Meet the team
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
Our team
Catherine Wignall
Founder
Catherine has first-hand experience of the benefits of taking a mind-body approach to wellness. Her personal journey started after many rounds of IVF and loss, and when she realised she had to finally let go of the idea of having children.
âOn that day I promised myself I would turn what was probably one of the lowest periods of my life into something meaningful"
After experiencing therapy to help her deal with the trauma sheâd experienced, she retrained as a therapeutic counsellor and started her own private practice. She had found a new way to nurture human beings.
Catherine did this while seeking a new role after her previous business transformation role ended during the pandemic. In fact, Covid-19 gave rise to another transformation, when Catherine discovered the power of running. âWith gyms closed, I had to find new ways of managing stress and improving my wellbeing, and running seemed to be the only option during lockdowns,â she says. Starting as a complete beginner, Catherine worked steadily towards her first marathon and realised sheâd discovered the power of movement and exercise when dealing with depression.
Fast forward to today, and Catherineâs passion for transformation â both personally, and in business â led her to the concept of making integrated âwhole-humanâ therapy accessible to more people. Her concept for Holistically Human⢠is to marry mental wellbeing with physical wellness and spread the word about the benefits of treating the whole person to a much wider audience. To do this, she conceded that she needed to educate other counsellors in âwhole-humanâ techniques as well as making the process of finding a counsellor so much easier than it currently is.
And Holistically Human⢠was born.
Grace Pattenden
Assessor and Admin Co-ordinator
As a qualified person-centred counsellor and trainer, Grace has worked with young people and adults in a range of settings, including schools, crisis centres and charities. Here at Holistically Human⢠sheâs the person you speak to when you initially make contact to seek counselling. Grace listens, identifies the core issues affecting you and uses her extensive experience to hand-pick the best counsellors for you to choose from â taking the guesswork out of the process for you.
Grace also has an in-depth understanding and real-world experience of implementing policies and procedures to ensure positive outcomes for clients, having worked within the charity sector and co-ordinated data collection within the NHS frameworks. So, with her other hat on, she helps us to create processes and procedures that ensure that our service is professional, safe, ethical and effective.
As well as loving weight-lifting and nurturing her extensive houseplant collection, Grace is also passionate about making counselling accessible.
âIâm excited that weâre able to create a space where clients feel valued, heard and supported and that weâve built a team that reflects the values we hold to support clients.â
Julia Wiles
Supervisor and Counsellor specialising in trauma
Julia is an integrative counsellor, which means she brings a range of approaches to the counselling space, including modalities such as psychodynamic and CBT (cognitive behaviour therapy), but adapting sessions to each clientâs needs.
âI believe Holistically Human⢠is providing something thatâs currently lacking for people who are looking for therapyâ
âThere is no âone-size-fits-allâ model to being a human, so counselling should be approached holistically â looking at both mind and body in an approach that is tailored to the individual.Here at Holistically Human⢠we see each person as the unique and incredible individual that they are, and that sits well with my personal and professional ethos.â
Juliaâs specialism is working with trauma, but her broad experience means she also works successfully with anxiety, stress, depression and suicide ideation, neurodiversity and with people living with a diagnosed personality disorder. She trained as a supervisor in 2020, and now enjoys working with other counsellors, overseeing their processes and practice to ensure they are working safely, effectively and ethically. Weâre delighted that she does that for us here at Holistically Humanâ˘.
A fan of travel and dog walking, Julia describes herself as âextremely community mindedâ and is proud to work with an organisation that âgives backâ with the aim of making therapy accessible to all.
Kate Elliott
Job title
Kate brings together experience in UX design, digital communications and strategy to help organisations connect with the people they support.
Sheâs committed to challenging stigma, with a background in period poverty, drug policy, and now mental health. Across her work, she uses digital tools to open up conversations and build compassion between people.
Kate also works in communications for a national mental health charity, where she helps shape trauma-informed messaging and encourages more open conversations about mental health.
At Holistically Humanâ˘, Kate manages the digital side of things: overseeing the website, designing user journeys, and making sure the information people need is easy to find. Her aim is to create a welcoming online experience that answers your questions before you even have to think of them.
Outside of work, Kate is a big believer in everyday self-care, whether thatâs getting outside for a walk or watching a comfort TV show.
"As humans our mind and body are so interconnected, so the way we approach our mental health should reflect that too."