Dr Rachel Glynn-Williams first graduated in Psychology from the University of Leeds in 1995, then in 2000, achieved a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the University of Liverpool. Rachel then practised within the UK’s National Health Service, providing assessment, psychotherapy and care team support within a broad range of mental and physical health settings, eventually becoming the clinical manager of a psychological therapies service in Merseyside. She then moved full time into her own independent Clinical Psychology practice, specialising in the assessment and treatment of psychological trauma following personal injury, and providing expert witness reports for the UK civil courts.
Whilst training as a Clinical Psychologist, Rachel met and married a seafarer. Rachel has experienced life on-board different vessels, becoming equally fascinated and inspired by the resilience of the seagoing community. Passionate about wanting to channel her training and experience in support of this industry, Rachel established a practice in maritime psychology. Rachel and her associates now provide clinical assessment and psychological therapies to serving seafarers on a variety of commercial cargo vessels and superyachts, as well as shore-based staff in the maritime industry. They also provide Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM), or “psychological first aid”, immediately following untoward incidents onboard and ashore.
In her consultant role, Rachel has been designing, writing and delivering mental health awareness and well-being courses for the maritime industry, live-streaming interactive sessions to vessels and offices around the world. She has been delivering bespoke guidance on psychological issues to crew management companies, P&I clubs and maritime welfare charities, such as the Liverpool Seafarers’ Centre. Most recently, in collaboration with Captain Terry Ogg and QWEST, Rachel has been part of the development of an innovative approach to marine casualty work, which aims to gather the most reliable data via a trauma-informed perspective.
Rachel maintains a private clinic in Liverpool. She is an Accredited Practitioner with EMDR UK, the professional body responsible for the training and quality of this highly effective treatment for PTSD. She has received CISM training, accredited by the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF). And, in her spare time, she sings in a she-shanty group.