With just six weeks to go until this year’s From Harm to Hope conference, Harmless is pleased to share the final details of this year’s event taking place on Friday 27th February 2026 at the Trent Conference Centre, Nottingham.
Our conference theme this year is The Uncomfortable Truth: Confronting Barriers to Connection in Self Harm and Suicide Prevention. Through this lens, we will explore not only established clinical approaches, but also the role of creative interventions in supporting people in distress. By combining high-level academic research with bold, creative practice, we look forward to an inspirational day of learning and collaboration that challenges us to rethink what ‘support’ really looks like.
We will hear from Mark Cody of Granborghini, whose pioneering work uses high-performance sports cars to break through isolation among older adults – a high-risk group frequently underserved by statutory provision. Creative expression as a clinical intervention will also be explored through Harmless’ Choir for Hope, an innovative project demonstrating how shared musical experience can offer meaningful connection and support for those experiencing acute emotional distress.
Alongside these creative approaches, the conference remains unequivocally rooted in evidence-based research and clinical expertise, and will feature academics and practitioners from across the country presenting on a range of vital topics.
Plenary Speakers
Kristy Themelis
Nottingham Trent University
Kristy Themelis
Nottingham Trent University
Hidden Crisis: Suicide Risk in People Living with Chronic Pain
This plenary session will explore the under-recognised link between chronic pain and suicide, highlighting why people living with persistent pain face significantly elevated risk and how this risk develops over time. It will draw on emerging evidence from biopsychosocial research and examine some key risk factors such as the role of mental defeat and entrapment. It will also consider early signs and temporal patterns that may help identify those at greatest risk. The session will conclude by discussing implications for clinical practice, prevention, and research, emphasising the need for integrated, compassionate approaches to support this high-risk population.
Kristy Themelis is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Nottingham Trent University. Her research focuses on understanding why people living with chronic pain face increased risk of suicide. Her work draws on biopsychosocial science, longitudinal methodologies, and real-world data to uncover mechanisms of vulnerability and identify early intervention targets. She is passionate about translating evidence into meaningful clinical impact and contributes to cross-disciplinary efforts to improve care for people with persistent pain.
Mark Cody
Granborghini
Mark Cody
Granborghini
Re-Igniting Purpose: How Thinking Outside of the Box Can Save Lives
Mark is the founder of Granborghini, a movement dedicated to redefining ageing and preventing loneliness-related suicide by reconnecting older adults with purpose, adventure and community.
After witnessing the loneliness epidemic personally and following the suicide of his grandmother, Mark channelled his background in business, storytelling and community engagement into building bold, human-first interventions bringing joy, meaning and excitement back into peoples lives. What began as giving older lonely adults uplifting days out in supercars grew into a wider mission: proving that thinking creatively, can genuinely save lives and give people a reason to wake up tomorrow.
Mark now works to challenge assumptions around ageing, inspire systemic change and ensure no one is ever left behind in the battle against loneliness. His presentation today will explore how reigniting purposes and designing unconventional solutions can offer hope, connection and a clear path away from crisis.
Laura Hughes
Harmless & The Tomorrow Project
Laura Hughes
Harmless & The Tomorrow Project
No Wrong Door, But How Many Lead Somewhere? Rethinking Access and Availability in Self Harm & Suicide Prevention
Originally joining the Harmless team as a voluntary intern in 2020, Laura is now the organisation’s Self Harm and Suicide Intervention Clinical Manager. She manages Harmless’ crisis, stabilisation and psychotherapy interventions in order to support those who self harm, have thoughts of suicide or are experiencing a suicide crisis, plus their family, friends and carers.
Laura is particularly passionate about Harmless and The Tomorrow Project because she used Harmless’ services during her adolescence. Now in her twenties, she is proud to lead the services that supported her in the past.
In addition to her leadership role, Laura remains client-facing, and her area of specialism is suicide crisis. Laura is especially passionate about LGBTQIA+ mental health and suicide prevention, particularly for transgender and/or asexual individuals.
