2025 Trauma & Menopause Conference: The Intersection of Trauma & Menopause – Exploring the Impact & Importance of Relationships during the Menopause Years

Aneesh is a seasoned trainer, therapist & supervisor, currently studying for her doctorate in psychological trauma. All Aneesh’s work is underpinned with both compassion and somatic-based practices which she sees as an integral part of a holistic understanding of ourselves. Aneesh is currently studying for her doctorate in Psychological Trauma and she holds a Masters in Trauma Informed Practice, and a PGC in Coaching. Aneesh co-produces the popular ‘Community Connections’ podcast, which introduces trauma and its many guises, without the fancy jargon.

Anita is an experienced community engagement advocate, speaker, podcaster and activist. She has worked, volunteered and advocated for social issues like social inequality, heritage, menopause, and other injustices. She has worked with women, men, and young people on issues related to mental health, ex-offenders, unemployment, and refugees. She grew up in Bedford with her Afro-Caribbean family, which has inspired her to work towards a better community.

Anita hosts the podcast “Black Menopause and Beyond,” where she covers the topic of menopause through interviews and reflections. Her reflections are a combination of her personal experience, the experiences of her peers, and her professional experience working in the community sector. In 2019, she founded Menopause Alliance to support people going through menopause. The organization holds face-to-face peer support groups in her hometown. In 2020, she co-founded Black Women in Menopause with Nina Kuyper, offering face-to-face online meetings via Zoom every two months.

Anita is also a speaker on menopause, community, ethnic minorities, and women’s issues. She has appeared on several media outlets, including BBC Breakfast, ITVX, ITN, The Guardian, Magic FM radio, Marie Claire Magazine, and Stylist.

I have lived all my life assuming I was a ‘broken neurotypical’, only to discover I was just mostly disabled by a world not set up for me and expectations not suited to my strengths. My work as a neurodivergent therapist is now evolving but currently my focus is on helping high-achieving individuals to discover their true selves, meet their needs more compassionately, and move towards deeper self-acceptance. My clients come to me with issues such as work-life balance, high expectations, and burnout. We explore topics like identity, life management, and work and family demands, all with a focus on well-being, self-knowing, and moving towards an authentic future.

It was after my daughter was diagnosed as ND that I realised I was too. At 50 years old, I began the journey of coming home to myself. I firmly believe in the validity of self-realisation and reject the idea that neurodivergent individuals are “disordered.”

My interest lies in late identification and the journey of unmasking and ND affirmation. This recognition of my own neurodivergence has led to an increase in neurodivergent clients seeking my services, and I am passionate about advocating for our community within a society that does not always cater to our needs. I have recently presented on neurodivergence in medicine and started running support groups for individuals who want to identify more authentically and affirmingly with their neurodivergence.

David is a freelance psychotherapeutic counsellor based in the East
Midlands.

The Eden Practice, instigated in 2015, was born of need – and compassion,
realising the scant provision for consideration of personal narrative, and the
importance of lived experience. In direct apposition to the current regimen of
pathologising psychological trauma, and the prominence of indorsing emotional
dis-ease as illness. David aspires to the promotion of, engaged listening – and
hearing, empathic understanding, compassion, and support, rather than the
categorisation of emotional response to adverse experiences, and the medicating
of supposed disorders.

David is concerned that the current provision of NHS Talking Therapies –
formerly IAPT, and the reliance upon manualised cognitive behavioural therapy,
and the absence of choice, is entirely inadequate.

David’s conventional training, MA* Trauma Informed Practice; BA*
Humanistic Counselling Practice – has been fundamental to his practice as a
therapist. “I believe that the basic tenets of Rogerian person-centred practices,
and that the therapeutic relationship are essential. However, my own life
experience has been equally as informative”.

Kalanit Ben-Ari, Ph.D. is a senior psychologist, psychotherapist, and author with over 20 years of experience working with couples, individuals, and parents. With a private clinic in Hampstead, London, she is an international speaker, trainer, and supervisor of therapists. Kalanit is a member of the Faculty at the Imago International Training Institute and served as the Chair of Imago UK from 2013 to 2023. Dr. Ben-Ari’s expertise is well-recognised; she has trained thousands of therapists worldwide and is frequently featured in professional journals and the media.

