Our Team

We are so lucky to have such a great team here at SAND. Please find below a list of all our helpers. We would also like to say a big thank you to all our past team members as well.

Counsellors

Sarah Willoughby

 

My name is Sarah Willoughby and I joined the amazingly dedicated team at SAND in early 2022 as the counselling co-ordinator, which has been a privilege for me and was complimentary to my training as a counsellor through Heartwood Counselling & Psychotherapy/ My role has evolved and is ever expanding and has now progressed for me to join the counselling team as one of the counsellors.

I am also working alongside our CEO, Josie Knight building THRIVE and the Women’s Peer Support Groups  ; co-facilitating a therapeutic women’s support group for victims of sexual abuse, offering a brave space for women to come together.

My job role is Integrated Support Coordinator – meaning many things and I will update here as soon as possible. 

Jonathan Harris Counsellor

My name is Jonathan, and I am a counsellor and psychotherapist who moved to Devon in 2016 for a quiet life. But Devon, what have you done to me? Life isn’t quiet. It’s busy and bustling, and where does the time go? Devon you are a time-stealer. Why didn’t anyone warn me? Supposedly retiring from active life I find myself once more involved in the counselling field.

A field as full of needs calling to be heard as anywhere else. So this is what I aim to do. To be there for those who need hearing, listening and to be seen. Believed. I hope to put myself at your service. To be quiet and listen to that small quiet timid voice, or that raging, angry scream. Whatever you need to bring. For you to begin to hope and live again.

Sandra Williamson Counsellor

My name is Sandra Williamson. I have worked with adults, children and young people throughout my career. I have 35 years of Registered Nursing experience and 18 years working with education and health in schools as a School Nurse. My work involved health promotion, assessing, supporting, and safeguarding children and young people’s emotional and physical health.

Ten years ago, I trained as a Solihull Brief Approach Trainer. From this experience and a family bereavement, I started the journey of training to become a qualified integrative counsellor. I am now a holistic counsellor and I use a variety of approaches to cater for your needs. As a counsellor, I have worked with clients who have experienced trauma, childhood sexual, physical and emotional abuse and those who have experienced domestic abuse. I now work in private practice and have the privilege of working with SAND clients. I am a registered member of BACP (British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy).www.sandrawilliamsoncounselling.co.uk

Sonia

My name is Sonia,  am one of the dedicated counsellors working for SAND and one of the facilitators in the peer groups.  I am also involved with a Charity that supports seriously ill children and children with special needs, supporting and maintaining both parents and siblings’ wellbeing and health care. I took the plunge to do some starter courses in Counselling to give me a deeper understanding.

I loved the training and knowledge I gained, often finding I had dealt with certain situations in a safe and empathic way, not always getting it right but more determined than ever, to listen more carefully, be realistic and set achievable goals. I feel incredibly privileged to have worked with several very diverse agencies throughout my counselling journey, enabling me to connect, listen and look at ways in which I could further support my clients and the work we need to do.

Camilla

My name is Camilla and I am a Level 4 qualified counsellor based in Ilfracombe, North Devon and an accredited member of the National Counselling Society. In addition to my role now with SAND,I am currently working online and by telephone. For clients who want to work face to face but are uneasy about working inside, I also offer walk-and-talk sessions in the beautiful and peaceful local surroundings and support SAND with the Brave Spaces initiative. 

I am an integrative counsellor, which means that I am trained in several areas of therapy, including CBT, Gestalt and a range of creative techniques. Working in this way allows me to blend different approaches and tailor my work to each individual client. My practice is person-centred, meaning that I believe in building a strong client-counsellor relationship. camillaholroydcounsellor.com

EMDR 

 

EMDR
EMDR – Rewind North Devon

Holding Sessions

Emma<br />

My name is Emma, born in Wales but have lived in Cornwall for the last 30 years. I am a warm and caring person and always knew I wanted a profession where I could support people and listen to them and find out what they need and by offering a safe space working together we can do this.

I have been supporting people for over 19 years, and, I have worked for Cruse, Jeremiah’s Journey and Devon Carers alongside my own Private Practise. I am a person-Centred counsellor this means this is about you, how you feel, together we will find a way that supports you. I work in in a variety of ways to find the best outcome for you. Currently offering counselling and holding sessions for you within SAND.

Volunteers

Website Management

Sam

My name is Sam and I have over 7 years of experience in web development and SEO industry. I can provide you the best of service, right from website design to content development, and even repairing of hacked websites. I have worked with more than 500 websites and have thorough experience in web hosting, SEO, hacked fixing, PHP, and WordPress.

I can handle your email marketing process and Google Ad Space services as well. I specialise in different domains of web development services as well as digital marketing. Working with SAND has opened my awareness to this hard topic and it is a privilege to support their work. As a freelance designer, please contact me as I can assure you visible results within a few days of my services.

Management

Josie Knight CEO

CEO

My name is Josie and I have been devoted to my role as CEO for SAND since January 2021. I have had a full and colourful career so far and feel that my full history has allowed me to support and help people from all walks of life. From Probation, to the Police and then my work in Bristol as a Drug & Alcohol specialist. Working with perpetrators and now survivors has given me a wide overview of the work we do at SAND.

I then took an extended sabbatical in India, to then come back as a mother in 2019 with a changed outlook on life and I decided that I wanted to support trauma stabilisation pathways. Looking at both healing and professional approaches. This work has become my priority, learning to approach this difficult subject with much care and effective listening. I have seen that such a complex arena would often fail to be dealt with sufficiently. As such, I am completely committed to this role to work with those in my local community who have experienced sexual abuse.

Tricia Simms Director

Director/Volunteer accountant

My name is Tricia and my working life began as a secretary including working for 11 years for the Company Secretary of the Whitbread Brewery. in addition, I have worked for a Professor of Nuclear Physics and the Nuclear Research Team at University of Surrey and a Professor of Pure Mathematics at Imperial College.

Subsequently I joined The Royal Bank of Canada where my first experience was in Human Resources and various Company Secretarial roles in a variety of large companies including insurance, commercial property surveyors, IT, the NHS and most recently Local Governments. In addition to being Company secretary, Director and Volunteer for SAND, I work as a Registrar for Wedding Ceremonies in Cornwall. I own a property on a development in the Cape Verde Islands and am on the Committee of the Members Association responsible for the financial accounts and liaison with the group’s solicitors in Portugal and Cape Verde.

Josh Allan Director

Director/ Volunteer Fundraising & Media support

My name is Josh & I was delighted to join SAND as a volunteer in April 2023 to support with their fundraising. I have spent the majority of my career as a professional fundraiser for three incredible local charities; Calvert Trust Exmoor, Children’s Hospice South West and in my current role as Fundraising Manager for Royal Devon Hospitals Charity. Prior to moving to the charity sector, I studied at Glasgow University and spent two years in Inverness before settling in North Devon with my wife.

Over a decade and two children later, we’re well on our way to becoming honorary Devonians and are proud to call North Devon home. It’s a real privilege to have been asked to become a Director to use my experience to raise vital funds for SAND to continue providing essential support to men and woman who have been a victim of sexual abuse.