Our Team - Supporting vulnerable people

The Anxious Minds Team

Our Fabulous Team

IN LOVING MEMORY OF SHAUN MCCOWIE – HEAD OF COUNSELLING WALLSEND

Shaun sadly passed away at the end of 2019. He provided counselling services to adults and children across the North East for over 16 years. Shaun was a volunteer who was passionate about improving mental health services across the North East. His dedication and determination will be carried on by the charity as we move on in our development. Shaun will be sadly missed by his colleagues and friends and hundreds of trainee counsellors he was a clinical supervisor and mentor for.

Eddie
Chief Officer
Hi, I founded Anxious Minds in 2015 after leaving the Armed Forces after 22 years service on my war pension, due to a lack of early intervention and provisional support…...
Jan
Operations Manager
I qualified as a counsellor in 2007 and went on to become a Clinical Supervisor in 2010. In 2016 both myself and the late Shaun McCowie, joined Anxious Minds to…...
Margaret
Head of Counselling
Hi, my training was undertaken with Tyneside Metropolitan College where I studied to become a Person-Centred Counsellor and Clinical Supervisor....
Mark
Business Development Director
Mark joined us this year after a career of over 25 years in senior management in the recruitment, training & education fields. Most recently Mark worked for Europe’s largest university…...
Russell
Counsellor
Russell is a fully qualified counsellor and passionate about supporting people. He now runs the Drop In and Recovery Centre in Wallsend....
Fiona
Drop in Centre Manager
Hi, after having a previous career in Education, I re-trained with Sunderland University and I have been a Counsellor since 2008. I have worked in a number of community settings…...
Kirsty
Admin & Support Worker
Kirsty holds a level 3 in counselling and a level 2 in drug and alcohol support she is passionate about supporting people with mental health, Kirsty also works in admin…...
Miranda
Counsellor
I previously worked in Education and retrained to be a counsellor. In 2019, I did a diploma at Gosforth with Newcastle City Learning which I completed last year. I volunteered…...
Ashley
Counsellor
Ashley has a level 5 and 6 iin counselling where she achieved a distinction. She is passionate about supporting people with mental health and addiction problems and is currently studying…...
Cheryl
VETERAN FAMILIES SUPPORT OFFICER
Cheryl has worked for the past 5 years as a telephone support and families support worker. She is passionate about supporting veteran families. Cheryl and her husband served 22 years…...
Denise
Veteran Families
Served 11 years in the armed forces as a Military Clerk. On leaving the Army she was employed as a Personal Assistant to various high profile individuals....
Lucy
Volunteer
Lucy works in social media and is passionate about supporting mental health. She works on our marketing, advertisement and social media platforms....
Minnie
Therapy dog
Minnie likes meeting and welcoming people to the centre, loves sitting on knees giving unconditional love; mini has worked as a Dog therapist for the last 4 years. She loves…...
Leanne
Counsellor
Leanne is a fully qualified counsellor and is passionate about supporting the veteran community after serving in both the Army and RAF. She now works on the veteran project....

The Anxious Minds Patrons

Our Patrons

Denise Welch

Denise Welch is an English actress and television personality. Her roles include Natalie Barnes in Coronation Street, Steph Haydock in Waterloo Road, and Trish Minniver in Hollyoaks. Denise also appears as a regular panellist on the ITV chat show, Loose Women and has been a Patron of Anxious Minds since 2018

Jamaal Lascelles

Jamaal Lascelles is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Premier League club Newcastle United, where he is captain, Jamaal has been a Patron of Anxious Minds since 2021

Ellen Dean

Ellen Dean is the owner of Laughing Lion Designs (organic clothing) and Cheeky Monkey Productions (film-making) and is an award-winning businesswoman, Ellen enjoys writing fiction and non-fiction and has been a radio presenter. Ellen has been a Patron of Anxious Minds since 2018

Our Staff & Volunteers

Supporting vulnerable people within our community takes a certain character, with not only the right qualifications but the passion and understanding what its like to struggle.