Our Team

 

Emma Thom: Emma, founder of the Mindful Choice, is a qualified Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) trainer with over 15 years of mindfulness practice. Her journey began during an extended period of ill health, where mindfulness proved transformative, inspiring her to pursue a Post Graduate Diploma in MBCT from Exeter University.

Emma works alongside Jacky tailoring mindfulness courses for diverse groups, including adoptive parents, parents of children with additional needs, and adults with long-term health conditions.

Committed to best practice, Emma is BAMBA registered. She works as a research therapist at the AccEPT clinic in Exeter and the Oxford Mindfulness Foundation assessing new teachers in training. Emma and the team offer groups and one-on-one sessions online and in person. She is particularly passionate about bringing mindfulness into nature through forest bathing - a safe, free, and easily integrated approach to well-being. Emma co-leads eco-therapy and forest bathing sessions with Clare. and offers retreats at Sharpham House in Devon.

Emma and the team are dedicated to making mindfulness accessible to the general public and organisations supporting vulnerable groups.

When not teaching, you'll likely find Emma exploring the woods or by the sea, with her dog, enjoying the practices she teaches.

Clare Coyne: Clare Coyne: A qualified counsellor, social worker and yoga teacher, Clare now works as a counsellor, ecotherapist and facilitator offering a therapeutic space for individuals and groups - inside or outdoors - that both encourages enquiry and is deeply accepting. Clare believes that kindness and deep listening are at the heart of healthy relationships and these qualities form the core of her work, which draws on person-centred, mindfulness and nature-based approaches. 

Working also as a forest bathing (shinrin yoku) guide, Clare creates a collaborative space where groups and individuals are supported to slow down and take in the surroundings, enabling more capacity to notice, enjoy and benefit from the sensory-based immersion.
 
Clare is passionate about promoting wellbeing through connecting with the natural environment, building community networks, and living lightly, as well as proactively, in the face of the climate emergency. She loves walking and swimming. For more about Clare's work: immerse-in-nature.com

 

Jacky Slade: Jacky co-teaches the Mindfulness for Adoptors, Foster Carers, and Parent courses. She has a postgraduate Diploma to teach Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy from Exeter University and adheres to the UK Network’s ‘Good Practice Guidelines for Teachers of Mindfulness’. Jacky is a qualified social worker and has worked in statutory and voluntary adoption services with all parts of the adoption triangle. She is committed to supporting the development of mindfulness in adoption and fostering services.