Founded in 2018 by Elaine Connelly, Elise Marshall and Norma McKinnon-Fathi, Mandala Consultants is a social enterprise (Community Interest Company) based in Scotland. Our mission is working collaboratively to nurture resilience and wellbeing within individuals, communities and organisations and to support social change.
We came together because of our collective 50 years of experience of working with and alongside people and communities affected by trauma on issues of justice and equality. We recognise that there is often a hidden impact on individuals, organisations, activists and community groups working for social change, or in response to trauma. We all start our journey wanting the best for others, but often we don’t recognise that the success of our mission relies heavily on our own sustainability as individuals.
As a society we are living in difficult times. We are committed to supporting positive social change and tackling trauma where it is experienced in individuals, groups, communities and work places. Our approach is influenced the principles of Community Development, Psychotherapy and Counselling.
Despite the difficulties we have all been facing during this Pandemic, Mandala has managed to keep growing, and delivering our work. We have been joined by new associate Psychotherapists; Auður, Emma, Kyoko and Cadi. It is great news for us - it expands the kind of therapies we can draw upon, including; Psychodrama, Person Centred Therapy, Somatic Experiencing, Transactional Analysis, Systemic Family Therapy, Integrative Therapy, EMDR, NET, and CRM.
After over three years in her director role, Elaine Connelly stepped back from the board in summer 2021 and we were joined by Kathleen Van de Vivjer as a new director. Kathleen brings a wealth of experience of working in the voluntary and statutory sectors as a systemic family therapist.
We are currently focused on providing support to individuals, organisations and community groups through training, facilitation, organisational development support, consultation, supervision, employee counselling and counselling for asylum seekers, refugees and people with lived experienced of trafficking.
We have been delighted to work in partnership with a number of organisations over the course of 2020 and 2021 to provide counselling with language support, by phone and online video call, to refugees who were accessing their services. In addition we have developed our own small counselling service that is free at the point of delivery for asylum seekers, refugees and people with lived experience of trafficking.
We enjoy working collaboratively and want to work with others who are are committed to developing initiatives that respond to stress, vicarious traumatisation and burn out.
We chose the name Mandala for our organisation for a number of reasons. Mandala is from Sanskrit meaning ‘circle’ and principles of circle working, such as equality, respect, witnessing and security which are important to us. Mandalas are found throughout nature and across many cultures and spiritual belief systems and are often a focus for pause, reflection and contemplation. Mandalas can also represent impermanence and change and for us that relates to the evolving process of our organisation, work and life.
“I would highly recommend Mandala Consultants for clinical supervision. As a front line worker in the Asylum and Refugee Support sector, I have really benefitted from supervision with Mandala Consultants. Their staff members are highly experienced in this sector and in working with trauma. They provide a welcoming, calm and confidential environment for clinical supervision and I would recommend their services to any professionals that are working with trauma.”
Who we are
Kathleen Van de Vijver is a UKCP registered Psychotherapist. She qualified as a Systemic and Family Psychotherapist from the Tavistock in 2004. She is also a UKCP and AFT registered Supervisor. Since 1990, when Kathleen moved from Belgium to the UK, she has worked with vulnerable children, young people and adults within different organisational and geographic settings. Between 1990 and 1996, Kathleen lived in South-Wales. In 1990, she volunteered as a classroom assistant in a school with children with special needs. As a Family Aide Worker, she supported children and young people to access community services. Within a Therapeutic Community, as a residential Support Worker, she supported young people with learning disabilities and mental health problems who were often placed by Social Services. Between 1996 and 2005, Kathleen lived in London. As a Deputy Team Leader, she worked with adults with mental health problems and their children in collaboration with Community Mental Health teams and Adult Social Care. Within CAMHS services in Haringey and Newham she worked therapeutically with children, young people, and their families within a multi-disciplinary setting and often in collaboration with other services. Between 2005 and 2015, Kathleen lived in Scotland. As a Senior Family Therapist, Kathleen worked as part of a small team in Glasgow with children, young people and their families/carers who have experienced or witnessed human rights abuses such as torture. Currently back in London Kathleen works as a Head of Clinical Services and has a small private practice as a supervisor. Kathleen is a director of Mandala Consultants.
Elise Marshall is a person-centred counsellor, supervisor and trainer and a registered, accredited member of BACP. Elise is also a professional massage therapist and qualified yoga teacher. She has over 14 years working with survivors of trauma including with those who have experienced childhood sexual abuse, sexual violence, domestic abuse and torture. For ten years she worked as a psychological therapist with survivors of torture for a national charity where she also designed and delivered training. Elise is an honorary lecturer at Glasgow University School of Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing. Elise also has a small private practice as a counsellor, supervisor, yoga teacher and massage therapist as well as providing long term counselling for a small charity working with male adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. She is a co-founder and director of Mandala Consultants.
Norma McKinnon Fathi is a UKCP Registered Counsellor and Psychotherapist and a qualified Community Worker. Norma has 20 years’ experience working with vulnerable people who have experienced trauma including survivors of childhood sexual abuse, childhood neglect, violence, conflict and torture. Norma is an experienced manager, trainer, facilitator and community engagement specialist. For 11 years her clinical work was with survivors of torture and she previously managed psychological services at a national charity. Norma works in private practice as a psychotherapist and supervisor and is a co-founder and director at Mandala Consultants.
