About Smile
Smile is the first mental health app to support people managing chronic physical health conditions.
Research shows that people managing with chronic health conditions are 2-3 times more likely to develop a mental health condition than average. But you are so much more than a statistic and we want to help support your wellbeing and enable you to live your best life, whatever difficult diagnosis you are dealing with.
There are five core elements to Smile, drawing on evidence-based, clinical therapies:
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.
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.
Investigate your thoughts
Start to look at your thoughts in a different way with exercises based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).
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.
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 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.
Faye Ingram
Co-founder and COO
Faye is co-founder and COO of Smile. She is a chartered management accountant with 15 years experience in senior roles across various sectors including healthcare. Her personal mental health challenges have given her a drive to understand and do more to help others with their mental health journeys. She is also a trustee for a mental health charity.
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.
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