SPEAKERS
THE SILENT BATTLE: AN EXPERIENCE OF MENTAL HEALTH AND ADDICTION IN PRO SPORT
Nile Wilson is one of Great Britain’s greatest-ever gymnasts and has been a trailblazer for the sport in many different ways.
He won a Bronze Medal in the Horizontal Bar at the 2016 Rio Olympics which was Team GB’s first ever Olympic medal in the discipline. He is also England's most successful-ever gymnast at a Commonwealth Games following his 3 gold medals and 2 silver medals in 2018.
Yet, Nile is so much more than just a gymnast – a YouTuber with over 1.5 million subscribers and 350 million total views; a social media influencer; a highly successful entrepreneur; an advocate for mental health awareness; and a powerful voice within his sport over the historic treatment of gymnasts.
Nile himself has been very open about his own personal struggles with mental health issues and gambling. Nile is an inspiration to millions due to his accomplishments, his humour and, most importantly, his honesty in life.
HOW THE BUSINESS SIDE OF SPORT CAN LEARN FROM CORPORATE MENTAL HEALTH STRATEGIES
Dr Phil Hopley is a globally recognised expert in mental health and performance. He holds advisory roles with a number of the UK’s leading professional service firms and the McLaren Formula 1 Race Team.
Phil is a Medical Doctor, Consultant Psychiatrist and former premiership rugby player. His broad experience across acute community mental health, challenging secure unit psychiatry and corporate crisis management gives him a unique perspective on people, mindset and performance. He coaches senior leaders using Cognacity’s evidence based and psychometric guided Authentic Leadership programme with impactful results.
Phil’s 20 years as a medicolegal expert enables him to effectively support leaders coping with the intense media-exposed demands of high profile events including: Commons Select Committee hearings, the US Senate Committee hearings, contentious Employment Tribunals and Civil Court cases.
In his downtime, mindful dog walking, watching sport, playing golf and spending quality uninterrupted time with family and friends helps keep Phil balanced.
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DEMYSTIFYING THERAPY: MATCHING ATHLETE NEED WITH SPECIALIST THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTIONS
Dr Ollie Twizell is a high-performance Counselling Psychologist who has established his own private practice, Mental Fitness Matters, in addition to working for the NHS in the North-West of England. He gained his professional doctorate from the University of Manchester Counselling Psychology Programme and he's also a published, peer-reviewed author with a specific focus on therapy in sport and exercise environments (Counselling, psychotherapy and training the football elite, 2021).
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​He is passionate about demystifying the world of psychology and in particular, in the high performance environments he studied in his thesis. Having trained in all the major therapy approaches and integrated these into his work with clients, Ollie developed the Mental Fitness Matters platform, born out of a frustration that too many people seem to have bad therapy experiences.
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​Ollie will use his SC2024 workshop to myth bust therapy in elite sport and outline the non-negotiables for those who work alongside athletes in the intensity of high performance environments whilst trying to meet their needs as they relate to wellbeing.
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​It's a must for player care and performance staff, for mental health practitioners interested in this field and for the senior leaders within sporting organisations who want to understand more about the tangible benefits of applying clinically appropriate, tailored support in a sporting context.
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ATHLETE PANEL
Regarded as one of the greatest female cyclists of all time, Victoria secured two gold medals and one silver across the Beijing and London Olympic Games, along with nine World Championship titles, notably a record six in the sprint, throughout her career.
Bringing the nation together with her success on the track, Victoria was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours and Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to cycling.​
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Continuing to break boundaries in sport, Victoria made the courageous decision in 2015 to embark on a new challenge, training as a jockey, and managed remarkable success within a short period of time. She achieved her ambition of participating in the Foxhunter Chase at Cheltenham in 2016, finishing in 5th place despite pundit's expectations, which Victoria describes as "probably the greatest achievement of her life".
THE MANY PRESENTATIONS OF TRAUMA - BRINGING TRAUMA SYMPTOMS TO LIFE
​Sandra is one of Sporting Chance’s senior therapists and has worked with senior executives, coaches, and athletes across a wide range of Sporting Chance-affiliated organizations. She began her career as a litigation lawyer, working on high-profile cases like the Hillsborough and Zeebrugge Ferry disasters and pharmaceutical litigation involving Benzodiazepine over-prescription. These experiences led her to become a qualified Psychotherapist, Couple Psychotherapist, and EMDR therapist, with a focus on trauma.
