Dr Leah Callebaut

My interest in psychology and mental health began 17 years ago. Following my Psychology degree I began working for the NHS and training at Doctoral level to become a Chartered Clinical Psychologist. My aim was to be be able to practically apply psychological theory and research to help people to achieve emotional wellbeing and enhance their quality of life. Since 2012 I have worked in a variety of NHS psychology services, offering talking therapy and emotional support to individuals, couples and families. Between 2014 and 2020 I specialised in supporting people with long-term physical health conditions, including cancer, diabetes, chronic pain, chronic fatigue syndrome/ME, Fibromyalgia and bowel conditions (e.g. IBS and IBD). Alongside my work with Heal.Feel.Connect. I now continue to work part-time for an NHS hospital in Gloucestershire, working with staff to reduce work-related stress and burnout, and promoting a culture of compassion and psychological safety within the organisation. After discovering a personal benefit to mindfulness meditation in 2014 I decided to pursue formal training in the delivery of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) courses. Employing these approaches with people in groups and during one-to-one therapy has further convinced me of the benefits of mindfulness for mental and physical health and I enjoy being able to share this wonderful and refreshing way of living with others. In 2021 I also completed training to be able to deliver Compassionate Mind Training (CMT) courses, which work to more deeply develop the self-compassion skills taught by mindfulness practise.