Who We Are

Partisan is a diverse, culturally sensitive, forward-thinking team of experienced Psychotherapists and Clinical Psychologists. We are best known for our work on the borders of mental health systems; alongside children, young people, families, and communities.

We take a non-pathologizing view of mental health, we don’t believe that problems and therefore solutions exist within individuals. Instead we believe change is needed at all levels of the complex system in which people find themselves. 

We are upstanders and accomplices who disrupt systems and join communities in the fight for equity, social and racial justice. We look to amplify the voices of others, rather than our own, empowering communities to take the lead.

Meet the Team


  • Founder and CEO.

    Jay started his career as a Youth Worker 16 years ago, before training as a Child, Adolescent, and Family Psychodynamic Psychotherapist and EMDR Therapist. Jay is forward thinking and innovative in his field, with leadership and strategic experience, as well as clinical expertise working alongside marginalised and racialised communities outside of clinics. He is most interested in partnering, collaborating and innovating with people and organisations who hold similar values, want to see real change, and are also pushing towards a more equitable future world.

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  • Clinical Community Psychologist.

    Maria is an experienced Clinical Psychologist that has worked in various settings supporting adolescents, adults, and families. She is committed to working creatively alongside marginalised communities and remains conscious of social, cultural, and political issues as they relate to wellbeing, mental health, power and social position; all of which underpin her work in complex systems. Passionate about co-production, she has experience in service development and has worked collaboratively with young people to provide quality client-led services.

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  • Clinical and Community Psychologist

    Naima is a Clinical Psychologist with experience across public, private, and charitable sectors supporting young people, adults, families, and communities. She is an enthusiastic and creative forward-thinking individual committed to social action and working collaboratively through co-production to improve and develop services. She has taken great pride in starting campaigns and conversations, challenging capitalist, and colonial systems. She applies passion, understanding, and knowledge of community psychology towards engaging with and supporting racialised and marginalised communities. She believes that mental wellbeing does not exist in a vacuum, and is impacted by social, cultural, and political factors. Throughout her career, she has worked to put herself at the forefront of change and equity for marginalised and racialised individuals and communities.

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  • Community Counsellor and Integrative Psychotherapist in training

    Joden is a qualified Counsellor, who is currently training as an Integrative Psychotherapist. He incorporates embodiment and creativity drawn from his Performing Arts background in to his work. He has supported adults and young people with complex needs in various mental health and community settings, both in the UK and internationally. Joden is passionate about working with African and Afro-Caribbean diasporic young people to decolonise help systems and provide quality and holistic client-led services. Joden’s interdisciplinary approach to help address certain enduring issues that beset the Black community include psychotherapy, social policy, and international development.

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  • Project Manager and Social Designer

    Gemma is a project manager and designer who is committed to participatory practice and co-design with communities and young people. She has previously worked across film,design production,cycling,food justice,creative education,service design and mental health. At Partisan she brings these diverse experiences to support the team in their work and is working towards creating supportive, caring project processes that help our ideas thrive. 

    Gemma loves to chat about design justice,body liberation,food sovereignty, textile arts, growing plants and lifting heavy things. 

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  • Clinical and Community Psychologist

    Ama is a Clinical Psychologist with several years of experience working with adults, children, families and communities. With care, compassion and curiosity she aims to help marginalised and racialised communities by addressing the systemic causes of mental health inequality. Ama is passionate about the impact of intersectional identity, culture, family, and systems on our wellbeing and works to use learning and wisdom derived from our social, cultural and political world to impact change.

We believe a different approach is possible

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  • Executive Assistant

    Ibby is an experienced Executive Assistant, with professional experiences working in the financial and corporate events industries, and community organisations. Prior to starting at Partisan Ibby worked with a Community Interest Company that specialised in Black learning and mental health; supporting a small team that focused on promoting a positive dialogue of social identity and culture through history.


  • Communications Lead

    Payal is Communications Lead at Partisan, and is passionate about storytelling, writing, and helping others find their voice to influence change. Previously, she led digital and print communications for a national anti-racism charity, shaping its branding, tone of voice, and communications strategy. She also has experience in publishing and education, having worked in social media, marketing, and editorial roles, as well as a teaching assistant and children’s librarian.

    A guest contributor to Collins’ Who We Are and Through Our Lens anthologies, Payal champions cross-cultural, intersectional, and anticolonial dialogue, informed by her Masters in World Literatures in Translation. She welcomes recommendations on exhibitions, books, theatre, and London walks.

Meet the Board

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    Dr Nina Browne

    Chair. Non Executive Director

  • Jay Perkins

    Company Secretary. Chief Executive Officer

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    Winston Goode

    Non Executive Director

  • Sajjad Jaffer FCCA

    Treasurer

Learning, Research and Evaluation, and Strategic Partners

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Practice to Policy

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PG Collective

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TRUE Research

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Dr Elaine Williams - Lead Researcher

What people say

Testimonials and comments

  • “I appreciated the flexibility of this therapeutic approach… working outside of clinics, but still thinking and following clinical processes just the same. The biggest learning I took away from this work is the importance of good trusted relationships; with the people we support therapeutically, but also the community who often hold existing relationships with the people who need our support the most, but who often go unseen. This was key to the success of the work.”

  • “I felt very comfortable, I was given all the choice; where I wanted to meet, what I wanted to talk about, how I wanted to go about things. It made me feel more free and less overwhelmed… I’ve had therapists before and I never really felt a connection nor the satisfaction of speaking to that person. I was just there because people would tell me “you need help” or “therapy helps”… this was different, [my therapist] would always try to make me feel okay and reassure me that I shouldn’t suppress certain emotions just because I am a man… It came to the point where I was looking forward to going to the sessions and I ain’t ever felt like dat before about therapy.”

  • “Introducing therapy to young people in locations they chose and where they felt comfortable, rather than the usual traditional settings meant they were more open to engaging. It was adaptable to meet the needs of them… It was a good experience for me; working alongside specialists gave me the opportunity to develop my knowledge and learn new things in the field of mental health … they seemed to also learnt a lot from me too. It gave me a different outlook on the work I do and gave me the confidence to better support with low level mental health difficulties.”

  • “I am truly grateful to you for instilling hope in young people and supporting me with my own self care practices too… You have been instrumental in changing my mindset, and shifting how I view everyday situations with the young people we come into contact with... especially those who have encountered traumatic experiences. I’m truly humbled to have you supporting our charity, and my hope is that more young black men in particular experience the benefits of therapeutic support from you.”

Partisan Alumni

  • Panashe Chimugundu

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    Dr Hannah Alghali

  • Asma’u Mustapha

  • Hannah Ward

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    John Reece

  • Person with long brown hair smiling in front of a brick wall.

    Alice Zacharia

  • Partisan's logo - white lowercase "p" followed by a square on a yellow background.

    Nathan Simmonds-Buckley

  • Dr Ron Dodzro