Chris began working at Socrates as Business Manager in autumn 2016 and is involved in a wide variety of areas within the business to assist the Directors in delivering a successful, high-quality service. Chris has a legal and teaching background that required high standards, provided experience of working in both the private and public sector and gave the opportunity and pleasure of working with people from diverse backgrounds. Chris originally qualified as a solicitor in 1999, he was accredited by the Law Society and Resolution as an advanced practitioner in family law. He was also accredited by the Law Society as a member of the Children Law Panel which meant that he was able to represent children in Public Law proceedings. In 2013 Chris made a career change and trained as a teacher, achieving Qualified Teacher Status in 2015. In 2016 an exciting new opportunity arose to help develop and grow Socrates and so Chris joined the team.

Administration

Chrissy joined Socrates in early 2012 as Senior Administrator after many years of working in the NHS. Her wide experience involves working in CAMHS, children's and women's services, paediatric wards, general office administration and PA to a general manager. Chrissy has a well-developed insight and empathy into the diverse needs of Socrates' clients and her experience and skills enable her to provide a very high quality service to clients and colleagues alike.

Jane is our Lead Administrator and joined Socrates in mid 2009. She has extensive experience of working in the NHS including in CAMHS, children and women's services, doctors, health visitors, district nurses and school nurses. Her varied roles have involved working with clients, management and colleagues. Such an array of experience means that as well as being a highly valued member of the team she is able to deliver a service to meet the needs of all of Socrates' clients.

Carina joined Socrates in May 2021 as a Trainee Administrator. On reception she provides a warm and welcoming environment for our clients with her natural empathy and love of meeting new people. She also supports the rest of the team as she trains in all areas of our crucial administrative work. Carina is a creative person who has started up her own small mug design business, enjoys creating YouTube videos and drawing.

Emily is an Administrator and has worked for Socrates since early 2016 and has completed her Level 3 NVQ in Business Administration. In a short space of time she has quickly become a valued member of the team and she is now the main administrator for the Socrates Multi-disciplinary Assessment and Review Team. Emily exemplifies the real team spirit in our admin team.

Reception

Yolanda joined our team in 2014. She has worked on board cruise ships both in charge of the medical team responsible for first aid training and hospital, as well as the food and beverage manager of bars and restaurants with a large and diverse staff. Yolanda has also worked as a medical representative, primarily in the fields of asthma, bone health and schizophrenia with primary care doctors. She continues to work as a baby carrying consultant with parents, carers, midwives, and social workers, a role she has undertaken since 2007.

In training

At Socrates, we support our colleagues who are in clinical training and to that end, we often have clinicians on placement with us. Individuals are usually Trainee Clinical Psychologists or CBT Therapists at different stages of their training. While they are unqualified and have limited experience, they are usually very up-to-date with more recent advances in their professional fields. They are all affiliated with accredited professional/educational bodies and all have the appropriate registrations, insurance and DBS checks. Their work is undertaken under the careful supervision of qualified staff. Self-funding clients may be offered sessions with a trainee clinician at a discounted rate if suitable.