Our Addiction Specialists Team

Dr. Margaret McCann

CEO & Co-Founder

In 1988 Dr McCann moved with her husband to Scotland where they founded Castle Craig Hospital in Peeblesshire.

Dr McCann has presented at a number of medical conferences in the UK. She is committed to promoting and sharing best practice in the addiction field.

Peter McCann

Chairman

After studying economics and psychology at Trinity College Dublin, and a career in the City of London, Peter McCann established the Life Anew Trust in 1981 alongside his wife, Dr Margaret Ann McCann. Life Anew was a charity that promoted Minnesota Model addiction treatment in the UK at a time when this treatment approach was virtually non-existent.

In 1982 Peter and Margaret Ann founded Clouds House, a drug and alcohol treatment centre in Wiltshire. After successfully running Clouds for five years when it gained an international reputation, they moved to Peeblesshire in Scotland where they in turn opened Castle Craig in 1988. Clouds, in partnership with its associated charities, has recently received the royal patronage of HRH The Duchess of Cambridge.

Peter has presented at many conferences in the field of addiction, written papers on addiction and belongs to a number of professional organisations. In the early 1990s Peter founded EATA (European Addiction Treatment Agency) and five years ago Peter was elected on to the Board of the International Council of Alcohol and Addictions.

He is an expert on cross-border EU Healthcare and is currently pioneering the use of hyperbaric oxygen treatment in addiction care.

Dominic McCann

Head of Development

Dominic has worked at Castle Craig since 2009. He spent several years working with charities in the UK, Eastern Europe and in Germany. This work encompassed child-care, learning disabilities, relief and development, NGO resource building and healthcare, including addiction care.

He studied Modern History at the University of Edinburgh.

Prof. Jonathan Chick

Medical Director

Prof. Jonathan Chick

Medical Director, MA (Cantab), MPhil, MBChB, DSc, FRCPsych, FRCPE

Professor Jonathan Chick joined Castle Craig in 2014 as the new medical director. Professor Chick is an eminent consultant psychiatrist with a distinguished career in the National Health Service.

Professor Chick was a leading researcher in the addiction field for a number of years and has been published extensively in peer-reviewed journals. He is currently the chief editor of Alcohol and Alcoholism, which is the official journal of the Medical Council on Alcohol.

Professor Chick is an elected member of the scientific council of the Societe Francaise d'Alcoologie and is a member of the board of trustees of the General Services Office of Alcoholics Anonymous in the UK. Professor Chick is also the author of Understanding Alcohol and Drinking Problems, in association with the British Medical Association.

Dr. Maria Kelly

Associate Medical Director

Dr. Maria Kelly

Associate Medical Director, MBChB, DipPsych, MRCPsych

Dr Maria Kelly joined Castle Craig in 2014 as the new associate medical director.

Dr. Kelly is a distinguished consultant psychiatrist with a background in the NHS of general and forensic psychiatry and the psychiatry of learning disability.

Her specialist interests include psychotherapy and family therapy.

Dr. Florian Kaplick

Consultant Psychiatrist

Dr. Florian Kaplick

Consultant Psychiatrist

Dr Kaplick studied medicine at the Friedrich-Alexander-University, Erlangen (Germany) with additional training in England and New Zealand.

His postgraduate training was based at the Psychosomatic Hospital in Extertal-Lassbruch and the Department of Psychiatry of the University Hospital of Erlangen where he specialised in Psychiatry with special interest in psychotherapy, addictions, eating disorders, music and art therapies.

From 1996 to 1999 he worked in the Psychiatric Hospital of Engelthal (Bavaria, Germany) where he led the team for social psychiatry and psychotherapy as well as being appointed to found a new department for the treatment of drug dependence (developing a new concept of a three month in-patient-treatment with detoxification and group psychotherapy).

Dr Kaplick was awarded a PhD from Erlangen University for his research and thesis on 'The Use of Brain Mapping as an Automatic Tool to Evaluate EEGs in Alcohol Withdrawal’, carried out in cooperation with the Oberbergklinik Hornberg.

