There are so many wonderful wellbeing stories and businesses in our community, we thought it was a great opportunity to invite people to share their experiences with our groups. Sharing stories, experiences, help and support is at the core of our peer support initiatives and our programme of guest speakers builds on this. It offers an opportunity to hear the stories of other local people, how their own lived experience has shaped their life and business decisions and often been the catalyst for big changes.
Our guest speakers have given their time freely to share their knowledge and experience in the hope it may help or inspire others, many have made wellbeing their business, all are passionate about mental health and wellbeing.
Joining Us
January 2022
Wednesday 5th January
Wednesday 26th January
Colette Thorns – Lifestyle Medicine
Rebecca Martin – Editor and Brand Consultant
February 2022
Wednesday 9th February
Wednesday 23rd February
Janine Knell – PURE Indulgence by the Sea
Kerry Hales – Life coach
Our Guests
JANET GROOM is an Author, Book Coach and Lover of Words. She knows first-hand how your stories and words can either crush you or be a powerful healing tool.
Growing up in the midst of ‘The Troubles’ in Northern Ireland, she found books were her constant companion, helping her escape reality to new worlds filled with marvellous mystery and magic. Her love of reading has now grown into a passion for writing.
Janet has to date published four books: her first fiction novel ‘The Naked Knitting Club: Book 1 – Casting On’, and two non-fiction: ‘Write to Heal’ and ‘Live the Rainbow’. At the beginning of the global pandemic, Janet brought together a group of 31 people from the UK and across the world, to compile ‘UPLIFT’ – a book filled with stories, poems and art to inspire hope.
As a book coach, she supports writers to plan, shape and hone their own stories ready for publication. She uses her writing skills along with her life coaching knowledge (Janet is also a qualified Life Coach and NLP & Hypnosis Practitioner) to ensure her clients reach their potential and overcome limiting beliefs to succeed in their personal writing goals.
Having recently returned to the UK, after living 15 years overseas (USA and Switzerland), she enjoys living by the sea on the Kent coast with her husband. She enjoys reading, baking and walking. Janet is currently studying for her Masters in Creative Writing at the University of Kent.
To find out more about working with Janet to write your own book, or join one of her writing workshops – please email her at
I am in the perfect position to help provide support, knowledge and skills in a small group workshop, a one-to-one or corporate setting, helping you to understand yourself, your personality type, your habits, identify your personal health goals and how you can achieve them through small changes in life style.
My career in the NHS began in the 1980s and I have worked in accident and emergency departments around the UK. After settling in Whitstable 21 years ago, I worked in local hospital outpatient clinics and more recently as a school nurse in a boarding school.
Because of my keen interest in the relationship between health and lifestyle I have continued to develop my wellbeing skills throughout my career and completed my health coaching course. Alongside this I attended a Prescribing Lifestyle Medicine course in London and I am a member of the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine.
I also have a degree in health studies and continue to keep my practice up to date through reading, attending courses and conferences.
Kerry is a feisty, fearless coach with over 20 years of experience in transforming lives. Her clients know her for her bravery in asking the uncomfortable question, her sense of humour, and quick witted way she releases a deeper understanding of who they truly are.
It can be the hardest thing to say life isn’t working when you are seen to be powerful and successful to the outside world but inside you feel lonely, and disconnected. Kerry’s clients are successful, smart, strong minded women, who come to her to be held in a space where they get to speak their truth, and be held accountable.
Kerry’s curiosity about the why people do what they do, started with a Psych degree and what followed was a ten year education in human potential and peak performance. Known for DeKluttered® and her best-selling book ‘Life lessons from your knicker drawer’.
It can be the hardest thing to say life isn’t working when you are seen to be powerful and successful to the outside world but inside you feel lonely, and disconnected. Kerry’s clients are successful, smart, strong minded women, who come to her to be held in a space where they get to speak their truth, and be held accountable.
Kerry’s curiosity about the why people do what they do, started with a Psych degree and what followed was a ten year education in human potential and peak performance. Known for DeKluttered® and her best-selling book ‘Life lessons from your knicker drawer’.
She moved to the beach nearly 20 years ago to follow her dream and lives there with her two gorgeous boys, two crazy dogs and two cats who rule them all. A deep and simple life.
Kerry Hales
kerry@kerryhales.com
Tracey is a Master of Mind & Body Therapies; as an award winning multi-trained therapist, she is on a mission to help women bust the distress of traumatic birth and perimenopause, helping them to reflect, rebalance, relax and restore, so that they feel energised, rejuvenated and able to smile again.
Tracey has a personal lived experience of perimenopausal distress, as well as having 29 years’ experience as an Occupational Therapist, Complementary therapist and Remedial Hypnotist. She has spent her career problem solving difficulties with the brain, chronic illness and mental health issues.
