Panel Discussion : Trauma informed approaches for health care (1 CPD Point)
Trauma doesn’t just happen to individuals — it echoes through systems. In this panel, we unpack how trauma-informed care isn’t just a buzzword, but a necessity in modern health practice. With personal insights and professional expertise, we’ll discuss how to meet people where they are — with empathy, safety, and evidence-based strategies.
Join Nutritank co-founder and trainee psychiatrist Dr. Ally Jaffee, alongside nutrition education lead, trainee psychologist, and cult survivor Alice Elizabeth Benskin RNutr, for a powerful and thought-provoking panel discussion. Together with leading experts, they will explore trauma-informed approaches to healthcare — examining how early adversity, systemic neglect, and lived experience shape both patient care and practitioner wellbeing. This session invites healthcare professionals, educators, and students to engage with practical tools and compassionate perspectives for creating safer, more inclusive care environments.
Speakers
Dr Susanna Peteche
Dr Susanna Peteche is a General Practitioner, innovator, and CPTSD survivor with over 23 years in clinical practice, specialising in psychological trauma. Her personal diagnosis in 2016 and subsequent Master’s studies at the University of Chester illuminated trauma’s societal prevalence and the immense potential for support. Driven by a mission to highlight trauma and foster healing, she founded Trauma-Sense in 2022, providing trauma-informed training for healthcare professionals. In 2021, [she/he] also co-founded and led ConnectionWorks, an innovative NHS-funded programme offering holistic treatment for CPTSD. She believes that together, we can work towards a trauma-informed world. Follow Dr Peteche: @drsusannapeteche
Dr Cissy Atwine
Dr. Cissy Atwine is a Ugandan Medical Doctor currently undertaking her fourth year in a psychiatry training program in the UK. Driven by a passion for mental health equity and social justice, her ultimate goal is to enhance the accessibility of mental healthcare services in low and middle-income countries. She holds a special interest in psychotherapy, actively sharing mental health tips from this field on her Instagram and TikTok account, @Detangledmind, to democratise therapeutic knowledge. As a YouTuber (@drcissyatwine), she provides guidance for doctors moving to the UK for training and shares insights into adapting to life there. Additionally, as a mother of three, Dr. Atwine candidly shares aspects of her motherhood journey on the same channel.
Dr. Charlotte Marriot
Dr. Charlotte Marriott is an NHS Consultant General Adult Psychiatrist with a Neuroscience degree, specialising in Early Intervention in Psychosis. With nearly 20 years’ experience in mental healthcare, she adeptly integrates Lifestyle Medicine approaches, a specialisation enhanced by her 2020 certification and 2024 Public Mental Health Leadership qualification. Dr. Marriott is a highly sought-after speaker on Lifestyle Medicine and Lifestyle Psychiatry, presenting locally, nationally, and internationally. She co-developed and annually teaches a pioneering Lifestyle Psychiatry module for the MRCPsych programme in the West Midlands, and contributes to esteemed courses like NHS England’s MindEd. She also holds roles in undergraduate medical education. Find her online as @thelifestylepsychiatrist.
Dr. Christine Muhota
Dr. Ally Jaffee
Dr. Ally Jaffee is an award-winning NHS Medical Doctor specialising in Psychiatry, a transformational coach, and a founder. Recognised as Mental Health Advocate of the Year (2024), she passionately campaigns for mental health and wellbeing, sharing her lived experience through content creation and public speaking for diverse organisations including Google and NICE. As co-founder of the multi-award-winning Nutritank CIC, supported by Jamie Oliver, Dr. Jaffee drives the mission to elevate nutrition and lifestyle medicine education within healthcare. Her expertise includes nutrition & lifestyle psychiaty and creative health. She is passionate about youth mental health and lessening the gap in people with severe mental illness. She is also a published author of research, a trustee for Chimo trust- a youth mental health charity, and a dedicated advocate for interdisciplinary connection in healthcare.
Alice Elizabeth Benskin
Alice Elizabeth Benskin is an AfN registered nutritionist, health coach, trainee psychologist and trauma informed yoga teacher with a decade of diverse experience across nutrition, food and health, including research at the University of Oxford. A survivor of the A.C.E. cult, she is a passionate advocate for human rights and gender equality. She serves as Senior Nutritionist for Nutritank, contributes to the WHO “Fides” programme, and is a peer reviewer for BMJ Nutrition. Alice is a founding member of the Ember Foundation, dedicated to the liberation and education of Afghan women and girls. She also leads clinical nutrition for Mind Health for Medical Students, educates health professionals on mental wellbeing and trauma, and founded Nutrition United. As a patient living with PTSD, as well as a health professiona, her mission is to empower greater understanding of the trauma informed approaches in healthcare, coupled with lifestyle medicine education, to support survivors to live healthier lives.