Viv has been a Specialist Addiction Psychiatrist for the last 20 years, both in the NHS and third sector.

She joined Via in 2018 from her role as Clinical Lead for the Barnet Recovery Centre (CNWL) and then moved to become the Clinical Lead for Harrow and Regional Lead for London North.

Prior to this she had been the Clinical Lead for Lifeline South Directorate, Lifeline Oxfordshire and the Medical Lead for the Compass Clinical Working Group, leading on clinical governance, patient safety and clinical policy development.

As well as working across various London community drug and alcohol services, Viv also has experience working for residential treatment services, Passmore House and City Roads.

Viv started her medical career in Cape Town in private general practice before moving to the UK as a Resident Medical Officer for BUPA.

After this she moved into general adult psychiatry, working predominantly in Barnet as a staff grade for the Crisis Intervention Service and in forensics as part of the Mentally Disordered Offenders team. An interest in management and business led her to complete her MBA at INSEAD (France) followed by a few years in property management/development both in France and South Africa as well as in medical aesthetics.

The theme of transformation led her back into psychiatry, this time into addictions, where she found her niche. Her particular area of interest is the significant and complex link between neurodiversity and addiction.

Matt is a consultant psychiatrist and group analytic psychotherapist with many years of experience in senior medical roles primarily within the NHS.

He joined Via in 2024 as a Medical Lead and is currently the regional medical lead for community Via services in the London Boroughs of Greenwich, Kingston, and Merton.

His most recent role in the NHS was as the medical lead to a specialist psychotherapy service offering treatments for people struggling with complex-trauma related problems.

He also has several years’ previous experience in the NHS as the consultant psychiatrist to inpatient wards and community services for people experiencing psychosis.

He is a strong advocate for peer-led and group-based interventions and believes that the resources to improve many of our problems are to be found in our relationships with others.

Michelle is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist, specialising in trauma and addiction. Much of her work has focused the road to recovery following occupational trauma in the military and the rail industry.

Along with using CBT and EMDR in her practice, she is interested in public mental health interventions that can support whole communities.

In addition to her work Via, she is an Honorary Lecturer on the University of Birmingham’s clinical psychology doctorate programme, the Deputy Chair of the British Psychological Society’s (BPS) Faculty of Addiction and sits on the BPS Committee for Prevention and Public Health.

Her research has been published in the Journal of Traumatic Stress, the Journal of Correctional Healthcare, the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology, Occupational Health [at Work], and Aggression and Violent Behaviour.

ClinPsyD; BSc. Hons

Laurie is a Clinical Psychologist and Head of Psychology for Residential Services at Via. She joined Via in 2024, having previously led the provision of psychological therapies within a community service for 10 years.

Laurie leads the development and delivery of psycho-social interventions across Via’s detox and rehabilitation services and is passionate about the implementation of trauma-informed care across residential and community treatment settings, helping to ensure our services are compassionate, evidence-based, and psychologically informed.

With a strong commitment to innovation in mental health care, Laurie is actively involved in research, with a particular interest in psychedelic-assisted therapies and their application in treating addiction and complex mental health difficulties.

Laurie regularly contributes to training, supervision, and policy development within the organisation.

Emma trained as a Pharmacist at Liverpool John Moores University and qualified in 2005 going on to qualify as a Pharmacist Independent Prescriber in 2011.

She has extensive experience of delivering pharmacy and clinical services across a range of health settings including community pharmacy, prison services, NHS and third sector treatment providers.

Shortly after qualifying, Emma worked as a pharmacist in the prison setting where she quickly developed a passion for working with vulnerable people including those needing support with their drug and alcohol use.   She has over 18 years’ experience working in drug and alcohol services with the last 12 years being in the third sector. She joined Via as Director of Pharmacy in 2024.

During her time in the third sector, she has worked in a number of different roles both in community drug and alcohol services as a Prescriber and central support medicines management and senior clinical teams.  Emma has developed an intricate level of knowledge of medicines legislation, best practice guidance and relevant national standards and the ability to apply these to our service to support delivery of high-quality excellent care.