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Sandra runs a private therapy practice and a specialist rehabilitation agency for psychological injuries, including work after the Gleision Colliery Disaster. She also works with film and TV actors, directors, producers, and others in the entertainment industry, such as speech and dialect coaches.
Her trauma expertise extends to perinatal, post-natal trauma, and menopause-related mental health. She spoke at the first Perinatal Psychiatry Conference in 2009.
Additionally, she is a Management Consultant in legal operations and a CPD trainer for the Solicitors Regulation Authority, providing law and practice training nationwide.
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Sandra recently concluded her 14-year role as Chair of Ethics and Complaints for the Humanistic & Integrative Psychotherapy College, UKCP.
THiNK ABOUT iT THEATRE SPORTS
Andy and Damo are proud to be working with or have worked with NRL, NRLW, AFL, AFLW, Rugby Union, Cricket Australia, Rowing Australia, ASADA, Soccer Australia, Swimming Australia, and Tennis Australia.
Their company has developed a unique and engaging approach to addressing critical off-field issues such as drugs, alcohol, addiction, social media behaviour, gambling, and respect for women, domestic violence, burn out / mental health and coercive control.
Using theatre and organic, functional conversations, they help teams reflect, laugh, and react, while fostering a deeper sense of accountability to one another. Their approach encourages open dialogue and consensus-building on these pivotal issues, promoting team cohesion. They've been fortunate to achieve significant success across nearly every major sporting code in Australia and continue to work with them to this day.
Peter Olusoga
Senior Lecturer in Psychology
FROM STRESS TO SUSTAINABILITY: WELLBEING IN ELITE SPORT COACHING
Dr Peter Olusoga is BPS Chartered Psychologist and Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Sheffield Hallam University, UK.
Peter completed his PhD in 2012, focusing on stress and coping in elite sports coaching, and his current work focuses on burnout, well-being, and creating sustainability in high-performance environments.
He is an internationally recognised researcher in sport psychology and has been an invited speaker, panellist, and host, at many sport, health, and well-being events, festivals, and international conferences, giving talks and workshops on topics such as self-care, mindfulness, imposter phenomenon, stress, burnout, psychological well-being, and diversity and inclusion.
Peter regularly engages with the media and is a recurring guest on BBC Radio 4’s All in the Mind. He is also the producer and host of the award-winning podcast, Eighty Percent Mental, in which he explores the psychology underpinning performance, sport, health, and well-being with expert guests.
Ian James
Lead Psychologist at Burnley FC
THE WORK OF A CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST AT A PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL CLUB
Ian James is currently in his third season as the Lead Psychologist at Burnley FC, where he plays a crucial role in supporting the mental wellbeing and performance of players across all levels, including the Academy, Women, and Men’s teams, as well as club staff. In addition to his role at Burnley, Ian is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist in the NHS, specializing in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), neuropsychology, and dementia care.
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He spends three days a week at the football club, where he is deeply involved in both mental health support and implementing performance psychology programs. Ian also supervises two trainee Sports Psychologists, helping to foster the next generation of specialists in the field.
His NHS work complements his sports role by providing evidence-based psychological interventions for complex mental health conditions, and he remains engaged in research to enhance both his clinical and sports-related work.
Ian is known for his innovative approach to integrating mental health support and performance enhancement, making a meaningful impact on and off the pitch.
Dr Caz Nahman
Consultant Psychiatrist
AUTISM AND ADHD IN THE ATHLETE POPULATION
Dr Carolyn Nahman (MBChB, MRCPsych, PhD) has been a Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist for over ten years.
She has experience of working within a general child and adolescent setting as well as experience of working in in-patient and community Eating Disorders services.
She has previously been an elected member of the RCPsych Eating Disorders Faculty (2013-2017) and in this role co-edited a book - New to Eating Disorders - designed as a training tool for staff new to working within this field.
She has also completed additional training in Sport Psychiatry and is currently Deputy Chair of the Royal College of Psychiatry Sports and Exercise Psychiatry Special Interest Group.