Clare Knight
Chair of Trustees
Clare’s background is nursing. She worked as an adult and children’s nurse in London before training as a health visitor, working in London and Surrey.
Clare has many years’ experience in direct work with children, young people and their families, supporting emotional well-being as well as physical and developmental issues.
More recently Clare worked as a senior manager in children’s community health services, working closely with partner agencies to address inequalities and improve outcomes in both the immediate and the wider determinants of health. During this time Clare gained knowledge and experience in transforming services whilst continuing to reflect on the impact of change for families and practitioners, to ensure such changes were positive for all involved. Clare has a wide breadth of knowledge including supervision, teaching, governance, Human Resources and finance management. Clare hopes to utilise these skills to support Counselling Plus.
In 2019 Clare moved to Hastings and returned to her roots as a health visitor, currently working in and around Hailsham -she is slowly finding her way around all the villages between Hastings and Hailsham…
Clare has been a scout leader for many years and is also a School Governor. She enjoys walking and gardening and is becoming better at sewing although crochet is beyond her at the moment! Clare enjoys a challenge and is currently steeling herself for cold-water swimming.
Angelica McMillan
Treasurer
Angelica is a qualified Integrative Counsellor, who lives in Hastings with her family and 2 dogs.
When Angelica was a counsellor in training in 2011, she took her first placement at Counselling Plus Community, where she worked for 6 years as a voluntary counsellor. Angelica was also the coordinator for TLG (Transforming Lives for Good) in Hastings, which provided support for children who were at risk of being permanently excluded from school. Angelica worked with children and young people in schools across Hastings, Bexhill and Eastbourne as a School Counsellor. Angelica then left to manage one of the Counselling services that supported the Grenfell Tower survivors, where she then became Manager to a cluster of counselling services for Place2Be, a charity working with children, young people and their families in schools. Angelica then went to work as a Service Manager for Place2Be within the areas of Kent and East Sussex. Angelica has been a spokesperson on a variety of platforms including Sky News and BBC Radio, promoting the importance of counselling, and raising awareness of mental health importance. Angelica has also worked as a Clinical Lead for Kooth Plc, as part of the Governance Team and with a focus in participation and Service User’s voice, further promoting the importance of therapeutic interventions. Most recently, Angelica has been supporting Clinical services in the Midlands for Place2Be. Angelica is passionate about the work that Counselling Plus Community undertakes supporting the Hastings and Rother communities and feels extremely grateful for the opportunity of supporting Counselling Plus Community as a trustee.
Janet Beale
Janet has worked in the field of learning disabilities and severe mental health and challenging behaviours for over 40 years.
She first qualified as a Social Worker in the London Borough of Bromley and went on to manage several residential homes within this specialist area. She holds an M.Sc. in Therapeutic Counselling from the University of Greenwich and has also worked towards the Advanced Diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy for people with a learning disability. Janet was the first Service Manager at Counselling Plus between 2001 and 2004, leaving the service to work within the Kent and Medway Primary Trust as Acting Head of Psychological and IAPT Services.
She is a MBACP accredited Counsellor/Psychotherapist and has worked for at least 22 years as a Therapeutic Counsellor/Psychological Practitioner and Clinical/Reflective Supervisor for both the NHS, Primary Care Trust, and Voluntary/Charity Sector. She also has a busy private practice within the Romney Marsh area.
She holds a Post Graduate Certificate in Education delivering the CPCAB Level 4 Counselling Diploma/CPD and Psychology courses within Kent Adult Education and works as a sessional tutor for Christ Church University delivering Modules for the MA in Counselling, Coaching and Mentoring, and Forensic Investigation/Psychology of Crime.
In her spare time, Janet sings within the tenor section for the Haywardians Choir, who dedicate their time to raising funds for charity organisations, and within her local Church Choir. She enjoys fishing and outdoor activities and has worked towards her private pilot’s license to fly helicopters.