In 2005 he finished with distinction an additional course of two years studies in 'Economics in Medicine' for medical personnel, run by the University of Erlangen/Nuremberg in co-operation with the municipal hospital of Nuremburg.

Dr Kaplick is also trained in the areas of Eating Disorders, Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, Behavioural Psychotherapy, Energy Psychotherapy and Progressive Relaxation.

Dr Kaplick's personal interests include languages, travel and music, which he has studied at the Nuremberg Conservatory of Music.

Janice Stewart

Operations Manager

Janice trained as a Registered General Nurse in the Royal Infirmary Edinburgh. On qualifying, she then moved to Bellshill Maternity Hospital, Lanarkshire and became a registered midwife. This led to Janice studying at Bell College Hamilton where she gained her post graduate qualiification of Clinical Nurse Specialist (Public Health) Registered Health Visitor.

Janice worked with NHS Lanarkshire as a Health Visitor before making a career change from healthcare into the family manufacturing business as Company Secretary. Janice returned to the healthcare sector in 2001, working in Nuffield Hospital Glasgow as Quality Assurance Manager. Whilst working at Nuffield, Janice completed both a Bachelor’s degree in Business and Management with Stirling University, as well as a Return to Practice course with Scotnursing and Glasgow Caledonian University.

Janice moved into the elderly care sector in 2005 working for 12 years with Barchester Healthcare in a variety of senior clinical posts. The last post she worked at was Divisional Clinical Lead, providing clinical advice and support to 65 homes within the Northern Division. Janice started at Castle Craig in September 2018 as Operations Manager, and continues to enjoy the challenges this varied and interesting post offers.

Victoria McCann

Senior Communications Manager

Daniel Gouws

Chief Financial Officer

Dr Simona Markovits

Resident Medical Officer

Dawn Dixon

Head Nurse

Dawn Dixon

Head Nurse

Mark Abrami

ITU Unit Lead

Roseanne Boyle

Women's Unit Lead Therapist

Roseanne Boyle

Senior Therapist & Lead Therapist for the Serenity Unit

Roseanne leads the women's Serenity Unit, and plays a key role in maintaining standards and implementing therapeutic procedures within the Castle Craig Extended Treatment facility.

Roseanne joined Castle Craig as a Trainee Therapist in 2004 and gained a Diploma in Addictions Counselling from Castle Craig in August 2005. Roseanne is a certified Reality Therapy practitioner and has obtained the IC&RC qualification. She facilitates the Eating Disorder group and she is also a practitioner member of COSCA (Counselling and Psychotherapy in Scotland).

Before joining Castle Craig Roseanne obtained an HNC in counselling and worked in the Financial Services Industry for 11 years.

Dr. Maciej Iwanowicz

Specialist Therapist

Doctorate of Counselling Psychology, MSc in Clinical Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience.

Maciej is a Doctorate-level Counselling Psychologist with an additional Masters degrees in Clinical Psychology and Cognitive Neurosciencemore, and more than a decade of experience working within a variety of addiction and mental health settings.

Practising as a clinician, manager and a researcher within private, third sector and hospital settings, Maciej has gained a detailed and broad understanding of how to best work with and approach people struggling with addictions, depression, anxiety, family issues as well as personality, mood and neurodegenerative disorders. He has been trained in various psychological (clinical, counselling, social, neuroscience, statistics) and psychotherapeutic (CBT, PCT, ACT, CFT, MI) approaches and modalities, written for medical journals, and took active part in a number of research projects.  

While working with addictions he uses the combined concepts of the Stages of Change and Motivational Interviewing (MI) with the psychological underpinnings of Person Centred Therapy (PCT), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), integrated models of therapy as well as the fundamentals of the biopsychosocial model.

"I use my personal experiences relating to addiction, trauma, depression, anxiety, family issues, as well as psychological, psychotherapeutic and neuro-scientific knowledge to help patients into recovery. I work collaboratively and flexibly in a safe and non-judgemental environment where patients feel heard, understood and supported. I always put patients and their individual needs at the forefront of therapy because we can’t fit our patients into one single framework because of the complexity of addiction and the way it combines with other mental health issues and disorders."

