At Champions Charity, we understand that a diagnosis of Cauda Equina Syndrome can be life-changing. The physical impact is often only one part of the journey. Many people also experience emotional distress, trauma, isolation, anxiety, loss of confidence, and changes to their identity, relationships and daily life.
Our Psychological Therapy Service has been developed to support people as they adjust to life after diagnosis. The service is led by our Service Lead Clinical Psychologist, Dr Samar Saleh, who is supported by Assistant Psychologist Orla Holden and a wider team of therapists.
Together, the team provides compassionate, specialist psychological support to help people process what has happened, reduce isolation, manage trauma, and improve emotional wellbeing and long-term outcomes.
This service reflects our commitment to supporting the whole person, not just the diagnosis. We believe that people affected by Cauda Equina Syndrome deserve access to informed, specialist support that helps them feel heard, understood and less alone. These sessions are held over Zoom.
Please use the form at the bottom of the page if you would like to self-refer for this service. Someone from the charity will be in touch with you.
Dr Samar Saleh
Here are a few words from Samar.
I believe that the therapeutic relationship is central to the success of psychological support, which should be tailored to meet the needs of individuals. Toward that end, I approach my work with compassion and empathy in a collaborative safe space. And I draw from multiple evidence based therapies, seeking to integrate all areas of a client’s life in our work. I bring to my work 26 years in the field of psychology, including 24 in the NHS and have also held the role of Lead Psychologist in a previous post. In addition to the past seven years helping people cope with and adjust to spinal cord injuries, my experience includes work in cancer and palliative care, diabetes and rheumatology, with both children and adults. This has involved supporting people with low mood and depression, anxiety and trauma, and other mental health and psychological difficulties. My work has also involved leading on training people with various professional backgrounds nationally on the psychological impact of spinal cord injuries, including lecturing Trainee Clinical Psychologists at Oxford University.
I am passionate about working with people with CES. I find the work highly rewarding both professionally and personally. This interest and passion stems from my motivation to improve the experiences of people with CES who often struggle with delayed diagnoses and difficulties in accessing treatment, due to a lack of awareness in the health sector.
I look forward to working with you and to all that we can achieve together. Thank you for taking the time to read about me.
If you would like to access free support from one of our wonderful team you can self-refer using the form below.
Kyle Thurlow
Here are a few words from Kyle.
Hello, my name is Kyle Thurlow, I am a PhD student at Salford University where I also deliver some training/lecturers for the next wave of therapists. I also conduct training programmes for various charities on how to effectively treat people who have endured various traumas. I feel very privileged to be a part of the therapeutic team of the Cauda Equine Champions Charity.
I have an extensive range of experience of working with a vast variety of client issues. I offer clients an integrative approach to treatment which best meets each individual’s needs. I originally trained as a person-centred therapist. However, I also draw from a wide range of evidence based psychological therapies, including EMDR, Hypnosis, Narrative exposure therapy, and Transactional analysis. I have completed additional trauma focused therapy training which has enabled me to work effectively with traumatised individuals. My main area of expertise is helping people process their traumas in a safe and effective way. Alternatively, we could just simply have a chat and unpack some issues that maybe on your mind such as, feelings of depression, or anxiety, and we’ll explore them together, in a non-judgemental way.
I conduct a detailed intake from each client which helps me understand your psychological needs. We intend to work in a time limited format and offer up to 6 sessions which are tailored for each client. However, if more sessions are required then we simply review and this could be potentially arranged.