The Team
Michelle Shavdia
Founder/ADHD Coaching Psychologist MSc (Dist.), BSc (Hons)
Feeling dismissed? Frustrated? Misunderstood? Not knowing which way to turn? Then I may be able to help you.
I am Michelle Shavdia, a coaching psychologist who set up Find Your Spark initially to support at-risk young people because she herself was a lost at-risk young person so understood some of the challenges these young people were experiencing.
Since then, Find Your Spark has evolved to support parents, professionals and more recently adults and children with ADHD.
This is because I was late diagnosed with ADHD at 37 years old.
Up to that point, ADHD had never been suggested to me so I lived 37 years not realising and knowing this was why I was so different to my peers and finding things so much more difficult. You may resonate this yourself.
Prior to getting my diagnosis and then again subsequently, I realised there was not a lot of support available to adults with ADHD so I created an ADHD Awareness support session for this very reason.
I have 20 years’ experience of coaching, mentoring and delivering inspiring talks to young people and adults.
I qualified with a Coaching Psychology Masters in 2015 and began supporting young people, parents and professionals in London, Thurrock, Colchester and Tendring.
Subsequent to my late ADHD diagnosis, I now predominantly work with, coach and support those with ADHD. My typical clients include adults, parents and young people to help them navigate a neurotypical world and system that is not set up to accommodate an ADHD brain. This is my passion now, to help people with overcome these challenges.
My formal qualifications include:
2005: BSc (Hons) Degree in Psychology (Warwick University)
2015: MSc (Dist.) in Coaching Psychology including Positive Psychology and Career Coaching (University of East London)
2021-2022: BRIEF Solution Focused Therapy
I have published research in a highly regarded coaching journal in 2015 which the Find Your Spark interventions are based on.
I have also won many awards and grants including the Haberdashers’ Grant and funding from Investec’s Bromley By Bow’s Beyond Business programme which enabled me to set up Find Your Spark as a social enterprise. I also have received one to one business mentoring and coaching from Ernst & Young, Llyods and BT. I additionally receive regular monthly clinical supervision.
I have completed several professional short courses and CPD events related to ADHD, psychology and working safely with people, most recently these include:
2023: Understanding Self Harm and Suicide, Level 2
2021: Understanding trauma.
2019: Understanding ADHD
2019: Triple P training to support families with ADHD
2019: Safeguarding Level2
2019: Mental Health First Aid
2019: Suicide Prevention in young people
2018: Understanding Autism
Dr Aimee Swithenbank
Educational Psychologist (BSc Hons, DECPsy)
Aimee is an Educational Psychologist (EP), and as such she is trained to apply psychology to support the learning and wellbeing of children and young people (from birth through to 25 years).
Aimee has over ten years’ experience working with children and young people across a range of settings.
As well as working with FYS, Aimee is able to provide services in the home or educational setting and accepts referrals from parents, young people (over 16), schools, preschools and colleges.
Find out more about Aimee HERE
Jamie Shavdia
MSc (CBT), PGDip (Mindfulness - Dist), BSc (Psych), BSc (Econ), Cert.HealthSci (OU), D.Hyp, PDC.Hyp, PDCB.Hyp (Dist). Prof. Memberships - MBSCH, MAREBT, MMA
His work integrates cognitive, behavioural, hypno-therapeutic imagery and mindfulness-based psychology. He works mostly with adult clients on either a 1-1 or group therapy basis. This occurs mostly in private practice in Colchester (Essex), however he has also worked in various other forums, including; an NHS IAPT service as a high-intensity therapist for four years; several university psychological services (eight years) and increasingly with employee development/wellness training within private organisations.
Amanda Towns
Administration assistant
Amanda has over 25 years of secretarial and PA experience, both in the private and public sector. She has provided executive support for large banks and law firms in London, and now works for a range of SMEs assisting them with various admin tasks.
Denise Carroll
Strategy & Programme Development Consultant
Denise has obtained a BA in Behavioural Science; Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE); NLP Practitioner; and in more recent years studied Personal Performance Coaching and Corporate Social Responsibility.
Denise has primarily focused her career working within the charitable field. Her experience spans from on the ground design, and delivery of Education; Employability, Personal Development and Leadership programmes for those involved in crime, violence and social exclusion to Management of a charity leading a large multi-disciplinary team across an array of services (Boxing/Martial Arts; Education; Employability; Support Services; & Youth Leadership).
In most recent years, Denise has evolved into the world of consultancy – primarily working with organisations on two fronts:
1. To improve productivity, performance, and sustainability of their programmes and services and 2. Supporting organisation with the design and development of their Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy and programmes.
Denise is passionate about supporting people and organisations to reach their full potential and believes quality lies in the core of creating great services and programmes that not only support people but creates sustainable, long- term, positive changes in people’s life.