Meet the staff
Board
Kate Nowlan – Chief Executive Officer
Kate has worked as a psychotherapist, corporate consultant and trainer for 25 years. Prior to joining CiC as CEO in 2002, Kate worked as corporate psychologist for Ernst & Young on management due diligence projects. She has also acted as a consultant on counselling practice to the National Health Service (NHS).
She has delivered workshops and seminars around the world to a diverse range of organisations including Thomson Reuters, Amnesty International, the Metropolitan Police, leading international law firms and the construction industry. She has a particular interest in supporting those who have been exposed to cumulative traumatic experiences in the course of their working lives.
Kate is a fully qualified psychotherapist and a member of the European Association for Psychotherapy. In addition, she has trained in a range of mental health specialisms, including trauma, couples therapy and mediation. She has written numerous articles for human resources journals on subjects including addiction in the workplace, bullying & harassment and human continuity. Kate is President Elect of EAEF (Employee Assistance European Forum) and in 2008 was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA).
Libby Payne – Clinical Director
Libby has more than 20 years counselling experience in the voluntary, corporate and private sectors. Having specialised in the design and implementation of group and individual counselling services in corporate settings, she joined CiC in 2005. Libby combines her background in commerce with her counselling & psychotherapy training to provide a breadth of expertise both as a business consultant and a clinician.
Libby specialises in crisis management and personnel problems within organisations. She has extensive experience of working with psychological trauma and has been involved in the clinical response to a broad range of critical incidents, both in Britain and overseas.
Libby has trained in many theoretical models including psychodynamic, short-term counselling, Gestalt and group analysis. She is author of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) Guidelines for Telephone Counselling and Psychotherapy, published in 2006. Libby is also an executive committee member of the Employee Assistance Professionals Association (EAPA).
Account managers
Bianca Fernandes
Bianca hails from Johannesburg and has over 6 years experience in account management. Before joining CiC, she was a Senior Account Manager for Atio, a telecommunications firm in South Africa, where she was responsible for several key international corporate accounts including Microsoft, Deutsche Bank and HSBC.
Bianca has a degree in Systems Engineering from the University of South Africa (UNISA), having majored in Industrial Psychology and Information Technology. She has experience across most industry sectors including financial, legal, commercial or consumer goods, industrial, services, technology and healthcare. Her broad portfolio at CiC focuses on the legal sector.
Javier Paredes
Prior to joining CiC, Javier worked for several organisations in the account management field including General Electric and International SOS, where he was a Key Account Manager looking after commercial relationships with key partners in the UK, France, Italy and Spain.
Javier has 8 years professional experience and holds a graduate Diploma in Development and International Cooperation as well as a BA(Hons) Degree in International Relations and Political Science. At CiC, he now oversees a large client portfolio, specializing in humanitarian and development agencies and construction and engineering organisations.
Aidan Warren
Aidan joined CiC in 2003 and brings with him ten years of experience across many sectors including financial services. In addition to his commercial expertise, Aidan has a Diploma in Credit from the Institute of Bankers in South Africa and holds the IOB Certificate in Banking.
Aidan is the account manager for most of CiC's longest running accounts. He is also responsible for two of CiC's biggest contracts, Thomson Reuters and the Home Office.
Sarah Warwick
Sarah has eighteen years of sales and marketing experience, gained in various client-facing and account management roles across multiple sectors and in various industries. Client companies have ranged from large corporates to small start-ups. In addition to her commercial experience, Sarah has a Diploma in Psychodynamic Counselling and runs her own counselling practice on a part-time basis.
Sarah's client base within CiC is wide-ranging, including a number of local authorities, government departments and law firms. She is also involved in training and mediation, and has particular expertise in teaching counselling and communication skills in the workplace.
Training
Mark Snelling
Mark began working for CiC in 2007 after a career in journalism and humanitarian aid. Having spent 11 years working in the Far East, South Asia and East Africa, he has been based in London since 2004.
A qualified psychodynamic counsellor, Mark devises and delivers seminars and workshops, specialising in stress management, trauma support, emotional resilience and active self-care.
Mark has extensive experience of international multi-cultural settings and has worked in some of the world's most hostile environments. He has a particular interest in the psychological pressures of humanitarian work and the impact of childhood trauma on adult resilience. He has undertaken further training in addiction, organisational dynamics and disaster mental health.
Clinical managers
Emma Innes
Emma joined CiC in 2010 as an Adviceline Consultant, recently taking on the role of Clinical Manager.
A Psychodynamic Psychotherapist, Emma is an experienced practitioner and supervisor, accredited with the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and registered with the British Psychoanalytic Council (BPC). Over the last 10 years she has worked in private practice in West London, in both short-term and open-ended psychodynamic therapy, and has also worked as a specialist practitioner in the clinical service at WPF Therapy, where she has specialised in working with young people, aged 18 to 26.
A further area of interest and expertise is in assessment, where she has worked for many years, assessing clients for the clinical service at WPF. Since 2008, Emma has also worked as a supervisor, overseeing the work of postgraduate psychotherapists who undertake placements in assessment. She has also supervised postgraduate psychotherapists who remain in the service on voluntary placements following graduation from WPF.
Emma served on the board of The Foundation for Psychotherapy and Counselling from 2003 to 2009, initially representing the counselling section, and later, as Treasurer.
Prior to training as a therapist, Emma worked for some years in publishing.
Bilgi McDermott
Bilgi joined CIC as an Adviceline Consultant in 2008 and now works as a Clinical Manager.
Registered with the United Kingdom Council of Psychotherapists (UKCP), she also runs a private psychotherapy practice in West London and supervises both qualified and trainee counsellors. Originally trained in Business Management, Bilgi previously worked as a Service and Clinical Manager in a charitable counselling organization, where she also provided group supervision to counsellors.
Bilgi has extensive experience of working with psychological trauma and has been involved with several refugee projects offering specialised counselling to refugees and asylum seekers. She has been trained in trauma, domestic violence, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), addiction and mediation. She also speaks and provides counselling in Turkish.
