About Connecting Minds

Welcome to Connecting Minds! We’re a team of psychological practitioners dedicated to helping people reconnect with themselves, their loved ones, and their communities. We understand that disconnection can happen in many different ways, whether it’s feeling lost, anxious, or depressed within yourself, struggling to communicate effectively in your relationships, or feeling isolated from the people and places around you.

At Connecting Minds, our focus is on providing a safe, supportive, and non-judgmental space where you can explore your thoughts and feelings, develop greater self-awareness, and learn practical ways to reconnect you with what matters to you. Therapy can be transformative and empowering experience, and it can also be fun!

Our team of experienced psychological practitioners comes from a diverse range of backgrounds and specialties, and we tailor our approach to meet your unique needs and goals. Whether you need mental health support, coaching or sport psychology, we are here to help you rediscover your innate capacity for connection and to support you on your journey towards greater health, happiness, and fulfilment.

Abi Bridgeman

BABCP Accredited Cognitive Behavioural Therapist and Supervisor (CBT)
ACAT Accredited Cognitive Analytic Therapist (CAT)
Dialectical Behaviour Therapist (DBT)
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR & EMDR-AI)
Registered Mental Health Nurse (RMN)

With 37 years working in mental health, I have been practicing psychotherapy for over 25 years in UK and Jersey statutory and private sectors. I have been privileged to work with people facing a range of complex mental health issues as well as problems arising through life stressors. These include depression, anxiety, OCD, eating difficulties, low self-esteem, trauma (PTSD), complex trauma (C-PTSD), mood swings, personality issues and relationship challenges.

People say I am friendly, pragmatic and easy to get along with. Drawing on people’s strengths and values, using evidence-based approaches, I take a fairly structured and goal orientated approach to therapy, tailoring it in line with people’s unique needs and preferences.

I also incorporate ‘third wave’ cognitive therapies in my practice, such as acceptance and commitment and compassion focused approaches. Whilst therapy is a courageous undertaking, I believe the journey can be creative, rewarding and fun!

I specialise in working with adults who have experienced trauma in childhood (C-PTSD), whose emotions, relationships and lifestyles are affected as a result. I enable people to connect with what matters to them in life, through enhancing emotional stability, processing traumas and establishing healthy meaningful relationships with themselves, with others and within their wider communities.

I live in Jersey, and work for the government health service, offering therapy to adults with multifaceted needs. I share a lead role in our Dialectical Behaviour Therapy service and offer CBT clinical supervision. My background is in Mental Health Nursing, teaching, management and service development.

Dr Sam Christmas

Chartered Counselling Psychologist (CPsychol)

I offer a confidential and non-judgemental space in which to explore the difficulties that you are facing currently and have faced in the past. I aim to create a collaborative relationship, in which we can work together towards your goals. I believe in providing a friendly and supportive environment to help you gain a greater understanding of yourself, navigate obstacles, and make changes.

I am an integrative psychological practitioner and I draw from several therapeutic models, such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) and more.

I am a fully qualified counselling psychologist, registered with the HCPC and I have extensive experience helping those with low mood, anxiety difficulties and those who struggle to find emotional balance. I have worked in many NHS mental health services in London and for the Government of Jersey. I have also worked privately in the UK, for businesses and in the third sector.

I have a keen, specialist interest in helping those who are experiencing mood and anxiety difficulties, in the context of an ADHD diagnosis. I also have specialist skills helping those who experience difficulties with tinnitus.

Rosa Franco

Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner

My aim is to create a safe, collaborative and non-judgmental environment to support and empower you to navigate challenges that you are facing and help you re-connect with yourself and what matters to you. I offer one-to-one support, working with you to help you better understand and manage your difficulties and work towards your goals. I believe every client is unique so I use techniques from different evidence-based approaches to best fit your needs. I am happy to offer sessions in person or remotely depending on your personal preference.