Emily is an expert in the field of embodied trauma processing, creating safety and emotional self-regulation through yoga, breath and movement. An internationally trained yoga teacher since 2007 and establishing Yoganova, Emily has worked with diverse populations, within, schools, charities the public sector and private practice. She later widened her experience becoming parent, children & young peoples’ therapist, CAMHS Specialist, self-regulation therapist, trainer and professional speaker, founding the companyFreedom In Me. She honed her knowledge of harnessing blended polyvagal states through lived experience, practicing yoga during her years working in a war zone as a humanitarian worker for the International Red Cross and UN. She draws from a wide range of practices from yin & restorative to high energy kundalini inspired movement, presented in simple and accessible ways, whilst working to increase the evidence-base and profile of yoga as a tool for trauma through publishing research, working with parents, children and teachers on co-regulation and connection to create Trauma Informed Schools. She advocates practice that releases the practitioner from attempting to hold still, which has great application for ADHD, trauma, emotional dis-regulation and wherever these overlap. She works with both adults and children, has delivered training to teachers, yogis, public sector workers and therapists, debunking the mystification of yoga practice and promoting simple fun tools that simply help people feel better. Whilst theoretically grounded in polyvagal principles, her work is essentially experiential – so come along and join the fun way to access the power and the freedom inside everyone of us.

Fabienne Chazeaux has been facilitating in Person-centred Psychotherapy training programs in France and in the UK for more than 10 years.

Fabienne is currently working on the Temenos Counselling & Psychotherapy Programme and the ACP France European Certificate in Psychotherapy Programme.

She has a private practice in Paris and online where she offers Psychotherapy for children and adults and supervision to individual Psychotherapy practitioners.

Fabienne is currently offering group supervision for psychologists who specialise in working with children and young people who have been orphaned and psychologists and support workers who specialise in working in an educational setting with children and young people who are living with Autism.

Fabienne is also an experienced business coach and works with senior leaders and leadership teams within global corporations, she also offers individual and group supervision to coaches.

Fabienne is an accomplished artist and has a special interest in how the creative arts can support therapeutic process. Fabienne has developed creative therapeutic tools which she uses with students, supervisees, psychotherapy and coaching clients.

These tools have been developed to be particularly powerful in supporting therapeutic movement where there are no words available, which is often the case for clients who have experienced body and relational trauma or who find themselves paralysed within seemingly intractable organisational settings.

Genie lives in Denver, CO with her partner Kelly and their dog Benito. She is a substance use counselor and works as a case-manager in the Arapahoe County Problem Solving Court which helps individuals overcome barriers associated with criminal justice, mental health and substance use. She is a passionate advocate for individualized care that is strengths-based and preserves the dignity of the individual. She is also a trained auricular acupuncture technician. When not working she loves spending time with her granddaughters, cycling, running and travelling.

Jacqui and Tony, celebrating 10 years together in 2025, bring a rich blend of creative and therapeutic practices to their work. Tony is a dedicated sound healing practitioner and a trainee art therapist, passionate about using creativity and vibration to facilitate emotional healing and transformation. Jacqui is an experienced teacher of Japanese and wellbeing, blending her love of language and culture with her deep commitment to personal growth and intuitive practices. Together, they share their lived experiences of navigating life’s challenges, including menopause, and inspire others to embrace change with authenticity, creativity, and connection. Through their collaborative work, they create spaces where healing and self-discovery flourish.

Joan qualified as a physiotherapist from Glasgow Caledonian University in 1993 and after working in a variety of specialties and a year of work in Canada, she specialised in Musculoskeletal Outpatients. This specialty led to further studies and Joan gained an MSc in Manual Therapy from Coventry University in 2007.

Joan continued to work part time in physiotherapy following the birth of her 2 girls (now 19 and 17) but in 2012 decided to branch out into postnatal health and became a fitness instructor to help women recover well from pregnancy and birth.

With a growing interest in women’s health, Joan became further specialised in pelvic floor rehab and along with that came an interest and further studies in Menopause care.