Phillip Baron

Men's Unit Lead Therapist

Phillip Baron

Senior Therapist & Lead Therapist for the Extended Care Men's Unit

Phillip leads the Extended Treatment Men's Unit, and plays a key role in maintaining standards and implementing therapeutic procedures within the Castle Craig Extended Treatment facility.

Phillip joined Castle Craig in May 2013, with 20 years’ professional experience in addiction treatment as therapist, service manager and director of services with various organisations.

Phillip is fully accredited with the National Association of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Counsellors (NAADAC), and holds an Advanced Certificate in Counselling, an NLP Certificate, an NVQ4 in Leadership and Management in Social Care, and a registered manager qualification. He is trained in both clinical and management supervision, dual diagnosis/complex needs, presentations and media, serious incidents and risk assessment, and advanced leadership. Phillip specialises in pathological gambling, compulsive sexual addiction, service development, training and regulatory compliance.

Aureol Gillan

ITU Unit Lead

Aureol Gillan

Senior Therapist

Aureol Gillan is a Senior Specialist Therapist at Castle Craig Hospital. Aureol currently leads our all-male intensive treatment facility, Kirkurd. Aureol has also run equine therapy at Castle Craig for many years and three of her horses have a permanent home on the estate.

She has been working at Castle Craig from 1989 to 2012, and 2014- present.

Aureol is an Equine Assisted Therapy Facilitator and a member of COSCA (Counselling & Psychotherapy in Scotland) and EAGALA (Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association).

Aureol Gillan in the News:

Daily Record, Horse Sense

The Scotsman, Helping Hand to Beat the Demon Drink.

The Herald, Spending Time with Horses: Is this the Perfect Therapy?

Equine Assisted Therapy on BBC Alba, Gaelic Language.

Tony Marini

Specialist Senior Therapist

Tony Marini

Specialist Therapist

Tony began training and working at Castle Craig Hospital in 2013 and gained the Diploma in integrated Counselling from Edinburgh College in 2010. Tony currently works in the Intensive Treatment unit as a therapist and is a BACP practitioner member.

He attained a Postgraduate Diploma in Person Centred psychotherapy in 2014 at The University of Strathclyde under the tuition of the renowned lecturer and author Robert Elliot. Tony is a member of our specialist therapy team working with gambling, gaming and internet disorders.

Frank O’Hare

Specialist Therapist

Lindsay Wilson

Senior Therapist

BSc(Hons) Pharmacy, PGDip. in Person-Centred Counselling

Lindsay joined the staff team at Castle Craig Hospital in 2016 after working for several years within the community addictions teams in Lanarkshire.

After an initial period of working in our Intensive Treatment Unit she is now an established member of our Extended Care Unit at Castle Craig Hospital.

Lindsay has a COSCA certificate and Post Graduate Diploma in Person-Centred Counselling from the University of Strathclyde.

Lindsay has a BSc(Hons) in Pharmacy and maintains an interest in pharmacology and the neuroscience of addiction. She is particularly interested in trauma and attachment in relation to recovery.

Lindsay is a practitioner member of COSCA and BACP.

Teri Lyn Fairnie

Senior Specialist Therapist

Senior Specialist Therapist, MS in Mental Health Counselling

Angela Thomson

Specialist Therapist

Angela Thomson

Therapist

Angela joined Castle Craig in 2017 and currently works in the Serenity Unit at extended care.
She graduated in 2017 with a level 5 diploma in Integrative Psychotherapuetic counselling. Before working at Castle Craig Hospital, she had previous experience in working in an alcohol and drug rehabilitation centre and delivering group therapy/individual sessions.
Since working at Castle Craig, she has achieved an IC&RC accreditation as a certified drug and alcohol counsellor. She is a registered member of the BACP and has a special interest in working with trauma.

Kane Duffy

Therapist

Louise Forrest

Specialist Therapist

Louise Forrest

Therapist

Louise Forrest joined Castle Craig as a trainee therapist in August 2017.

