I am Zoe Rivers, Director and Clinical Psychologist at Beyond Barriers.  At the end of 2018 I left my role in the NHS after many years working in adult mental health services with complex trauma . It was a hard decision but I left knowing that I, and others had a vision of something different, something progressive and something more accessible than the alternatives on offer.

We came together as a group of likeminded individuals made up of a range of trauma specialists (from psychology, yoga, nutrition and lived experience approaches).  These diverse group of practitioners wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to meet in an NHS setting but we believed we could do something better together.  We started as a psychology-led service and over time have developed our understanding of how lived-experience roles, nutritional therapy and yoga can also be combined to support people's journey after adversity and trauma - we believe we can offer a genuinely integrated trauma treatment option for people who would like a broader mind-body approach.  And for those who prefer to stick to one type of therapeutic approach, we are committed to all our therapies being trauma-sensitive.