About Smile
Our goal at Smile is to help as many people as possible live well alongside a difficult long-term health condition, such as diabetes, cancer or long covid.
Research shows that people with long-term health conditions are 2-3 times more likely to develop a mental health condition than average. While over half of carers are also treated for anxiety, depression or stress.
But patients and carers are so much more than a statistic and our mission is to support people’s wellbeing and enable them to live well, whatever health condition they are dealing with.
We do this through our mental health app - the first to be designed for people managing chronic physical health conditions - and our work with organisations and health professionals.
Meet the Founders
Emma Amoscato
Founder & CEO
Emma is the founder and CEO of Smile. Emma has over 15 years’ experience as a health writer and is the author of two books. Following her family’s experiences of multiple chronic health conditions, and her own mental health challenges, she built Smile. Emma studied a masters in the psychology and neuroscience of mental health at King’s College London and is a mental health trainer for CPSL Mind.
King's College London Entrepreneurship ArticleWomen in Wellness Article
Faye Ingram
Co-founder and COO
Faye is co-founder and COO of Smile. She is a chartered management accountant and has worked in several different sectors in senior leadership roles. Combined with her own mental health challenges, her roles as a school governor, charity trustee and employer have driven her curiosity for the interconnectedness of mental health in all aspects of our life and the resources needed to support it well.
Stroud News and Journal Article
ORCHA assess listed health apps and digital health products to ensure they meet relevant clinical, data, privacy, accessibility and usability standards. Smile App has been approved by ORCHA and is available in their library for health and care professionals to recommend to their patients and service providers. Smile App has been rated by ORCHA and is available in their library for health and care professionals to recommend to their patients and service providers.
Meet The Therapists
Dr Aneesh Shravat
Counselling Psychologist
Dr Aneesh Shravat is a Counselling Psychologist with over 10 years’ experience of working as a HCPC registered Practitioner Psychologist.
Aneesh has worked in a variety of NHS and charity settings including an internationally renowned neuropsychological service and he is currently a Senior Psychologist in a Cancer Centre based at Addenbrookes Hospital.
Aneesh uses different evidence based therapeutic approaches including CBT, ACT, and Compassion focused therapies and he is trained to undertake Mindfulness based therapies too. He obtained his Doctorate in Counselling Psychology from London City University and a Masters in Clinical Psychology from Bangor University.
Aneesh has a strong interest in the role of compassion in helping with the stresses of today’s hectic world, and he has published research in this area.
Charlie O’Brien
Clinical Hypnotherapist
Clinical Hypnotherapist, EFT Practitioner, Mindfulness Teacher and Life Coach with ongoing Psychotherapy training
Charlie O’Brien is what’s known as an ‘integrative therapist’ meaning she combines many psychotherapeutic approaches to find the right fit for each client.
Charlie believes that we all have the inner resources we need within us – but sometimes we need a little help accessing those resources and working on new patterns and habits. Much of this work can be done when the critical mind has been quietened down through hypnosis or mindfulness.
Charlie runs a busy private practice from seeing face to face clients in Bromley, South East London and also sees clients on Zoom from all over the UK. Charlie is a big believer in empowering people to learn tools to help and support their own mental wellbeing.
Dr Francesca Sawer
Clinical Psychologist
Francesca is an experienced senior clinical psychologist with 10 years experience working within the NHS and private practice.
She specialises in supporting children, teenagers and young adults with all aspects of their mental health and emotional wellbeing and has a keen interest in the field of paediatrics, the link between physical and mental health and understanding children’s development and factors which impact on this.
She currently works as a senior clinician at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children and previously led the psychology team at Children’s Allergy Service at the Evelina Children’s Hospital, as well as a busy intensive care department in central London
Dr Sula Windgassen
Health Psychologist
Dr Sula Windgassen is a health psychologist, cognitive behavioural therapist and EMDR therapist with over 10 years working with people who have chronic illness in the NHS, academia and now in private practice.
Alongside private practice, Sula continues to contribute to the research with a specialist interest in women’s health & urogynaecological disorders.
Sula has a PhD and doctoral qualification in health psychology awarded at King’s College London. She has collaborated in the design, development and assessment
of psychological interventions for a range of physical health conditions including IBS, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis and painful bladder syndromes.
Sula has experienced the impact of persistent bladder and pelvic symptoms and is a passionate advocate for women’s health.
Tamara Hubbard, MA, LCPC
Counsellor
Tamara Hubbard is a US-based family therapy-trained licensed clinical professional counsellor with over 18 years of clinical experience. She helps people and parents navigating life with chronic health conditions, such as allergic diseases, develop a workable mindset to find their “just right” balance between overwhelm and quality of life.
She primarily uses a behavioural, mindfulness-based approach known as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), but also incorporates other therapeutic approaches t teach her clients crucial skills to support their well-being.
Also the parent of an allergic child, Tamara is founder and CEO of The Food Allergy Counselor, Inc., which is an allergy psychosocial resource hub offering evidence-based insights and tips, an international allergy-informed therapist directory, podcast and therapeutic worksheets for those managing allergic diseases.
https://www.foodallergycounselor.com/
Our commitment to UN Sustainable Development Goals
Smile's main objective is to ensure that there is access to appropriate mental health resources for everyone who needs them.
In line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, our work sits under ‘good health and wellbeing’ by helping to ensure healthy lives and promoting wellbeing for anyone of any age. Health inequalities can often leave people feeling unsupported but it is important that people who cannot afford therapy, or cannot access it because of a health condition, still feel help is available to them.
The Smile app offers a service for those who are most vulnerable to health inequalities, giving them the opportunity for a better quality of life. Improving a person's mental health when they have a chronic health condition not only supports their wellbeing but can also make them more likely to adhere to treatment and therefore have better physical health. Additionally, by using the Smile app there will be less need for travel to multiple GP appointments, and a reduction in medication wastage, which in turn could also reduce the carbon footprint per patient and support sustainability.
Self compassion and self care
Learn to treat yourself with the love and respect you deserve and
discover ways to build healthy habits into your day, whatever physical
health challenges you face.
Investigate your thoughts
Start to look at your thoughts in a different way with exercises based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).
Mindfulness
Spending too much time worrying about the future or replaying the
past is unhelpful, so we help you focus more on the present moment.
Love and let go
Find ways to let go of limiting beliefs and focus on how you can incorporate more of what you love into your life using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).
Emotional regulation
Learn simple coping strategies that can help you manage big emotions and calm your body and brain when you are feeling anxious, stressed or overwhelmed.
