Sarah has been a Mental Health Professional for over 11 months, previously a MH Support worker since 2012. She has worked in the National Health Service delivering community mental health and recovery focussed services. Achieving a first class honours degree in Mental Health Nursing and the Deans’ List Award for highest academic achievement from the University of Southampton, Sarah aims to reduce health inequality by promoting access to mental health services, improving the clinical outcomes and experience of patients through the delivery of responsive and effective services; and has a passion for supporting and engaging her colleagues to be at their best through inclusive leadership. Sarah travelled to Connecticut as part of her Degree programme to research International Nursing. Sarah currently works for Isle of Wight NHS Trust – a integrated health care provider delivering Acute, Ambulance, Community, Mental Health and Learning Disability services to a population on circa 140,000.

Mat is a management accountant by background who worked in industry, the NHS and then self help group charities. Since 2016 he has been combining his lived experience as a patient with his professional skills in a digital mental health service user researcher role for the Institute of Mental Health combined with an Economic & Social Research Council funded PhD in online peer support. He is a co-founder of the Academy for Recovery Coaching CIC, a social enterprise which trains people in self-management skills and offers consultancy on coproduction.

Jessica Stone, Ph.D., RPT-S, is a licensed psychologist working in a private practice setting in the U.S. She has been a practitioner, professor, presenter, mentor, and author for more than 25 years.  Dr. Stone’s interest in therapeutic digital tools, specifically using virtual reality, tablets, and consoles, has culminated in clinical mental health use and research for mental health, medical, and crisis settings.  She is the co-creator of the Virtual Sandtray App for iPad (VSA) and the Virtual Sandtray for Virtual Reality (VSA-VR).  Dr. Stone has numerous publications to date including Integrating Technology into Modern Therapies, Game Play, Play Therapy Theory and Perspectives, and Digital Play Therapy in addition to numerous chapters in a variety of books.  She has served as the president of the California Association for Play Therapy branch, various roles within different committees, is a member of the AutPlay Advisory Board, and serves as an affiliate of the East Carolina University College of Education Neurocognition Science Laboratory.