Outside of work, Laura is most content when she is watching Doctor Who or reading a book in the company of her 15-year-old rescue dog, Robbie.
Tom Garrett
Harmless & The Tomorrow Project
Tom Garrett
Harmless & The Tomorrow Project
No Wrong Door, But How Many Lead Somewhere? Rethinking Access and Availability in Self Harm & Suicide Prevention
Tom has worked for Harmless and The Tomorrow Project for six years, starting as suicide bereavement support worker before progressing to the role of Team Lead for the suicide sereavement service. In the last twelve months Tom has taken up the position of Service Manager for the Fearless service and has assisted its development to its launch at this year’s conference.
Tom has a PGd in counselling and psychotherapy and has completed a PGd course in Traumatology and Psychotherapy, as well as ten years of clinical experience working with trauma and bereavement.
Chloe Webster-Harris
Harmless & The Tomorrow Project
Chloe Webster-Harris
Harmless & The Tomorrow Project
No Wrong Door, But How Many Lead Somewhere? Rethinking Access and Availability in Self Harm & Suicide Prevention
Chloe (she/her) is a researcher at Harmless and the Tomorrow Project. Her job involves designing studies, implementing cohesive research methodologies, and translating complex datasets into meaningful research to drive understanding of self harm, suicide and bereavement. Her research interests include mental health and self harm, suicide prevention, neurodivergence, gender and sexuality, and conspiracy theories and misinformation.
Chloe has a BSc in Clinical Psychology. She is now studying for a PhD in Psychology at the University of Wolverhampton, where she is also part of the Applied Cognition and Individual Differences special interest research group and recently won the award for best PhD presentation at the Psychology Postgraduate Day. She has lived experience of self harm and suicidal ideation, and hopes that by conducting research at Harmless, the organisation will be able to influence policy so that those struggling will no longer have to manage alone.
Jess Worner
National Suicide Prevention Alliance
Jess Worner
National Suicide Prevention Alliance
Amplifying Racialised Perspectives and Voices in Suicide Preventions
Jess is the Lived Experience Network Manager for the National Suicide Prevention Alliance (NSPA). She has personal lived experience of suicidality, self harm, and of using mental health services. Jess works closely with people with lived and living experience to influence change and helps organisations think about meaningful ways of working collaboratively with people who have lived experience.
She is particularly interested in leaning into nuance and plurality of perspectives, taking a social justice approach to suicide prevention, and ensuring the least heard voices are amplified. Before joining the NSPA, Jess has long a background in leading lived experience involvement, co-production and peer support programmes, including within mental charity Together for Wellbeing. She has also worked and volunteered for several homelessness charities, is involved in community-led LGBTQ groups in her local area of Weymouth, and enjoys cold-water swimming and weight lifting.
Sandy Kaur
Sehhat
Sandy Kaur
Sehhat
Amplifying Racialised Perspectives and Voices in Suicide Preventions
Sandy stands as a beacon of change, blazing a trail through the fields of mental health and community. As founder of Sehhat, a not-for-profit organisation, she is committed to shaping mindsets surrounding mental health and suicide within Punjabi and South Asian communities. For the past six years, she has been at the forefront of providing culturally appropriate support services, from establishing safe spaces to launching a podcast and developing resources including one of the very few studies on the impacts of suicide in Punjabi communities.
Sandy is also the visionary behind the Sikh Forgiveness initiative, targeting linguistic barriers within Gurdwara Sahibs to foster understanding and healing. She also created the Mental Health Ki Hundi Hai book, a publication translating mental health conditions into Punjabi to support individuals and families alike, and to bridge the gap between cultural understanding and mental health awareness. With unwavering dedication, Sandy continues to have a profound influence on the lives of countless individuals and communities worldwide.