Gerard Mulrooney

Therapist

Gerard Mulrooney

Specialist Therapist

Gerard joined the Castle Craig Hospital team in 2015 and currently works in the Extended Treatment Unit.

His career in 12 Step Facilitation started in early 2006. He qualified as a Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist in 2013. Gerard is IC&RC qualified and is also registered with BACP (British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy).

Before working in the field of addiction, Gerard gained a BSc in Computer Networking in 2006.

Victoria Greenshields

Senior Therapist

Victoria Wood

Therapist

Victoria began training and working at Castle Craig Hospital in 2016 and is currently a therapist in the women's Serenity Unit at Extended Care.

She achieved an undergraduate degree with honours in Psychology and a Masters in Forensic Psychology before working as an assistant clinical psychologist for 18 months.

She is trained in CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) and previously delivered group and individual therapy before coming to Castle Craig.

Jim Ferguson

Specialist Therapist

Jim joined the therapy team at Castle Craig in August 2017. In addition to working privately he has also provided counselling for a number of organisations including the Drugs and Alcohol Project in Fife. Jim studied at the University of Edinburgh where he gained a COSCA validated Diploma in Counselling and graduated with a Master’s Degree in Counselling and Psychotherapy. Jim is a member of COSCA and BACP.

William Allan

Therapist

Catherine McLean

Therapist

Paul Durkin

Therapist

Paul Durkin

Therapist

Paul joined Castle Craig as a therapist in June 2013. He has a certificate in counselling and a diploma in psychotherapy, as well as Hazelden international addiction counselling and counselling and addiction studies qualifications. Paul is fully accredited by the IAAAC, and is also a qualified life coach.

Paul is currently training in smoking cessation and will be taking an active part in managing the smoking cessation therapy programme at Castle Craig.

Jack McDonald

Therapist

Jack McDonald

Therapist

Jack came to Castle Craig in August 2007 from a background in teaching, social work and, latterly, 10 years as a Gestalt therapist, supervisor and trainer in private practice.

He is a BACP (British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy) registered therapist and UKPBADC (United Kingdom Professional Certification Board of Alcohol and Drug Counsellors) certified drug and alcohol counsellor.

During his time at Castle Craig he has undertaken a full range of duties as therapist and as team leader, supervisor and occasional training support. He has also furthered his interest in working with patients experiencing PTSD symptoms and has undertaken training in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy and EMDR Therapy.

Since formally retiring in July 2014 he has returned to work with patients who have experienced trauma for two days each week.

Timothy Seymour Smith

Therapist

Duncan Dewar

Senior Staff Nurse

Duncan Dewar

Senior Staff Nurse

Duncan joined Castle Craig as a Senior Staff Nurse in September 2017. He qualified as an enrolled nurse back in 1989 while working with the Scottish Prison service, where he was awarded the Butler Trust UK Award for his work with vulnerable inmates including addictions.

He later became involved in the first addiction services within the Scottish Prisons and helped introduce courses on reasoning and rehabilitation. In 1999 he attended the University of Dundee to gain his certificate as a Registered General Nurse and in 2004 he moved into the social care management and gained his qualifications in Health and Social Care. He has managed services for young people, learning disabilities and elderly nursing. Laterally he worked as a peripatetic manager supporting care homes over the Lothian and Fife regions.

Guy Heath

Senior Staff Nurse

Guy Heath

Senior Staff Nurse

In 2003, after 33 years in the National Health Service, nursing in many areas and hospitals throughout both England and Scotland, Guy joined the staff at Castle Craig Hospital.

His role currently includes “Smoking Cessation”, “Health Promotion”, “Equine Therapy” and “Crisis Intervention training” for staff.

As a musician, he also encourages musical programmes and activities.

Karen Watson

Senior Staff Nurse

Donna Campbell

Senior Nurse Assistant

Donna Campbell

Senior Nurse Assistant

Donna started work at Castle Craig in May 2004. She is part of the Intensive Treatment Team and has trained in Motivational Interviewing and also delivers the Auricular Acupuncture to both the Intensive Treatment and the Extended Care units.