Along with Joan’s ongoing pelvic floor rehab work with women of all ages, she has a growing community of women at her indoor and outdoor exercise classes that cater for women of all ages looking to keep fit and active.

Joan delivers educational talks around the topic of the Menopause to groups of women and men in schools/business/local groups and continues to keep herself educated within this field with qualifications from Burrell Education and The British Menopause Society.

Kelly Lives in Denver, CO with her partner of 23 years, Genie and their dog Benito Alejandro. Kelly has a master’s degree in mental health counseling and addiction counseling and a master’s in public health. She has a psychotherapy practice called Open Heart Clear Mind Counseling. Her areas of interest include trauma, life transitions and existential issues using approaches such as EMDR, Internal family systems, Buddhist psychology and Psychedelic-assisted approaches. When not working, Kelly enjoys spending time with her partner and granddaughters, cycling, traveling, learning about Buddhist practice and supporting Genie in her endeavor of qualifying for the Boston Marathon.

Lynda holds an MA degree in Transpersonal Studies with a focus on Spiritual Mentoring and Feminine Spirituality as well as a Diploma in Tarot for Women. She is also a Certified Trauma-Informed Yoga Instructor, Spiritual Guidance Mentor, Level II Reiki Practitioner, Transpersonal Hypnosis Guide, and author of a memoir/research project about her Spiritual Emergency titled, Menopause in Crisis~ When Spiritual Emergency Meets the Feminine Midlife Passage. The focus of her writing and healing practice is to offer insights and support to women who are dealing with the challenges of perimenopause and the years beyond.

Nina Kuypers is a dedicated menopause activist and the founder of Black Women in Menopause, an organisation committed to creating a safe space for Black women to share their menopause experiences and access support. Confronted with a lack of culturally relevant information and representation, Nina recognised the need for a platform that addresses the unique challenges faced by Black women during menopause.

Nina’s advocacy extends to public speaking and policy influence. She has shared her personal menopause journey at an All-Party Parliamentary Group for Menopause, highlighting the need for inclusive conversations that consider the diverse experiences of menopausal individuals. Additionally, she has contributed written evidence to parliamentary inquiries, emphasizing the importance of addressing menopause in the workplace, especially concerning Black women.

Beyond her work with Black Women in Menopause, Nina serves as a board member for the Hwupenyu Health and Wellbeing Project, a charity based in Glasgow that supports Black ethnic communities in Scotland living with chronic health conditions.

Stella Duffy is completing her third year of a doctorate training in Existential Psychotherapy at NSPC, her research is in the embodied experience of postmenopause. Alongside her private psychotherapy practice, Stella has worked in NHS cancer psychological support, and hospice bereavement support, currently working with a low-cost community mental health service. With fellow NSPC doctorate student Chris Cleave she runs workshops in existential writing for therapists. Alongside her therapy work, Stella is an award-winning writer of seventeen novels, over seventy short stories and fourteen plays and worked in theatre for over thirty-five years as an actor, director, facilitator and improvisor. She has been active in equalities and inclusion work in the arts, women’s and LGBTQ+ communities for many decades.

Tayba runs her own private practice as a psychotherapist and clinical supervisor. With over a decade of experience in mental health, domestic abuse, and trauma, she focuses on serving women around the world. Tayba offers Mizan Therapy, which incorporates healing techniques to address reproductive health, emotional well-being, and unresolved trauma. Tayba has been organising and delivering unique retreats for women blending mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health and wellbeing.

Tayba is committed to anti-oppressive practices and is culturally attuned to the needs of her clients, including those who are neurodivergent. She emphasizes the importance of community, working to educate individuals and communities on the impacts of patriarchy, colonialism, and capitalism.

She focuses on healing intergenerational trauma, helping women reclaim cultural practices that are empowering. Her approach is informed by Islamic principles, allowing her to educate women on dismantling the guilt and shame imposed by cultural and patriarchal norms. Through her work, she empowers women to make informed choices by fostering a supportive environment for personal growth and healing.

Tayba thoroughly enjoys wearing the hat of being a solo-parent and Glam-Ma.