Nikhwat Khan Marawat
The Delicate Mind
Nikhwat Khan Marawat
The Delicate Mind
Amplifying Racialised Perspectives and Voices in Suicide Preventions
Nikhwat is the founder and director of The Delicate Mind (TDM), a multi award winning community interest company which seeks to reshape approaches to Muslim mental health and create wider community cohesion.
To date TDM has worked with over 110 organisations such as National Voices, NSPA, Public Health Birmingham, UCL, The Samaritans and Kick It Out to name a few.
Nikhwat has been part of Learning & Collaboration group, hosted by NSPA, pushing for racial equity in suicide prevention.
Workshop Leaders
Darren Fox & Shaun Young
Harmless & The Tomorrow Project
Darren Fox & Shaun Young
Harmless & The Tomorrow Project
Workforce Welfare in Suicide Prevention: Overcoming Our Uncomfortable Truth
Darren Fox joined Harmless in 2010 and is currently the organisation's Chief HR Officer. He has responsibility for ensuring organisational aims and objectives are aligned with HR strategy, policy, and wider employee relations practices.
In his role, Darren is dedicated to empowering others to succeed in their roles, enabling people have a voice in the direction, development, and implementation of services and ultimately, organisational success. He fundamentally believes our team is our biggest asset, so he makes it his priority to continuously improve and evolve our HR initiatives and find new and innovative ways to support our staff in what is a very rewarding yet sometimes challenging work environment.
His area of interest and specialism is HR within the context of those working with self harm and suicide prevention.
Shaun Young is Harmless’ Academy Manager, overseeing day-to-day operations of the organisation’s training services on self harm, suicide and mental health. He works closely alongside the Training and Education Officers, Content Creators and Co-ordinators within the Academy to ensure the smooth delivery of training for our delegates.
Shaun joined Harmless in 2021 after spending several years in training and operational roles within the private healthcare sector and continues to deliver training within his role which is something he is passionate about. He incorporates his own lived experience when delivering, while maintaining focus on upskilling and empowering people around self harm, suicide and mental health as a whole.
Rachael-Louise Stonard
University of Derby
Rachael-Louise Stonard
University of Derby
Beyond Trauma-Informed: Embodied Approaches to Suicide Prevention
Rachael-Louise Stonard is a senior lecturer in Therapeutic Arts and the Programme Lead for the MA in Dance Movement Psychotherapy at the University of Derby. She also practices as a Dance Movement Psychotherapist, specialising in working with adults and children who have experienced trauma.
Rachael-Louise is particularly interested in developmental psychology and identity formation. This, as well as neuroscience and its links with psychotherapy, underpin her clinical work and continued practice. The modules she teaches reflect these interests and include learning from continued clinical experience. She also has ten years of practice experience in the third sector and education, including running a successful practice providing opportunities to specialise in supporting clients who have experienced domestic violence and abuse, clients who are victims / survivors of sexual crimes and to facilitate psychotherapy on a pre-trial basis.
She has also worked with clients at risk of suicide and with children and adolescents who self harm.
Katie Freeman & Leanne Moulton
Harmless & The Tomorrow Project
Katie Freeman & Leanne Moulton
Harmless & The Tomorrow Project
Building Resilient Families: Honouring and Elevating Parents and Carers – The Hidden Workforce
Katie Freeman joined Harmless in September 2016, working with people in suicide crisis and has lived experience of supporting people close to her in self harm and suicide crisis. She is now our Chief Clinical Officer. The focus of this role is to ensure that our clinical services are implemented well, are operationally smooth and most importantly that they remain connected. Katie also provides trauma focused psychotherapy.
Outside of work, Katie spends her time renovating and restoring an old Victorian house and re-watching episodes of ‘Call the Midwife’.
As Chief Academy Officer, Leanne Moulton leads the strategic development, delivery and continuous enhancement of the organisation’s trainer-led and E-Learning programmes focused on self harm and suicide prevention. Her work is driven by a commitment to generate income through the creation of innovative, high-impact training sessions and products, all while contributing to the organisation’s long-term sustainability. In addition, Leanne oversees the planning and execution of national conferences, ensuring they align with both the organisation’s mission and strategic priorities. Beyond her core training responsibilities, she works closely with the Senior Leadership Team, contributing to broader organisational strategy, particularly in marketing and communications.
