About Us

OUR COMPANY

Breaking Free Group is a high social impact company whose mission is to increase people's access to effective behaviour change interventions and empower them to overcome their addictive behaviours, wherever possible through self-management.

Since 2010 our UK-based team of clinical and research psychologists, behavioural scientists and substance misuse specialists has developed evidence-based digital interventions for problem drinking, drug misuse and smoking on a proprietary digital health platform we created by applying robust behavioural science.

These digital programmes deliver confidential and highly personalised support 24 hours a day, equipping people with the insights and specific techniques they need to achieve enduring behavioural change. They operate at a deep therapeutic level by targeting not only the addictive behaviours, but also the underlying cognitive, emotional, physiological and lifestyle issues that cause and maintain addictions.

Designed to be scalable, cost-effective and easy to deploy, our digital health innovations overcome many of the key barriers to treatment such as shame, stigma, waiting lists, lack of access to services, time constraints, geographical proximity and language.

Crucially, our solutions enable commissioners to deliver more evidence-based interventions with greater reach, consistency and treatment fidelity using fewer resources. Each one is supported by an online dashboard that demonstrates return on investment by tracking uptake, reach and clinical impact in real time, and by stratifying the anonymised, aggregated data to show performance against identified KPIs.

We seek to build long-term partnerships with the agencies and organisations that adopt our solutions. We engage, consult and support stakeholders at all levels – commissioners, service managers, substance misuse practitioners, healthcare professionals, service users and peer mentors – to maximise the therapeutic impact of our digital interventions.

At the heart of our approach is ongoing research and evaluation. As well as demonstrating the efficacy and clinical integrity of our interventions, this research provides valuable insights into the most effective ways of implementing and diffusing them in a wide range of settings.

OUR TEAM

DR JONATHAN WARD, MANAGING DIRECTOR

BA (Hons), MSc, Clin.Psy.D.

Jonathan co-founded the company in 2010, having previously been part of a leading psychological research group at the University of Manchester and practised as a Clinical Psychologist in the National Health Service, where he specialised in treating adults with mental health difficulties, many of whom were also impacted by addictions. An expert behavioral scientist, he has led from the outset on the design and clinical content of our digital health solutions alongside his focus on growing the business.

GLYN DAVIES, SERVICE DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

BSc (Hons), MSc (Econ)

Glyn has been with the company since its inception in 2010, having previously acquired deep sector knowledge through a series of roles in both the delivery and commissioning of substance misuse and criminal justice services. He is highly skilled at partnership building, including at governmental level, and at advising organizations on implementing our solutions in the optimal ways. He has also played an instrumental role in the development of our digital interventions.

DR SARAH ELISON-DAVIES, RESEARCH DIRECTOR

BSc (Hons), MSc, MPhil, PhD, C.Psychol

Sarah is a Chartered Psychologist and leading behavioral scientist in the addictions field. She joined us in 2013, having worked previously as an academic researcher in the National Health Service and at numerous UK universities. She leads on developing the evidence base for our digital solutions in collaboration with research scientists at leading academic institutions in the UK, US and Canada. This currently comprises 36 peer-reviewed studies, with several studies underway including three clinical trials.

KINGSLEY PINTO, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DIRECTOR

B.Eng, MBA

Kingsley joined us in 2015, having previously designed and implemented a proprietary, cross-platform, enterprise architecture and innovation management solution at Corso. He has been instrumental to designing the architecture of our solutions and selecting the technologies on which they are built, as well as having primary responsibility for our technical risk mitigation strategies and web development capabilities.

NICHOLETTE SMITH, OPERATIONS AND CLIENT SERVICES DIRECTOR

Nicholette is a highly experienced operations specialist who previously played a leading role in the delivery of multi-channel global medical communications programs for pharmaceutical companies such as Roche, AstraZeneca, and Novartis whilst working for 15 years at McCann Health. Since joining us in 2019, she has transformed our operational capabilities and developed a deep understanding of how the needs of our customers can most effectively be met.

PAUL FLETCHER, FINANCE DIRECTOR

ACCA

Paul has served as our Finance Director since 2017, having previously performed a range of senior financial management and accountancy roles at companies including technology-based SMEs and healthcare providers such as Craegmoor Healthcare and The Hospital Group. He has played a key role in shaping our strategic direction and channel partnerships and was appointed to the board of the company in September 2020.

LAUREN PITTARD, CLINICAL TRIALS CO-ORDINATOR

BSc (Hons)

Lauren is responsible for the development, set up and maintenance of Breaking Free Group’s portfolio of randomised controlled trials in both community and criminal justice settings. She also assists with other UK and international research projects currently being undertaken. Prior to joining us in 2020, she gained over 6 years of experience working on and managing Phase I, II and III pharmaceutical clinical studies in the private sector and National Health Service.

MATTHEW GOULD, FULL-STACK WEB DEVELOPER

BSc (Hons)

Matthew is responsible for developing and maintaining our web applications, creating responsive, interactive user interfaces and building secure, bespoke APIs for our customers. He also helps maintain our user databases, ensuring they are optimised for our ongoing programme of research into the effectiveness of our digital interventions. He joined us in 2016, having previously completed a degree in Computing Science.

AMANADA KENDALL, ACCOUNT DIRECTOR

Amanda joined us in 2021 and is responsible for building relationships and working closely with substance misuse service providers and Public Health teams in the implementation and delivery of our digital health solutions in the UK. She previously worked in the medical communications industry for over 20 years, managing and delivering accounts for global pharmaceutical clients across many different therapy areas including psychiatry.

CHRIS JUDGE, DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT MANAGER

BA (Hons), Diploma in Probation Studies

Chris works with organisations that commission our digital interventions in both the community and criminal justice sectors, helping them to integrate the Breaking Free solutions into their treatment systems and ensure effective implementation. Prior to joining us in 2019, he spent 16 years working in various roles in the criminal justice and substance misuse treatment sectors, including spells as a Senior Probation Officer and then Director of a regional drug and alcohol charity.

EMMA HILTON, CHANNEL MARKETING MANAGER

Adobe Suite

Emma leads on our marketing, external communications, and multi-channel stakeholder engagement initiatives. She is also involved in the process of designing the user interface of our digital interventions. She joined us in 2015, having worked previously in a marketing role in a fast-moving commercial environment at The Fragrance Shop, and in the public sector in a quality assurance role at Blackpool Social Services.