2026 Conference Speakers
Find out more about all our speakers who will be presenting at the 2026 Conference. You can view the full programme here.
Jo Baker
Conference Chair
Jo Baker is a senior accredited HG psychotherapist with a specialist interest in sleep and its impact on mental and physical wellbeing. She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA), and an assessor for the University Mental Health Charter, a national programme to support institutions to achieve a whole-university approach to mental health and wellbeing. Jo works across the education sector delivering mental health and wellbeing training, supervising student support teams within universities and consulting on clinical governance. She is also a senior tutor and assessor on the Human Givens Diploma in psychotherapy and co-head of supervision for Human Givens College.
Laurie Castelli-Gair
Laurie Castelli-Gair has been in private practice as an HG therapist since he qualified in 2019. He has a background in brand strategy and communication and, after several years working in the advertising industry, both in London and South America, now specialises in brand consultancy and developing film and photography projects for numerous well-known companies and organisations. From a therapeutic perspective, he has a particular interest in helping companies and individuals reduce work-life stress and avoid burn-out.
Annette Henry
Annette Henry is co-chair of the Registration and Professional Standards Committee (RPSC). She is also an HG wellbeing consultant and mediator, barrister and KC with specialist knowledge of mental health law within the criminal justice system.
Ezra Hewing
Ezra Hewing is head of education at the Suffolk branch of Mind. He holds postgraduate qualifications in human givens psychotherapy and an MSc in the psychology and neuroscience of mental health from King’s College, London, where he researched REM sleep and mental ill health, with a focus on the symptoms of schizophrenia.
Kim Hood
Kim Hood is co-chair of the Registration and Professional Standards Committee (RPSC). She is an HG therapist with many years experience in supporting young people and families, safeguarding, area and team management, disciplinary processes and complaints investigation.
Dr Gareth Hughes
Dr Gareth Hughes is an HG psychotherapist, researcher and lecturer, education director of Human Givens College and the lead author for the University Mental Health Charter. He is also a clinical advisor to Student Minds and the clinical lead for Student Space, a site hosted by Student Minds to support student mental health during the pandemic. Gareth led the development of Education for Mental Health, a toolkit for a curriculum that can support wellbeing and learning, and The Wellbeing Thesis, an online resource for post-graduate research students. He is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and the author of Be Well, Learn Well, a book for university students.
Alex Kennedy
Alex Kennedy is founder and service lead of One Step Borders and a human givens therapist and supervisor with extensive experience in youth mental health, community service development and third sector leadership. Through One Step Borders, Alex has led the development of accessible, community-based mental health support for young people aged 16 to 25 across the Scottish Borders. His work focuses on early intervention, practical psychological support and reducing barriers to accessing help, and he advocates for improved access to youth mental health support and for equipping frontline staff and volunteers with practical psychological skills.
Rosie Kennedy
Rosie Kennedy is founder and CEO of Nurture the Borders and a human givens psychotherapist with extensive clinical and leadership experience in perinatal mental health. As clinical lead at Nurture the Borders, Rosie has led the development of specialist mental health support for families across the Scottish Borders, shaping services that prioritise early intervention, prevention and practical, accessible support. She brings strong systems level insight into how services and professionals can work together to improve outcomes for parents and infants and is a strong advocate for improving perinatal mental health provision across communities and services.
Julian Penton
Julian Penton has been a qualified HG therapist since 2000 and practised for 20 years, mainly at Hartlepool Mind. He joined the inaugural HGI board in 2009, serving for nine years. He was also a member of the HGI’s Ethics Committee, forerunner to the RPSC. He has co-delivered HG College’s supervision course since it was first developed in 2008 and previously taught some of the College’s seminars. He is currently a member of the Clinical Governance Group and co-head of HG supervision. His other professional interest is in community development and advising smaller civil society organisations on governance and funding.
Pauline Ronan
Pauline Ronan is a human givens therapist with over 23 years’ experience teaching theology, philosophy and ethics across three busy high schools, where she was head of department. Alongside her teaching and leadership, she worked in chaplaincy roles, which led her to become a human givens psychotherapist and take the role of Director of Catholic Life in a high school, where she works four days a week. She also works with A&E staff in a busy city-centre hospital and runs her own private practice; Pauline has recently trained to be an HG supervisor.
Andy Tarrant
Andy Tarrant has been the co-ordinator of the HGI’s Registration and Professional Standards Committee (RPSC) for the past five years. He is a retired senior police officer, who served at police stations across London and in national and international specialist operations.
Ros Townsend
Ros Townsend is a senior accredited HG psychotherapist and supervisor with a busy online practice. She has a special interest in working with those affected by psychological trauma and has worked extensively with survivors of domestic abuse, members of the blue-light services and with military veterans, through the veterans charity, PTSD Resolution, of which she is a trustee. She is author of the highly regarded self-help books, PTSD: Understanding and Recovery and Why Three Fs? and is a senior tutor and assessor on the Human Givens Diploma in psychotherapy and co-head of supervision for Human Givens College.
Ivan Tyrrell
Ivan Tyrrell is co-founder of the human givens approach and a director of Human Givens College and of the HGI. He was a psychotherapist for many years and has written popular books on the HG approach, some co-authored with Joe Griffin, and on other topics. He is also a founder member and director of strategy for the Conciliators Guild, set up to bring humanity back into politics.
Denise Winn
Denise Winn is an HG practitioner in private practice, a Fellow of the HGI and currently one of its directors. She edited the Human Givens Journal for 26 years and taught most of Part 1 of the Human Givens Diploma at one time or another. She was previously a national newspaper and magazine journalist, specialising in psychology, and is a published author.