NCFED Trainer Profiles

Deanne is the Principal of NCFED, established 1985. In her work as a psychologist, presenter & trainer, she is acknowledged as a leading specialist in the treatment of eating disorders & weight control. As a Practitioner, she draws from many years extensive experience in this work.

Deanne has delivered trainings extensively in the UK and overseas, in Universities, Colleges of Further Education, in the NHS and in corporate environments. She is dedicated to eating disorder prevention, working in schools with students & parent groups, & gives talks to community organisations on request.

Deanne is a member of the European Council on Eating Disorders, the UK Forum on Eating Disorders (Division of Clinical Psychology), the National Obesity Forum and is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, Psychiatry Section. She has assisted the NICE Guidance process for Bariatric Surgery, Obesity & Eating Disorders. She is a member of an All-Party Parliamentary Group advising on public health approaches to weight management & diabetes.

Jenny Phaure has a long history of working in the Autism field, completing her first clinical training 30 years ago as part of a Learning Disability Team within a Mental Health Trust, undertaking clinical work with autistic clients. She has worked in NHS Mental Health Trusts and for a wide range of national and regional charities including the National Autistic Society, Barnardo’s, Refuge, Brook Advisory Centres and Mind. Jenny Phaure is trained as an adult integrative therapist and child and adolescent psychotherapist with further training in both child-parent psychotherapy and Psychological Trauma.  (UKCP, MBACP).
Jenny  is committed to increasing access to high quality, appropriate and accessible Autism and Mental Health Therapeutic Support for clients with complex needs and presentations. This involves expanding the network of trained therapists across the UK and increasing access to mental health training for working with complex needs and presentations.

MA (St Andrews); MA (McMaster); PhD (Cambridge) Dip. Counselling (Birkbeck) Member Guild of Psychotherapists; Registered UKCP therapist.

Her background is in the humanities and in counselling and psychotherapy. She came to Herts in 1994 as a Principal Lecturer to deliver the counselling training. Since 1999 she has spent most of her time in research. In 2002 she was made Professor of Counselling, with two main interests: the first is the development of interventions for eating disorders and obesity based on an understanding of the importance of psychological factors in the genesis and maintenance of disordered eating. The other focus for her work has been the improvement of professional dance training from a psychological and developmental perspective.

Main publications: 2000 Publication of ‘The Student Dancer’, the result of 15 years of research and experience as a counsellor within the professional dance training world. 2002 Professor of Counselling. 2004 Beginning of a multi-group study to evaluate integrative group therapy for obese women. 2005 Establishment of Obesity and Eating Disorders Research Unit. 2007 Publication of ‘Therapeutic Groups for Obese Women: a group leader’s handbook’ which encapsulates much of the research that Julia has undertaken since 1999. 2007 Publication of ‘Psychological Approaches to Eating Disorders and Obesity’ which is the product of two conferences which she organised at University of Herts.

Emma Hendricks, DipION, BANT, CNHC, Msc. Health Psychology & Founder of The Eating Clinic, is a Registered Nutritional Therapist & Behaviour Change Practitioner. After training at the Institute for Optimum Nutrition, she founded a private practice in Kent & also works as a consultant in nutrition, practitioner supervision & guest lecturer.

Emma is currently completing a doctorate in Health Psychology with specialism in eating behaviour, eating disorders & body image. Emma has also trained in CBT & she is keen to bridge a gap between nutritional practice & the science of behaviour change. Emma also has a Master Practitioner qualification in Eating Disorders & Obesity with the NCFED.

Jeremy is a psychologist with over 20 years of mental health experience working in multicultural settings in Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. He worked with many people who have struggled with many difficult life experiences and conditions from different parts of the world, which they have been able to overcome, with the help of evidence-based therapies.

He adopts an integrative cognitive behavioural therapy approach to his practice and incorporates mindfulness as an intrinsic part of his therapy. Jeremy is also a clinical hypnotherapist & a neurofeedback/biofeedback specialist.

He has a core specialisation in the treatment of eating disorders and is the founder of a non-profit organization – the Middle East Eating Disorders Association, which he presides to raise awareness and to support those struggling with eating disorders in the region as well as train professionals. MEEDA is also a partner chapter of the Academy of Eating Disorders for the Middle East.

Bernie, a co-founder of NEDDE TRAINING, brings a wealth of experience as a BACP (Accred) Counsellor / Psychotherapist and Clinical Supervisor, having obtained her qualifications in 2004.

Her passion for helping individuals with eating disorders and obesity led her to become a Master Practitioner in Eating Disorders and Obesity at The National Centre for Eating Disorders (NCFED) in 2007. Bernie became a supervisor, mentor, senior lecturer, and Clinical lead at NCFED. Recognising the lack of accessible support for neurodivergent individuals struggling with eating disorders and disordered eating, she collaborated with Lisa Smith to establish NEDDE TRAINING. Bernie has successfully run her own company, Healing Minds, for several years.

Lisa, a co-founder of NEDDE Training, is a BANT Reg Nutritionist specialising in functional nutrition. Her approach revolves around prioritising the individual client and their unique needs, disregarding any predefined diagnoses or labels. Beyond conventional dietary guidelines, Lisa takes into account various factors such as the client’s internal and external environment, genetic predisposition, and lifestyle, in order to uncover elements that may impact their overall physical and mental well-being.

With over a decade of collaboration with Bernie Wright, and more recently with NCFED, Lisa has gained extensive expertise encompassing a wide range of eating behaviours. She possesses a deep understanding of how neurodivergence can influence these behaviours, providing her with valuable insights in her practice. Lisa also holds a senior lecturer position at the College of Naturopathic Medicine, sharing her knowledge with aspiring professionals.

Kim is an NCS Accredited Psychotherapist and Hypnotherapist supporting Bariatric patients both pre-surgery and post-surgery. She is the founder of 8Wise™ a unique model for improving mental health and wellbeing;  and Weight Wise WLS, an online support group for Bariatric patients.  Kim has published five books and is the host of the Live The 8 Wise Way podcast, teaching people the 8Wise™ methodology and how to implement it into their lives for better mental health and wellbeing.

Mel is a neurodivergent registered nutritionist, specialising in intuitive eating, non-diet nutrition, and counselling for eating distress and body image concerns. Having personally overcome an eating disorder at 16, she developed a deep interest in food and nutrition, which has fuelled her passion thereafter.

Mel’s career journey included lecturing in nutrition and applied physiology since 1997. Since 1997 she embarked on a personal mission to help individuals struggling with their relationship with food to find freedom and inner peace. Her focus extends to midlife women, who encounter additional obstacles such as ageism, menopause transitions, and anti-fat bias in their pursuit of a healthful life.

Anastassis Spiliadis is a Systemic & Family Psychotherapist (MSc), with a background in Psychology (MSc) and a Doctoral candidate focusing on eating disorders and gender-related distress in adolescence. He has worked as a clinician, a supervisor and a trainer in specialist and generic services, including the Maudsley Centre for Child & Adolescent Eating Disorders, Royal Free Hospital’s Eating Disorder service, the Tavistock Centre’s Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) and more recently at Great Ormond Street Hospital’s CYP gender service as a trainer.

He previously established and led the first Family Therapy & Consultation Service in the NHS for gender-questioning young people and families and co-led the official training program until 2019. Since leaving GIDS, Anastassis has continued to work in private practice with individuals, couples and families affected by eating disorders, gender-related distress and other enduring and complex challenges and as an Education Lead through the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, currently training clinicians at the newly established CYP gender services in England.

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