Everyone is made for connection. No exceptions

Specialist self-injury support for individuals with learning disabilities, and the organizations that serve them

What do we do?

We’re self-injury specialists, dedicated to transforming the lives of people with learning disabilities and autism and the organisations supporting them.

Our core offer is a tailored self-injury support package for frontline teams, equipping them with new tools, for identifying and overcoming the root causes of self-injury with the individual they are supporting.

In parallel to this, we collaborate with leadership teams to embed trauma-informed principles across culture and systems, empowering them to foster an environment of emotional safety, empathetic connections, and compassionate support.

We embrace this dual approach because we firmly believe that enduring change for individuals in distress is most effectively achieved when it occurs alongside culture transformation.

Sound Interesting? Let's Talk

What We Offer

Self-injury Consultation

Development, training and plans for teams and organisations in support of individuals who self-injure.

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Online Courses

Equipping individuals and teams with the knowledge they need to deliver their best work.

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Related Support

Bereavement & Learning Disabilities Services. Trauma-informed organisational change

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Equip Your Teams & Learn Online With Our Online Courses

Our People

Dr Beverley Samways

Dr Beverley Samways

Bev is the founder, director and CEO of Unique Connections, and a self-injury specialist, with twenty years of experience.

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Jenny Cavendish

Jenny Cavendish

Jenny Cavendish Unique Connections’ Specialist Advisor and a recognised UK self-harm specialist.

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Dan Potter

Dan Potter

Dan is a Director of Unique Connections and is responsible for overseeing governance and strategy.

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“We are grateful that you are on this journey with us and would definitely recommend you to other practitioners.”

– Assistant Head

“Unique Connections offered so many helpful insights, but also had a way of making challenging topics easy to understand and feel less daunting. I’d thoroughly recommend them.”

– Principal

“The self-injury on-line training is “an hour well spent for anyone who works with children and young people with learning disabilities who self-injure. Unique Connections have created an informative, thoughtful and compassionate resource to help staff explore the meaning of self-injury and their responses to it. An excellent tool for reflective practice in settings working with children who self-injure.”

– Claire Dorer. Nass CEO and published author on child and adolescent self-harm.

“You explain things in such an interesting and clear way and broadens our understanding of the complexity around self-injury and the importance of not assuming it’s because of their ‘condition’. The examples from your personal experience helps to bring things into focus too”

– Feedback from Self-injury support training video

“Through the initial inspirational training, workshops, reflective online sessions and meeting notes, staff have gained more knowledge, understanding and confidence with working with, and supporting [the student]”

– Assistant Head

“The training has had such a positive impact in the team… we have increased security and connection with the young people. The new approaches makes them feel seen, understood and empowered, which is having a calming effect”

– Head of Care

“Your session was extremely well received… ‘Brilliant and thought provoking’ was typical of the feedback. Thank you so much!”

Andrew Penman CEO of SWALSS

Get In Touch

Maybe there is one individual you are concerned about.
Maybe you want to know how we can help your team or organisation with those you support who self-injure.
Whatever it is, we’d love to hear from you.

To stay in touch with our work, sign up here

(We send out quarterly newsletters and occasional updates).

Who We Work With