A multi-disciplinary team
behind every placement

Brian has a wealth of experience working across the care sector — children's homes, trauma-informed work with children and young people, harm-reduction work with homeless individuals, and personal and social development. Throughout his career he has steadily taken on more responsibility, gaining skills, training and qualifications along the way.

Brian has been Deputy Service Manager for a supported-living project (two houses, large staff team, adults with learning disabilities) and Service Manager for a supported-living service in the homeless sector — successfully managing large staff teams, budgets and the operations of a 60-bed hostel. He spent a year with a large domiciliary care company as NI Compliance Manager, transitioning to UK Compliance Operations and ultimately leading the development of new business revenue streams and new services.

Brian has a keen eye for quality of care, high-level reporting, auditing and business development. Working directly with children and young people for over a decade, he has a full understanding of positive behaviour support, risk assessments, support and care plans, reporting procedures, safeguarding, and the importance of programmes, consistency, routines, relationship building and creating positive organisational cultures.

At Lifestyles, Brian works closely with the whole multi-disciplinary team, ensuring key service operational targets are fully achieved and that practice is of the highest quality.

Dr Mark Johnson is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist registered with the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) and is Chartered via the British Psychological Society (BPS).

Mark is Clinical Lead of the Regional Family Trauma Centre, a multi-disciplinary specialist trauma psychotherapy service based within the CAMHS network. He has worked therapeutically with children and families for over 25 years and provides trauma-focused team consultation, training, and group work across a range of health and social care settings.

Dean Nutt is the CEO of Larne YMCA, where he leads the organisation's work supporting children, young people, families and communities across the Larne area. With a strong background in community development and youth services, Dean is passionate about creating inclusive opportunities that help people thrive and feel connected within their local community.

Under his leadership, Larne YMCA has continued to expand its impact through programmes including childcare, youth work, autism support, community wellbeing initiatives and digital engagement projects. Dean is particularly committed to ensuring that services remain accessible, innovative and responsive to the changing needs of local families.

Dean believes strongly in the YMCA values of caring, honesty, respect and responsibility, and works closely with staff, volunteers, partners and stakeholders to strengthen community relationships and develop sustainable services that make a lasting difference.

Victoria McKenna is a qualified Social Worker with degrees in Law, Social Work, and Counselling. Since qualifying in 2018, she has worked across Mental Health, Criminal Justice, Adult Services, and Children and Families Social Work, specialising in safeguarding and child protection.

Victoria has extensive experience in Children's Gateway Intervention, Family Support, Looked After Children, Fostering, and Children's Court Work, alongside providing foster placements for children in need. Her professional background combines frontline practice, advocacy, and a strong commitment to improving outcomes for vulnerable children and families.

Her passion has always been ensuring children are protected, supported, and empowered to build strong foundations for their future.

Nicola is the Deputy House Manager and has been a committed member of the Lifestyles team for over two years before recently progressing into her new leadership role as Deputy House Manager. Throughout her time within residential childcare and social care services, she has supported children and young people with complex emotional and behavioural needs while building strong, trusting relationships with both young people and colleagues.

Nicola began her early career within the childcare sector before progressing into therapeutic residential care, where she developed a strong passion for trauma-informed practice and helping young people achieve positive outcomes. Throughout her career, she has worked across a variety of settings including preschool education, therapeutic residential services, and aftercare support, developing a strong passion for working with young people across different ages and stages of development.

Prior to becoming Deputy House Manager, Nicola worked as a Social Care Leader, gaining extensive experience leading teams, supporting staff development, coordinating care planning, and working closely with multidisciplinary professionals to provide high-quality, child-centred care.

Nicola holds a degree in Social Work from Queen's University Belfast and is trained in Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (TCI), CARE model, Child Protection, and Trauma-Informed Practice. She is passionate about creating safe, nurturing environments where young people feel supported, valued, and empowered to build resilience and independence.

In her role as Deputy House Manager, Nicola is committed to maintaining high standards of care, supporting her team, and ensuring every young person receives compassionate, therapeutic, and person-centred support.

David Gillen is an Independent Social Work Consultant with over 40 years of experience in children and family social work, leadership, safeguarding, court work, and professional education. He has held senior roles across statutory services, including Team Leader and Social Work Service Manager, and has worked independently since 2019 as a social work consultant, practice teacher, trainer, and expert witness.

His expertise includes child protection, care planning, fostering and adoption assessments, parenting capacity assessments, trauma-informed practice, and quality assurance in children's services. He is also an experienced educator and supervisor, supporting social work students, newly qualified practitioners, and international social workers.

David is currently involved with Lifestyles Residential Services as an Independent Compliance Manager, Professional Social Work Supervisor/Consultant and provides training and consultation regarding Trauma Informed Practice and Professional Boundaries/Safeguarding.