Faculty
Pamela Roberts, Prof Frederick Toates, Dr Stroma Macfarlane, Robert Hudson, Thomas Brosnan, Dr Sharon O’Driscoll, Georgia Swift, Josh Dickson and guest speakers

Pamela Roberts, course director
Prior to running her successful Private Practice, Pamela worked with the Priory Group from 2009, appointed Addiction Programme Manager in 2014 and was a leading figure in the Priory addictions community and guided the success of the Priory Hospital Woking addictions programme until handing over this role in November 2020. She continues to support Priory offering therapy at their Woking site and online through Priory Connect. She is also a member of the team at Portobello Behavioural Health.
Pamela has 20 years of experience as a psychotherapist and has always had an interest in psychology with specific interests in complex and developmental trauma and PTSD, and addiction.
Her therapy is also informed by 25 years of experience in the business travel industry. She started her travel career with British Airways, behind the scenes, not crew. This led to a long-term career with Hogg Robinson Business Travel International acting as a Business Analyst and Account Manager, for the multi-million pound travel budgets for three of the top ten clients for HRBTI.
Pamela is regularly called upon by the media to offer an opinion, contributing to both national and international press titles including; The Times, BBC, The Express, The Daily Mail, The Huffington Post and The New York Times, Contributions also include; quotes, chairing podcasts, blogs and views on prominent issues used by a number of websites and social media platforms.

Sharon O’Driscoll
Sharon O’Driscoll is a BPS accredited counselling psychologist having gained a Doctorate in Counselling Psychology from the University of Roehampton in 2013. She currently works in private practice with adults, adolescents and teenagers.
Prior to this and alongside her private practice she worked for the Priory group for 5 years as an addiction therapist. Sharon’s academic interests lean towards addiction and social justice. She is currently developing a training programme for mental health professionals exploring developing white awareness. In addition, Sharon is a Psychosocial volunteer for the British Red Cross.

Prof Frederick Toates
Professor Frederick Toates was born in Cambridge, England. He was a student at City University, London and the University of Sussex, later working at Odense University, Denmark and the University of Central Lancashire.
He is now Emeritus Professor of Biological Psychology at the Open University, where he has over 45 years’ experience. Fred has taught undergraduate classes not only in the UK but also in the Netherlands, Moldova, Romania, France, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and the USA.
His books include How Sexual Desire Works: The Enigmatic Urge (2014) and his most recent is Understanding Sexual Serial Killing (2022) written with his wife Olga Coschug-Toates.
Fred’s research concerns motivation and the biological roots of addiction. He lives in Milton Keynes.

Robert Hudson
Robert Hudson is the Clinical Director and Founder of The Hudson Centre. He is a UKCP accredited psychotherapist.
Robert specialises in Compulsive Sexual Behaviour therapy recovery, and trauma. He is a Sex Addiction & Trauma Specialist and CSAT-S certified Therapist and Supervisor, a registered member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (MBACP) and an accredited member of the College of Sexual and Relationship Therapy (COSRT).
Robert’s professional experience includes working with men and women in private practice. He works with individuals, couples and adult families (both same sex and heterosexual couples) and groups. Robert actively considers issues of diversity, sexuality and equality as these affect all aspects of his work.
Robert holds a BSc; MSc; MA & Diploma in Integrative Psychotherapy.
He is currently completing his doctoral research DPsych studies.

Thomas Brosnan
Thomas is a Psychotherapist and a Behaviour Change Expert who specialises in Addiction and Relationships. For over 20 years, he has worked extensively with Individuals of all ages, couples, families and groups to help them uncover their truth, to take ownership of the present and connect to their future self.
Thomas holds a Masters in Addiction Psychology and Counselling, a Post Graduate Certificate of Education, a Level 4 Certificate in Counselling Children and an Advanced Diploma in Couple and Relationship Therapy. Further to this, he is a Registered Member of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists (BACP), an Advanced Practitioner and Accredited Member of the Addiction Professionals (formerly FDAP), a Certified Motivational Interviewing coach and a Level 2 iheart Facilitator.
Thomas has extensive experience of working in schools and both the public and private rehabilitation sectors such as the Priory and the NHS and within the SEND communities too. He is also a published author where his piece on Parenting Styles and Metacognitions as Predictors of Cannabis Use was the first of its kind and his most recent research, which focuses on Exercise Addiction is due for publication with Cambridge University Press.

Josh Dickson
Josh Dickson (MSc., SMMGP, FDAP (Acc.), EMDR (Acc.) is an accredited EMDR Consultant, an accredited FDAP Drug and Alcohol Professional and a licensed Heartmath coach, working as both the owner and director of Resurface (residential retreats addressing trauma, creativity, resilience and positive psychology), a group consultant at Start2Stop, co-Director of Flow Space and also works in private practice.
Josh has a special interest in treating trauma and promoting positive psychology. He is an experienced group facilitator, lecturer and public speaker. He is active in research around flow states, trauma and recovery.

Georgia Swift
Georgia is a psychotherapist who works both in the UK and internationally with adults and children. Before opening her private practice, she worked with specialist therapy services supporting clients with baby loss, child exploitation, rape and sexual abuse. While working as Professional Lead with a National Charity supporting families affected by criminal trauma she wrote and delivered the training programme for volunteer telephone listeners and counsellors.
Georgia’s specific areas of therapeutic interest include working with children in the care of the local authority, private addiction treatment and criminal justice. In recent years Georgia has enjoyed tutoring trainee counsellors at level 2,3 and 4 with a private training company in West Sussex.
Before qualifying in Humanistic Counselling at the University of Chichester Georgia held a lengthy career spanning over 20 years working with vulnerable children and adults. Specialist roles included Drug Rehabilitation Requirement (DRR) Case Manager with the National Probation Service, Education Liaison Officer in an inner-city provision (PRU), Youth Court Officer, Defence Team Court Clerk. While acting as the Bail and Remand Officer for South and South East Hampshire she chaired the Wessex Bail and Remand steering group and completed a professional certificate in Effective Practice (Youth Justice) with the University of Portsmouth.
Away from the world of therapy Georgia sits as a Magistrate and as a professional conduct panel member for a counselling association.
Georgia works with a renowned Harley Street Clinic that specialises in treating individuals and families impacted addiction and trauma.

Dr Stroma MacFarlane
Dr Stroma is a Consultant General Adult Psychiatrist and did her specialist training in the Wessex region having worked as a consultant psychiatrist in the NHS for seven years based in Portsmouth at Solent NHS Trust working across community and acute services at varying points. For the last three years up until 2016 she was the Clinical Director for the Adult Mental Health and Substance Misuse services providing assessment and treatment of addictions, and eating disorders.
Dr Stroma began her training in Psychiatry in 2000 in the Wessex region working across Hampshire in various sub-specialties including substance misuse, Rehabilitation Psychiatry and Acute and Community based Adult Psychiatry.
She is also looking forward to providing a Women’s Mental Health Service addressing the specific psychiatric needs of women.
She left the NHS in May 2016 and began working in full time private practice as a visiting Consultant at the Priory.
Dr Stroma now has a busy practice in Surrey and is a Visiting Consultant at Priory Woking. She sees patients in Guildford. She is also the Addictions Lead Consultant at the Priory Hospital Woking.
Dr Stroma has over 20 years’ experience working with adults with a wide variety of mental illness including Mood disorders, Anxiety Disorders, Substance Use disorders and Women’s Mental Health problems.