affording her a solid understanding of the public healthcare sector as well as being experienced in networking with education, statutory and voluntary sector services. In terms of her qualifications and licencing, after graduating from the University of Surrey in 2013, she obtained her Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) licence to practice psychiatric nursing. In 2022-2024, Alex completed additional post-graduate studies in Systemic (Family) Therapy Skills (Intermediate level) that allow her to practice as a systemic practitioner in addition to her specialist area of nursing. She is also qualified to practice Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy, having completed the Level 5 Diploma in Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy with LEAP in 2017. Throughout all her additional training, Alex has always remained proudly rooted in her core profession as a mental health nurse. 

Qualifications:
Mental Health Nursing Diploma (University of Surrey, 2013) 

Application of the Autism Diagnostic Interview (ADI) (Internal NHS-funded training, 2015)

Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy Level 5 Diploma (LEAP, 2017)

Post-Graduate Training in Intermediate Skills in Systemic (Family) Practice (Birmingham Women and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, 2024)

Licencing/Professional Bodies/Membership:

Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Pin 10H3272E

Royal College of Nursing

Senior Member of Association of Counsellors, Coaches, Psychotherapists and Hypnotherapists (ACCPH) 

Member of the Association for Family Therapy (AFT)

In late 2024, Alex founded New Vision Nursing Limited, a service dedicated to prioritising the well-being of children, young adults and their families. The creation of the service has been influenced by Alex's repeated experiences of emotional burnout and high-stress levels that she faced working in the NHS, of which she believes impacted her ability to be effective as a clinician. Working independently she is now able to practice in such a way that brings her the flexibility to truly prioritise the welfare of each child she supports. 

Alex also wanted to create a mental health service that emphasised the unique qualities of mental health nursing and considers this to be the therapeutic alliance between nurse and patient, the in-depth holistic assessment and care planning process that considers the biological, psychological and social needs of the person in need of support. 

The vision soon became a reality, and the service is shaped by those at the heart of its’ initial purpose: the well-being of the child or young adult.