Leanne began her journey with Harmless in 2016 as an intern while completing her BA (Hons) in Special and Inclusive Education. Her career started in pastoral support within primary schools, where she focused on inclusion and support for pupils with SEMH needs. Her personal experience supporting a family member with severe mental health challenges further fuelled her passion for working in the areas of self harm and suicide prevention.
In her spare time, Leanne enjoys spending quality time with friends and family, hiking and scrambling in the mountains, and taking short walks with her sausage dogs.
Nina Smith
Edge Hill University
Nina Smith
Edge Hill University
Innovative School-Based Suicide Prevention Strategies
Nina Smith is a Lecturer and researcher at Edge Hill University whose work focuses on children and young people’s mental health and suicide prevention. Previously a teacher for over a decade, she completed an MSc in Mental Health shortly after losing her younger brother, Will, to suicide. Her Churchill Fellowship involved fieldwork across Australia and the USA, and her research is now informing suicide-prevention practice in schools and local authorities nationwide.
Dr Mirabel Pelton
University of Cambridge
Dr Mirabel Pelton
University of Cambridge
What Do We Know About Warning Signs for Suicide in Autistic People?
Mirabel Pelton is committed to working in partnership with autistic people to better understand and prevent suicide amongst autistic people. Her PhD research (PhD awarded February 2024) comprises the first studies exploring suicide mechanisms amongst autistic people. Mirabel has secured a prestigious ESRC-funded post-doctoral fellowship to refocus her research towards young people. This will bring together her recent research includes: co-design with bereaved to understand and prevent suicide in autistic people; exploring feasibility and acceptability of using EMA (ecological momentary assessment) to explore fluctuations in suicidal thoughts ‘in the moment’; and understanding autistic people's experience of apps and suicide-related internet use.
Mirabel has published first author publications in high impact journals, is on the editorial board for Autism in Adulthood (the highest impact factor of all autism journals) and regularly presents at prestigious international conferences, such as International Association for Suicide Prevention World Congress. Her expertise has been called upon by international (International Association for Autism Research, Inter-agency Co-ordinating Committee, United States) and, national (Autistica, All-party Parliamentary Group for Autism, National Autism Training Program) policy organisations and most recently in the UK Government Suicide Prevention 5-year plan for England. She has received prestigious awards (PsyPAG Rising Researcher Award, Post-graduate Researcher of the year award) for the outstanding quality and contribution of her research at this early stage of her career. She is current co-chair of the International Association for Suicide Prevention Special Interest Group in Intellectual Disability, Autism and Neurodiversity.
Pam Burrows
The People Booster
Pam Burrows
The People Booster
Boundaries That Work: Manage Time and Energy Without Burning Out
Pam Burrows has been helping teams stress less and perform better for over thirty years, and her work has been recognised with a European Health and Safety Award for reducing stress in the workplace. A qualified Nursery Nurse, Social Worker and Master Practitioner in NLP, she blends a wealth of knowledge with practical techniques. Her interactive and energising talks empower well-being and behaviour change.
She is a Fellow of the Professional Speaking Association and author of two books: Burnout Buster and The CARE Wellbeing Model.
Tickets for this CPD-accredited event are available now, with all proceeds directly funding Harmless’ vital life-saving services. Delegates can attend either in person or via our live stream.
From Harm to Hope: The 11th National Self Harm & Suicide Prevention Conference
Friday 27th February 9am–5pm (GMT)
Trent Conference Centre, Trent Vineyard, Unit 1, Easter Park, Nottingham NG7 2PX
or online via our live stream
From Harm to Hope 2026 is proudly supported by:
All details are accurate at the time of publishing, but are subject to change due to any unforeseen circumstances.

