Clinical Leadership

Dr Rudi Coetzer, Director Of Clinical Services

Dr Coetzer is the Clinical Director of Brainkind. He is an Honorary Professor at Bangor University and at Swansea University. His main clinical and academic interests are neuropsychological assessment and rehabilitation of people with acquired brain injury and other neurological conditions, clinical leadership, and service development. Dr Coetzer is on the Specialist Register of the British Psychological Society Division of Neuropsychology. He previously worked in the NHS for more than 2 decades as a Consultant Neuropsychologist.

Dr Miles Rogish, Consultant Clinical Psychologist

Miles is the Consultant Clinical Psychologist/Neuropsychologist at York House, York. He has worked for Brainkind since 2003 at our two hospitals in Yorkshire (York House and Goole Neurorehabilitation Centre). He trained and worked at the University of Florida and worked for the University of Hull as a Clinical Tutor in the Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychological Therapies. Dr Rogish is currently an Associate Lecturer in the Psychology department at the University of York. His research interests include the impact of developmental or neurological disabilities on family functioning, cross cultural research in the treatment of a variety of neuropsychological and developmental disorders, and the impact of varying support strategies on staff resilience and work satisfaction.

Dr Mar Matarin

Dr Mar Matarin is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist at Graham Anderson House. She has more than 17 years of clinical experience in public and private health settings, including at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, the Frenchay Brain Injury Rehabilitation Centre, and the Hospital Vall d’Hebrond ‘Hebron, Barcelona. She has worked and published extensively in academic research institutions, including posts held at the National Institutes of Health, USA, and University College London. Currently, she holds the position of Honorary Senior Lecturer at the Queen Square Institute of Neurology, where she researches various neurological disorders using genetic, cognitive, and behavioural approaches.

Dr Sara da Silva Ramos, Senior Research Fellow

Sara is a Chartered Psychologist who started her career in Portugal, working at the Language Research Laboratory, Institute of Molecular Medicine, before moving to England, where she completed a Masters in Cognitive Neuropsychology and a PhD investigating the relationship between language and cognition. Sara’s current research focuses on the outcomes of acquired brain injury rehabilitation and the use of technology to assess and support independent living skills. She is also interested in initiatives that promote the engagement of the public in science and research.

Pieter du Toit

Pieter du Toit is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist for Brainkind’s brain injury services in the Midlands and is based at Fen House, Ely. He has over 20 years of experience working as a clinical psychologist in public and private health settings, including as Principal Clinical Psychologist at the Oliver Zangwill Centre for Neurorehabilitation. He has authored peer-reviewed articles, chapters, and books relevant to clinical psychology. Pieter held a post as Deputy Clinical Director in the Doctoral Training Programme in Clinical Psychology at the University of Essex, where he holds an Honorary Senior Lecturer position.

Dr Christopher Byrne

Dr Christopher Byrne is a Principle Clinical Psychologist for Brainkind based at Redford Court, Liverpool. He completed his doctoral training in 2016 at Bangor University and has since worked clinically within community neurorehabilitation. Dr Byrne has published many peer-reviewed articles in neuropsychological rehabilitation and won the British Neuropsychological Society’s Humphries and Riddoch Prize in 2021.

Helen Giblin

Helen qualified as a registered general nurse in 1991. She worked initially in Trauma and Orthopaedics. In 2007 she joined the Brainkind as a senior Nurse at the Goole Neurorehabilitation Centre. She worked there until 2013 latterly as the service manager.

Sara Goldstone

Sara is a Clinical Lead Occupational Therapist. Sara has worked as an Occupational Therapist in several clinical areas, including mental health, orthopaedics, and general medicine, but early on realised, she had a passion for neurological rehabilitation. Sara has worked in the NHS as a brain injury case manager and in the private sector. She has long seen the benefits and values the opportunity to work in the psychology-led model. Sara has been with Brainkind since 2007 as the Senior OT at Kerwin Court and, more recently, as Clinical Lead OT for the brain injury division of Brainkind. Sara is committed to ensuring that our service users receive high-quality rehabilitation and working with the OT teams across the Brainkind to support their learning and development, clinical governance, and outcomes.

Jan McIntosh-Brown

Jan is a Clinical Lead Speech and Language Therapist. Jan completed her speech and hearing science degree in Australia and worked for 13 years in the community with children and young people with disabilities. Jan had various roles, from speech pathologist to service manager. In 2011 she relocated to Scotland and worked as a speech and language therapist at the brain injury division of Brainkind’s service in Glasgow, Graham Anderson House. At the end of 2019, Jan became the Clinical Lead for speech and language therapy for Brainkind and the senior specialist speech and language therapist at Graham Anderson House.

Jenny Woodgate, Clinical Lead Physiotherapist

Jenny Woodgate is a Clinical Lead Physiotherapist based at Kerwin Court. Neurological rehabilitation is Jenny’s passion, and she chose to specialise in this area early in her career. Since graduating from the University of East Anglia in 1997, Jenny has worked in various settings within the NHS, including acute rehabilitation and the community. In 2003, Jenny joined the team at the Sussex Rehabilitation Centre and worked there for 15 years as a Band 6, then as their Physiotherapy Team Lead. Jenny has also worked in Brain Injury rehabilitation units in Australia, New Zealand, and the UK.