Who We Are

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

Bev is a Churchill Fellow. Having spent April 2024 in the United States exploring trauma-informed practice with people with learning disabilities, you can read more about this project here and read the published report here.

Bev’s specialism is grounded in the lives and stories of those she has known and served who have presented with severe and intractable self-injury. All her work is grounded in real-world practice, and she loves to share the stories of the extraordinary individuals she has had the joy of supporting over the years. She is a gifted and inspiring speaker and trainer, motivating those in the sector to reframe their difficult work in terms of relationships and connection. If you would like to book her to speak, contact Bev here.

Bev has a PhD from the University of Bristol, during which she spent three years exploring the emotional lives of three teenagers with severe learning disabilities who sometimes self-injured. In addition, she has a MSc in Social Work Research and another in Inter-professional practice: child and adolescent mental health. She also has a Post-graduate diploma in working with children, young people and families: a psychoanalytic observation approach. Her work and approach is grounded in research and psychodynamic approaches.
Bev is a research associate and academic lecturer at two major UK universities.

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

Jen brings an extraordinary wealth of experience and expertise, including working with individuals, stakeholders and organisations in relation to self-harm.

She is an Integrative Psychotherapist based in Coventry with over ten years’ experience of working with mental health and pastoral care within mainstream schools. She is a project manager for a national programme for teenagers who self harm or believe they may begin. This work has led her to write four books aimed at young people or parents and professionals around self harm, anxiety and anger.

She has worked as Mental Health advisor to national organisations, including the BBC, Church of England, Higher Education Colleges and Youthscape

Jen’s qualifications and experience:
· MSc Integrative Psychotherapist
· Post-Graduate Diploma: Trauma-informed School Practitioner (Distinction)
· Safeguarding Level 4 – Advanced DSL trained

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

Dan enjoys working in developmental roles, bringing energy and insight to the development of teams, processes and strategic decision making. After initially qualifying as a teacher, he now specialises in the leadership of youth-oriented organisations and has significant experience in alternative and informal education approaches.

Dan holds a leadership position within a leading alternative education provider in the city of Bristol but he enjoys rural living in Somerset. He is naturally wired for strategy and building, and brings a vision-mindset to the Unique Connections team.

Bev and Jen chat about their work at Unique Connections

Unique Connections at the table is a space where we host conversations with people who have something to say about how we best serve people with learning disabilities and autism who self-injure or are distressed. Join the conversation here, and subscribe for updates.