Our Team
As a small charity we are very proud to have the very best professionals working with us to ensure we deliver the best possible service to our service users. We have an amazing team of counsellors that we ensure are suitably qualified and ideally experienced to deliver support to the children & young people that need it. We also have a growing team of volunteer and employed professionals to support the charities work.
Lisa Jones,
Lead Counsellor and Service Delivery Manager
NORTH EAST SURREY
Lisa has been working with us since we began supporting children & young people with their mental health. She has been a great help and support for us while developing our services and is now our lead counsellor. She also supports our volunteer counsellors and other counsellors with supervision and guidance. Lisa says
"I am an accredited member of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists (BACP) and I am fully qualified to work with children, adolescents and adults. I feel very privileged to be working with the Matthew Hackney Foundation and have been so proud to watch our service grow in local schools as well as seeing children privately within the local community. There is such a huge need to support our children’s mental health and I thoroughly love the work I get to do.
I have experience in working with childhood trauma, anxiety, self harm as well as having a qualification in understanding Autism, to name a few areas of training undertaken. I feel working with children can be quite complex but very rewarding and if we can help children early on we can hope to create more confident and self regulating adults.
As clinical lead for the foundation I look after a team of volunteer counsellors on their student placements as well as liaising with and working in schools. I provide supervision to our students as well as offering advise to schools and families facing difficulties.
Please do look at my private website if you’d like to know more about me.
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Lisa's Website:
Welcome | Hopfield Counselling
Elisabeth Bale,
Lead Counsellor
NORTH WEST SURREY
Elisabeth, a fully qualified Child and Adolescent Psychodynamic Psychotherapist and is a registered and accredited member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.
Elisabeth says "“It’s a privilege to work with children and adolescents, to help support their mental wellbeing, build resilience and encourage the beginnings of self-awareness/belief/appreciation. My Post-Graduate training was specifically based on working with young people and my experience of working with children ranges from age 5 to 25. Working with primary age children, I use various mediums such as artwork, Lego, toys and sand to offer therapy through play as well as language; which can be more difficult for children.
Children’s play offers an insight into a child’s internal world and can be a more honest interruption of their lives rather than working with the complexity of language therapy.
Everyone I see is an individual and has their own path to walk and it is wonderful to be part of that journey.”
Elisabeth has also been working with us since the very beginning of our mental health support journey. Elisabeth leads a cohort of between 6 and 8 schools in North West Surrey on our behalf.
Erica Hamilton
I’m a passionate, down-to-earth Children’s and Young People’s Counsellor & Supervisor, helping children, teens and families navigate life’s twists and turns.
Whether I’m working privately or in schools, my goal is to create a space where young people can feel safe, understood, and most importantly, like themselves.
My journey’s taken me through plenty of meaningful work, including supporting families in the community with the Family Links and the HENRY programmes. I trained with Place2Be as a Children and Young People’s Therapist, which gave me a solid foundation in child development, emotional well-being, and the power of a good listening ear. As a registered BACP member (392483), I work in accordance with their code of practice and ethical framework.
I love helping young people tackle emotional, behavioural, and mental health struggles head-on. I often team up with families, teachers, and school staff to create a support network that helps kids thrive — because no one should have to figure it all out alone.
Some of the areas I’m especially passionate about include:
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Supporting young people with ADHD
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Helping parents build stronger, healthier relationships with their children
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Giving young people practical tools to handle low self-esteem, anxiety, and social worries
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Supporting young people through relational struggles, loss, and bereavement
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Boosting self-awareness, confidence, and emotional resilience
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Guiding young people through life’s big (and small) transitions
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Unpacking intergenerational trauma and its impact
At the heart of it all, I’m here to empower children and young people to feel more confident, resilient, and hopeful — whether that’s through one-on-one sessions, family work, or collaborating with schools. Every young person deserves to feel seen, heard, and valued — and I’m committed to helping make that happen in a way that feels supportive, approachable, and yes, even a little bit fun.
Email address: ejhcounselling@gmail.com
Linked in Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erica-hamilton-0a4b2626/
Penny Hackney
Founder and Charity Manager
Penny founded the charity in 2010 and along with the help and support of our strong board of trustees.
email; penny.hackney@hotmail.com
Gemma Murphy
Hi, my name is Gemma and I am a qualified integrative therapist and work with children, young people and adults. I am a registered member of the BACP.
Prior to counselling, I have always had a passion for people. I have worked for the Probation Service and Children's Services, supporting families and children where I had a particular interest in upbringing and trauma. I have had training with the Samaritans, Victim Support, Winston's wish to name a few and completed my counselling qualifications at Guildford College. I have experience with anxiety, trauma, self harm, low self-esteem, bereavement and relationship difficulties and much more.
If you or your child is experiencing anxiety, anger, feeling low or overwhelmed and feel unheard or misunderstood, I am here to listen and to help. Sometimes it can feel isolating when these feelings persist, but I offer a safe and supportive space where you can share these feelings, without judgement.
Contact me by email;gemrosey@yahoo.co.uk