Hello!

Nice to meet you. I’m Fran.

You might be reading this as a family member or friend of someone who’s experienced psychosis, or perhaps you’re someone who’s had unusual experiences yourself.

These days, it’s very normal to Google someone—especially when you’re going to be talking about something as important as mental health. So I’ve made this so that if someone does Google me, there’s something to find. It makes sense to want to know a bit about the person you might be working with.

My training and experience

I’m a qualified social worker, qualified in mental health, and have been working with people experiencing and recovering from psychosis for over five years. I’ve worked in both local council and NHS settings, in specialist psychosis teams and general mental health teams, offering individual therapy, family work, and peer support groups—like Hearing Voices groups and family, friends, and carers groups.

I’m also a qualified Cognitive Behavioural Family Intervention for Psychosis (CBFI-p) therapist. This means I’m qualified to deliver family sessions for psychosis and to train others in delivering them too.

A bit about me

I spend most of the working week with families doing family sessions. I became a mental health social worker because of my own experiences and those of people close to me. I’m always learning and training to improve my work with families—I’m currently studying for a foundation in systemic psychotherapy at the Tavistock.

Outside of work, I love cycling (though my bike was recently stolen, so you may see me walking for now!). I love a good cup of tea and a chocolate biscuit, enjoy 60s music, and relaxing in the bath with candles. On weekends, you’ll often find me at car boot sales looking for hidden treasures.

What are family sessions?

Family sessions involve meeting with you and your family and/or close friends who support you, usually every two weeks, for around 14 sessions.

There’s strong evidence that when people who’ve experienced psychosis take part in family sessions, they’re significantly less likely to have another episode, less likely to be readmitted to hospital, and more likely to experience better outcomes in their day-to-day lives. That’s why the NHS funds these sessions—because they work.

This approach is backed by a large body of research. Here is the evidence.