Our Team
Dr Winnie Chege
Founder | CEO | Highly Specialist Clinical Psychologist
Registered with the Health & Care Professions Council (UK) (Registration No. PYL35321) and the Kenya Counselling & Psychological Association.
Her work bridges specialist clinical practice, leadership and organisational change. Drawing on extensive experience across public, private and non-statutory settings, she applies clinical depth and systems thinking to strengthen individual wellbeing, professional practice and organisational effectiveness.
She holds a BSc in Psychology, an MSc in Neuroscience, an MSc in Clinical Psychology and Health Services, and a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology. Her clinical experience spans adult, child and specialist mental health services, supporting people experiencing complex psychological and emotional difficulties, including anxiety, depression, trauma, relationship challenges and significant periods of adjustment or change. Her integrative practice draws on evidence-based approaches including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Compassion Focused Therapy and Narrative Therapy. Her work is trauma-informed, culturally sensitive and tailored to the needs and context of each person.
Beyond individual clinical care, Dr Chege has designed and led therapeutic services and training programmes, managed multidisciplinary teams, and provided clinical supervision and reflective practice across a range of settings. Her wider leadership experience includes clinical governance, service design, policy development and systems change.
She works with leaders and organisations to investigate complex, recurring or insufficiently understood challenges, generate meaningful insight and translate that insight into practical action. Her organisational work includes diagnostics and advisory, leadership and workforce development, implementation and evaluation.
At REST, Dr Chege leads a multidisciplinary team delivering specialist clinical care alongside psychology-led services for organisations. This integrated approach connects individual, team and organisational perspectives. It recognises that meaningful and sustainable change depends not only on supporting people, but also on strengthening the environments and systems around them.
Dr Helena Kaliniecka
Highly Specialist Clinical Psychologist
Registered with the Health & Care Professions Council (UK) (Registration Number: PYL28948) and the Kenya Counselling & Psychological Association.
Dr Kaliniecka is a Highly Specialist Clinical Psychologist with over a decade of experience working with children, families, and the wider systems that support them. She specialises in trauma-informed, culturally sensitive, and socially just approaches, combining evidence-based therapies such as Narrative Therapy, CBT, and KIDNET (Narrative Exposure Therapy for children) to tailor interventions that meet complex individual and systemic needs.
Her work spans direct clinical therapy, multi-agency consultation, supervision, and training. She is skilled in collaborating across health, education, social care, and community settings, to build integrated and effective support networks around children and young people.
In her leadership roles, Dr Kaliniecka has led innovative projects supporting vulnerable populations including unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, and young people affected by interpersonal violence. She is committed to strengthening services and organisations through reflective practice, policy development, and workforce training, and has extensive experience working with schools and community organisations.
Dr Kaliniecka holds a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology and has completed extensive specialist training in trauma, narrative therapy, and culturally sensitive approaches. She is passionate about empowering children, families, and professionals through collaborative, strengths-based work that acknowledges the impact of wider social and cultural contexts on mental health.
Jason Shields
Consultant & Researcher
Jason Shields is a consultant, researcher, educator, and cultural worker whose interdisciplinary practice spans theology, social justice, urban studies, and the arts. He holds a BSc (Hons) in Business Computing and an MA in Theology from King’s College London, and is doing a PhD in Geography and Social Justice at King’s, exploring race, urban studies, and spatial justice.
Jason has consulted across education, health, justice, community, faith, and corporate sectors, working with schools, colleges, universities, churches, the NHS, youth justice services, local councils, and voluntary and community organisations throughout the UK. His work integrates systems-level thinking with creative methodologies, supporting organisations to embed equitable, reflective, and contextually grounded practice. He has developed and delivered training on culturally sensitive, co-produced approaches to interventions addressing violence affecting young people and has lectured at universities, sharing critical perspectives on race, social justice, intersectionality, and participatory action research.
As co-founder and director of Philo, a community-based CIC in South London, Jason has led participatory action research and creative programmes that use play, art, and intergenerational practice to explore collective wellbeing, empowerment, and liberation. As a cultural worker, he bridges scholarship, strategy, and creative engagement, helping organisations and communities alike to develop sustainable, responsive, and equitable approaches to systems change.
At REST, Jason consults on organisational and professional development, contributing to strategic thinking, systems leadership, and cross-sector change. He delivers training and workshops that translate principles of cultural sensitivity, co-production, and social justice into measurable and sustainable action. His work supports leaders and strengthens the capacity of teams and institutions to embed equitable, relational, and contextually grounded care.
Jason plays a pivotal role in shaping strategy, driving systems change, and embedding integrated practice across services and sectors. He anchors work that is practical and transformative, grounded in care, and committed to long-term impact.
Dr Stavrou is a consultant and researcher working at the intersection of behavioural science, organisational transformation, and social systems. With a background in behavioural and cognitive neuroscience, she combines psychological expertise, behavioural insights, and systems thinking to help organisations and institutions navigate complex questions of culture, wellbeing, equity, and change.
She holds a PhD in Psychology (Cognitive Behavioural Neuroscience) and has worked across organisational consulting, sustainability, public health, and higher education. Her consultancy work spans organisational and workforce transformation, including change impact assessment, organisational design, talent and competency frameworks, employee experience and EDI initiatives, and the development of engagement, communication, and training programmes. Her approach places human experience and context at the centre of strategic and operational change.
Her academic research explores affective, cognitive, and neural responses to social and interpersonal environments, with implications for social motivation, wellbeing, and participation. She has published peer-reviewed research, lectured at university level, and supervised emerging researchers. Across her research and consultancy, she brings together scientific rigour and applied insight to support change that is evidence-based, human-centred, and sustainable.
Dr Maria Stavrou
Consultant & Researcher