Octopus Psychology

Octopus Psychology Octopus Psychology specialises in helping people recover from trauma, particularly experiences rooted in childhood abuse, neglect, or institutional harm such as bullying, whistleblowing, or boarding school environments.

Our in person and online services combine in depth psychological therapy, life coaching, and cutting edge neurotechnology to support nervous system regulation and long term healing. Whether you’re feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or burnt out, we tailor our work to help you move forward with clarity and confidence.

With over 30,000 hours of experience each, our doctoral level clinicians (HCPC registered) and Consultant Nurse Psychotherapist (NMC-registered, BABCP-accredited) provide a neuroscience-informed approach using clinical psychology, psychotherapy, coaching, and non-invasive neurotech tools such as NeurOptimal®, RoshiWave, and Safe & Sound Protocol.

Our work is grounded in compassion, confidentiality, and deep expertise in trauma recovery.

We offer complimentary consultations to craft the right therapeutic pathway for you, with flexible delivery via Oundle or online.

Enhance your emotional regulation, focus & flow, proprioception and sleep

03/12/2025

Whilst the nation is concerned with grooming gangs, shouldn’t we be equally as concerned about some of the organisations we fund? What role does the UN play in the sexual abuse of children and what could be done about it? This week, Naomi and David are joined by Professor of Law, Andrew MacLeod

Look for Locked Up Living wherever you get your podcasts or find links to watch, listen or read the transcript in the comments

01/12/2025

UN: A force for good?
Or like the Roman Catholic Church, elite football academies, Oxfam, is the UN also a cloak? This week David and Naomi publish a conversation with UN Whistleblower Professor Andrew MacLeod.

From Wednesday at 6 am. Find us wherever you get your podcasts or look for Locked Up Living Podcast on YouTube.

29/11/2025

Wolves in sheep's clothing....

In our latest Locked Up Living podcast, Helen Evans shares her powerful story of uncovering systemic sexual abuse at Oxfam—and the personal cost of speaking out. From under-resourcing safeguarding to the realities of whistleblowing (including PTSD and community backlash), Helen Evans reveals what it really takes to create change in large organisations and why neurodivergent voices matter more than ever.

A must-listen for anyone committed to ethical leadership, safeguarding, and inclusion.

Tune in now and join the conversation!

Look for Locked Up Living wherever you get your podcasts – YouTube, Apple, Google, Spotify etc or via the links in the comments

26/11/2025

Abuse dressed up as Aid.

In this episode, Dr Naomi Murphy and David Jones are joined by Helen Evans, former Global Head of Safeguarding at Oxfam. Helen shares her powerful whistleblowing journey, uncovering systemic sexual exploitation within the organisation and the emotional toll of advocating for survivors while facing resistance from leadership.

Key themes include:
• The systemic challenges of safeguarding in the aid sector
• The human cost of speaking out against wrongdoing
• The importance of neurodiversity in ethical leadership and whistleblowing
• Strategies for organisational and sector-wide change in safeguarding practices

This episode is a must-listen for those interested in institutional transparency, safeguarding, social justice, and the lived experiences of change-makers.

Look for Locked Up Living wherever you get your podcasts – YouTube, Apple, Google, Spotify etc or via the links in the comments

24/11/2025

What does a male survivor of csa look like?
Everyman. He could be any man. In any walk of life. But there are millions of you. Don’t walk alone.

To join Inside The Boys Club and connect follow the link in the comments

23/11/2025

Would it feel frightening to hear your loved one was sexually abused in childhood?
It doesn’t mean he’s broken or weak. He’s been living with that extra burden for years. If your partner, your brother, your son or dad tells you this happened to them, give them space and time to share it. Reassure them that you believe them. Remind them that you love them. Allow them to be vulnerable and know that’s a temporary state. It takes courage to acknowledge vulnerability as a male. And the strong man you know and love is still there. He will be even more resilient when he’s not having to deal with a secret.

Join Inside The Boys Club as an ally to access resources to help you know how best to support the man in your life when the resources drop.

There’s a link to Inside The Boys Club in the comments.