Emma has a strong valued based approach, being committed to and passionate about working in collaboration to continuously improve our services, so people accessing support receive the best possible care they need.

RN, MCPara, FCMI CMgr

Ade is a registered Nurse and Paramedic having qualified in the West Midlands in 2008.  Having joined Via in September 2024 as Director of Nursing, he brings a wealth of clinical, operational, and leadership experience gained across acute, primary, urgent, and community care settings.

Ade has built a diverse patient-centred career grounded in compassion, integrity, and a deep commitment to improving outcomes for disadvantaged and marginalised communities.  With the move to the third sector and Via- this now includes people affected by alcohol and other drug dependencies.

Ade’s clinical experience is complemented by a Level 7 (Distinction) Diploma in Executive Leadership Development, completed through Corndel and Imperial College Business School, thus strengthening his strategic capability, organisational insight, and leadership influence. As forward-thinking people-centred leader, he believes strongly in leading from within, nurturing talent, and creating environments where individuals and teams can thrive.

He is passionate about quality improvement, workforce development, and upholding the highest standards of nursing practice and has previously been a registrant panel member for the NMC.

His work with Via underpins embedding excellence throughout practice and sees a commitment to fostering a culture where staff are empowered, feel supported, and are inspired to ensuring the organisation continues to be an employer of choice.

MBA (Dunelm), MPharm (Hons), Psychiatric Pharmacy PgDip, PIP PG Cert, MRPharmS

Makhan is the Clinical Director for Governance and Professions Lead at Via.

He is responsible for clinical governance, professional standards, and the development of safe, high-quality substance use services across nursing, psychology, and allied health disciplines.

Makhan has extensive experience in healthcare, having worked across mental health and acute care settings, contributing to multidisciplinary teams and ensuring that patient care is safe, effective, and person-centred. He has a strong focus on clinical governance, guiding the development and implementation of policies, procedures, and quality assurance frameworks that support consistent, high-standard practice across services.

He has a keen interest in ethical and transformational leadership, bridging strategic decision-making with practical improvements in service delivery. Makhan has led numerous service reviews to enhance performance, foster a shared purpose, and create supportive workplace cultures.

A recognised expert in using data to inform practice and service improvement, Makhan advises on benchmarking, performance metrics, and outcome measurement to drive safe, effective, and evidence-based care across Via’s services.

MSc, BA Hons, BSC.

Jane is a Registered Mental Health Nurse and Independent Prescriber with over 40 years’ experience in a variety of health care settings and two decades of working in the treatment of substance use across both NHS and third sector organisations.

Jane has worked in community, prison, primary and secondary care services holding senior roles both in the UK and Middle East.

Jane was awarded a Florence Nightingale Foundation Scholarship in 2018 and subsequently completed Leadership Course at Harvard Business School Executive Education, Boston, USA and Top Managers Programme with The Kings Fund, using The Tavistock Approach with a focus on human and relational aspects of leadership, in 2019.

A Queens Nurse she champions clinical excellence, patient safety and a culture of continuous improvement and with the words of an early mentor in mind ‘treat every person as though they were one of your family’.

Jane joined Via in 2023 as Clinical Director for Residential and Clinical Lead and is currently Clinical Director (Delivery).

MBBS, MRCPsych, CCT (Addictions Psychiatry), PgDip (Mental Health Law), PgCert (Med Ed), MBA (Henley Business School), MFMLM

Arun has been a Consultant in Addictions Psychiatry for over 20 years in both the NHS and the third sector.

He trained in Psychiatry at Oxford and Cambridge before becoming Clinical Director of the NHS addiction services across Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire.

He joined Via as Medical Director in January 2015.

A keen interest in management led to an MBA at Henley Business School and membership of the Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management.

Arun has extensive experience of setting up and running community and inpatient drug and alcohol treatment services, prison substance use services and dual diagnosis services.

His research interests include pain management, online shopping addiction and chronic arousal states such as anxiety and their impact on addictions treatment as well as the potential of psychedelics to transform substance dependency and mental healthcare.

Arun is also a specialist inspector for the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and supports the London Drug Commission set up by the London Mayor’s office to review cannabis regulations.