She has also co-authored a best-selling book, sharing her knowledge of sleep strategies and finding balance in life. “Unlocked, Surviving to Thriving”, curated by Sadie Restorick.
Tracey is passionate about working with like-minded women who are proactive about moving away from a life of distress, overwhelm and hormone imbalance.
Not only has she worked extensively with hundreds of women just like you, but she has also utilised the strategies she teaches, throughout her own hormonal health and wellness journey. Scientifically and personally, she knows what works!
When Tracey isn’t working, she loves to eat out, read, walk along her local beach and chase her naughty Irish Terrier Finley, when he is up to mischief!
You can connect with Tracey in her free Facebook group
“Restore through Perimenopause”
Tracy Hunt will be leading a guest Mindfulness walk on 16th January and will hopefully be leading mental health yoga sessions on a voluntary basis in the near future. Tracy is new to the area but has been teaching for over 20 years within education, the NHS and privately, with a particular interest in mental health. She will be running general Yoga classes within the community and for MIND in the New Year.
My name is Kelly lee and I am the founder Creator of Rosey Lees Remedies & Teas. I started this new endeavour in first wave of the pandemic as I was hugely aware of the impact it was having and would continue to have on mental health and wellbeing and I wanted to create products and services that that supported people during these difficult times and beyond.
As a master herbalist with over 20 years’ experience, I work with people on a holistic basis which means looking at the overall health and mental health of an individual and creating a prescription to help support them with their ailments.
In 2006 I qualified as an EFT therapist and recently retook exams and courses to continue my work, I also undertook a counselling skills Diploma course which allows me to also help support people on an emotional level to help them to better understand their emotions and how they may find ways to support their own wellbeing needs.
Rosey Lees is in some part a continuation of my previous work supporting the community. In 2006 I undertook and co-founded a company called Tao East Midlands the remit was to take on old derelict spaces and transforming them with the local community to make them reusable for individuals, groups, organisations and the public. This new community network worked together to support and grow the local community and space with a particular focus on tackling the social issues that affected vulnerable groups and individuals such as homelessness, mental health and children leaving the care system.
The volunteer programme we established allowed individuals to gain skills, confidence, receive community support and training and also helped vulnerable participants to rebuild their lives. Tao was successful in fundraising for a large variety of community activities and initiatives such as a textile products course to support young single parents, allowing them to upskill to create products for re-sell. This project ran for 3 years and provided opportunities for further study and placements at local colleges. The Ethos of Tao was always about supporting the well-being of the community and working WITH the community to create to provide the tools for their own self-created projects and changes.
My work is informed by my own lived experience both in terms of my mental health, and as a survivor of domestic violence. My experience and self-help strategies have been the motivation behind my work, these first -hand experiences mean I have a greater understanding and empathy and desire to support others in a positive way, sharing my knowledge, skills and self-help techniques.
I am particularly proud of my Wellbeing Journal initiative, writing, recording and taking the time to think about my own mental wellbeing has been incredibly powerful in my own recovery and in maintaining my wellbeing but I knew that sometimes you need a little help or prompt to get started. So, the Wellbeing journals were a response to that. The journals I created prompt users to understand and recognise their emotions, make sense of them, and deal with them in a healthy positive way.
Through my work with Rosie Lees supporting physical health, I became more and more aware of the mental health impacts on the lives of my clients and how they are interlinked, by developing the Wellbeing Journals I am able to offer these as an additional support. The need and demand for the journals became more apparent as I received increasing referrals just for the journals, so I was encouraged to start a Crowdfunder to cover the costs of producing them so that I can provide them for free to groups and individuals in need but who may lack funds. Journaling has always been well documented as a method to help lift, ease and alleviate anxiety and or depression. If you would like to support this project and help keep the journals free of charge, please take a look at or share the Crowdfunder.
You can also self-refer yourself or someone in need at roseyleetherapy@aol.com
All details are in strict confidence and are not shared with any other groups or agencies.
My guiding principle is a belief that it takes a community to build and strengthen each other and I strive to achieve this in both my personal, and work life.
Kelly lee x
Rebecca L Martin (known as Bex to those who work with her) is a journalist, content editor and copywriter with 20 years’ experience in media. Her career highlights include working as Group Digital News Editor at Marie Claire, InStyle and Look, as Celebrity Journalist at Sky and as Head of Copy at Boden. Bex has worked many a red carpet with a microphone and interviewed the likes of Cheryl Cole, Kristen Stewart, Mel B, Rita Ora and The Script. Today, she helps businesses to craft engaging content and traffic-driving copy across all their channels, from social media, to newsletters and blog posts. She has written for M&S, John Lewis, Sephora and more. She is a proud member of the Kent Chamber of Commerce, Non-Executive Director of The Umbrella Café CIC and a founding member of SOS Whitstable. Rebecca has had her own battles with depression and anxiety and will talk about how she manages them today.