Sane Seven, Marius Janciauskas, Andy Woodward, Tobi Tarquin, Rafael Viola, Dan, Joe Sabien, Hugh Venables and Kerry Hopkins have all made this campaign happen

22/11/2025

Tears are an evolutionary driven behaviour. When we cry, we communicate that we’re distressed and we need comfort. It’s the offer of comfort that eases the pain.

When we suppress our tears, we put strain on our body. As a long-term strategy, suppressing pain is corrosive. It turns pain into anger. It’s displaced onto others or starts corroding our own bodies.

Prisons are full of sad people who’ve learned as children that it’s dangerous to cry when you’re sad. So instead, they transform their sadness into rage with dangerous consequences. In the population I worked with, 66% had experienced sexual abuse (Murphy & Lawrence, 2025).

Most people who are abused as children don’t end up in jail. But of those who are in jail, most of them have been very badly hurt as children. How different our society might look if we kept our children safe from harm.

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Link to paper, resources and Inside The Boys Club Substack in comments



Sane Seven, Marius Janciauskas, Andy Woodward, Tobi Tarquin, Rafael Viola, Dan, Joe Sabien, Hugh Venables and Kerry Hopkins have all made this campaign happen

21/11/2025

Boys are significantly less likely than girls to disclose sexual abuse (Rapsey et al, 2017). That's why it’s so important that people like Martin Daubney of GB News are willing to give this important issue coverage. Thanks very much to Martin for having us on for International Mens Day.

• Link to resources and Inside The Boys Club Substack in comments



Sane Seven, Marius Janciauskas, Andy Woodward, Tobi Tarquin, Rafael Viola, Dan, Joe Sabien, Hugh Venables and Kerry Hopkins have all made this campaign happen

21/11/2025

Boys are significantly less likely than girls to disclose sexual abuse (Rapsey et al, 2017). That's why it’s so important that people like Martin Daubney of GB News are willing to give this important issue coverage. Thanks very much to Martin for having us on for International Mens Day.

• Link to resources and Inside The Boys Club Substack in comments


Thanks to Sane Seven, Marius Janciauskas, Andy Woodward, Tobi Tarquin, Rafael Viola, Dan, Joe Sabien, Hugh Venables and Kerry Hopkins who've all played a big part in this campaign

20/11/2025

If this resonates with you don’t suffer in silence.

• Shame is used to control you. Perpetrators intentionally make children feel ashamed of what happened. They tell you the abuse has to be kept secret. Threaten that “if you tell, you will be punished or sent away”. “There will be bad consequences if you speak up”. They load the shame that belongs with them onto the child. If the abuse still feels like a shameful secret even now, you’re still being controlled

• Shame is toxic – it makes us want to hide, to shrink away, we collapse in on ourselves and hope that “what a bad person we’ve been” won’t be noticed. Children who’ve been sexually abused often end up feeling everything about them is bad or shameful

• Living with shame runs counter to the human need to be seen and to belong. We can’t fully experience a sense of belonging if we are keeping big secrets about ourselves. Belonging is good for our physical and mental health. Shame and the shrinking that comes with it puts our physical and mental health under strain – it’s associated with anxiety, depression, C-PTSD, suicidality, substance misuse and relationship breakdown.

• If you’re brave enough to stand up to that internal programme that’s running, to stand up to the shame, to speak your truth, you can get a different perspective. Your perspective can be shifted from “I’ve done a bad thing” to “A bad thing was done to me”.

19/11/2025

There’s a reason why all the men in our campaign are over 40. Men often suffer in silence for at least two decades.

Those years of silence represent years of living with a feeling that you’re set apart from everyone else. That you’re living with a secret that feels shameful. Years of putting your physical and emotional health under the added strain of toxic shame.

That shame doesn’t belong with you. Shed the shame. Trust someone you love to see this.

Like and share in the hope it reaches someone for whom it really matters

18/11/2025

Around a third of survivors of sexual abuse are male – maybe more when you factor in the additional barriers to them speaking up.

Why is it so hard for them to discuss it?

Thanks very much to Sonia Poulton for inviting me and Andy Woodward onto her show yesterday morning to discuss this initiative for International Men’s Day tomorrow (19th November). Here’s a short clip.

Sonia is always very generous in giving space to discuss surviving abuse. There’s a link to her YouTube Channel in the comments.

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