Problems I can help with include worry, low mood, phobias, stress, sleep and difficulties regulating emotions. The main approach I use is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy along with associated ‘third wave’ approaches such as Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT). I am also involved in the development and delivery of the range of workshops and courses offered by Connecting Minds.

I am grateful to have gained invaluable experience working with a range of clients through my time in the public sector over the last 3 years. I have completed a post graduate qualification in Psychological Therapies Practice. I have also completed training in DBT Skills Essentials and have experience delivering skills training groups and offering one-to-one skills coaching.

Dr Simon Lange-Smith

Sport & Exercise Psychologist (CPsychol)

Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner (PWP)

I’m an enthusiastic Sport and Exercise Psychology practitioner, with a passion for helping my clients to become the best version of themselves. I have been practicing Sport Psychology in Jersey since 2019, in a range of professional practice scenarios. I’ve worked privately and in the public and charitable sector, with a wide variety of different client groups. This has included working with people struggling with motivational or emotional barriers to exercise, clients recovering from serious injury, amateur sportspeople, and elite athletes. I have worked with the Jersey Sport Foundation, and the Commonwealth Games Association of Jersey, travelling with the team to the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

I work integratively drawing from psychological skills training, CBT, ACT, DBT, and personality profiling to enhance client’s performance and well-being, addressing unhelpful thought patterns, emotions, behaviour, and developing individual strengths through personalised and effective interventions.

Associates

We work with other practitioners, connecting you to the most appropriate form of support.

Information will only be shared with our associates with your consent. Associates are not part of Connecting Minds but are trusted partners.

Julie Benest

The past 25 years have included working as a qualified and accredited BACP counsellor within the public and voluntary sector. Specific qualifications and experience include relationship and psychosexual therapy, person-centred counselling as well as being trained as a EMDR practitioner. I work collaboratively with individuals (Adults 16+ and older adults) and couples to help them identify the difficulties, explore the options and develop skills. I have experience in working with diversity (gender, sexual, relational and neurodiversity) including gender transition.

2004 Advanced Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling
2004 Certificate in Couple Counselling
2009 qualified as a Relate Counsellor
2011 Gained accredited status with British Association of Counsellor’s and Psychotherapists
2017 Cognitive Analytic Therapy Practitioner
2017 Essentials in Gender and Diversity
2020 Post-Graduate Diploma in Psychosexual and Relationship Therapy (Lond). CORST, NCP, NCS and Middlesex University accredited, (level 7)
2020 EMDR practitioner (currently working towards accreditation)

First session

During your first sessions, we will discuss confidentially regarding the difficulties you’ve experienced and relevant background information. A plan can then be put in to place for your further sessions, where we can agree on initial contract plans including payment.

All sessions will remain confidential however records will be kept as per client-therapist contract, which can all be discussed during you first session to ensure transparency.

Sessions will continue with regular reviews and the work can be short-term or long-term. therapy and can use a number of modalities to help clients explore their difficulties and find ways of making helpful changes.

Some of the issues I have worked with is:

Difficulty with communication, couples, family and work
Anxiety and panic
Low mood and depression
Phobia’s
Trauma (past and recent)
Loss or breakdown in Relationship
Understanding Relationship patterns, your own identity.
Changes in life due to loss, ending of job/relationship, relocating and ageing or other life transition
Infidelity and trust
Self-esteem, self-worth issues, body dysmorphia, disordered eating and ‘not fitting in’.
Bereavement or grief
Difficulty forming or sustaining an intimate relationship, intimacy issues
Sexual anxiety, performance concerns
Loss of libido / desire / decline in sex drive
Difficulty achieving orgasm (Anorgasmia)
Ejaculatory problems
Pain during sex (vulvodynia, dyspareunia)
Difficulty achieving or maintaining an erection (Erectile Dysfunction)
Vaginismus (pain on intercourse or use of tampons)
Addictions, Compulsive sexual behaviour and problematic pornography use
Sexomania/Parasomnia
OCD symptoms with sexual elements