Louise Spencer

Senior Staff Nurse

Sharon Lacey

Staff Nurse

Sharon Lacey is the Staff Nurse at Castle Craig Hospital

Margaret Nelson

Nursing Assistant

Romany Mitchell

Staff Nurse

Jillian Johnstone

Admissions Manager

Jillian Johnstone

Admissions Manager

Jillian has many years of experience as our Admissions Manager. She is the first point of contact for all enquiries about treatment at Castle Craig and can advise prospective patients, their families, their employers and also referrers (i.e. GPs, social workers) on questions about our admission arrangements.

You can contact Jillian on:

0808 149 6989 (international: +44 1721 788 006)

Jillian is always happy to answer any enquiries regarding admissions, or any general enquiries.

Bruce Tait

IT Manager

Bruce Tait

IT Manager

Since starting with Castle Craig Hospital 14 years ago Bruce has upgraded the network infrastructure to encompass the entire campus, and has gradually added an additional 60 computers to the network. He provides support for all network, communications, computer software and hardware. Telephone, e-mail and a connection to the Internet are essentials to the day to day running of the hospital.

Bruce has seen many changes at Castle Craig: “the biggest and most dramatic changes I have seen have been in some of the patients, the transformation from when they arrive to when they leave can be amazing.”

Bruce followed up a long term hobby/interest in computers by attending Heriot Watt University and graduating with an HND and BSc in Computing, and is a member of the British Computer Society.

Lucy Douglas

Assistant Governance Manager

Governance Support Manager

Donald Whitaker

Service Dev. Manager

Donald Whitaker

Service Development Manager

Donald joined Castle Craig in July 2013 as Client Service Manager, having previously held a number of administrative positions within the NHS in London, and then moving to South Africa, where he was Manager of Riverview Manor, a South African addiction treatment centre, from 2011 – 2013.

Donald has a BSocSci (Psych) Degree from the University of Natal.

Janey Lawson

HR Manager

Alison Mills

Senior Admissions Specialist

Alison Mills

Alison started working as an Admissions Officer at Castle Craig Hospital in 2009. She is a first point of contact for all enquiries about treatment at Castle Craig and can advise prospective patients, their families, their employers and also referrers (i.e. GPs, social workers) on questions about the admission arrangements.

Andrei Zamfir

Admissions Officer

Andrei Zamfir

Admissions Officer

Andrei has worked at Castle Craig since 2014. He spent a number of years working with charities in South-East Asia after graduating from Medical School as a Dentist. Andrei is committed to promoting the welfare of others and does so through his work in the admissions department as well as communications and marketing and any other tasks as directed by the senior management

Anne Goodall

Healthcare Call Handler

Alison McManus

Healthcare Call Handler

Jennifer Way

Medical Secretary

In charge of the front desk, Jennifer is the first point of contact when a patient arrives at Castle Craig. She gives patients a warm welcome as the arrive into treatment.

Christina Walker

Transport Manager

Christina Walker

Transport Manager

Catriona Taylor

Art Group Facilitator

Art Group Facilitator, BA Drama, BA(Hons) Painting, MA Fine Art.

After a career in the theatre Catriona went to Edinburgh College of Art as a mature student having previously worked in theatre and literature. She obtained a Master of Fine Art at the University of Dundee. Since then she has had several solo exhibitions, including: The Park Gallery, Falkirk, Amber Arts, Edinburgh; Stanza Poetry Festival in St Andrews; Tweeddale Museum Peebles; and she has been part of a number of group exhibitions including: Cameron Contemporary Art in Brighton, the London and Bristol Affordable Art Fairs; the RSA annual exhibition; SSA and VAS at the RSA Galleries; Gracefield Arts Centre, Leith Gallery and Edinburgh Printmakers.

Catriona has been Artist in Residence for the National Library of Scotland making work in response to the collections; with the Scottish Centre of Diaspora Studies at Edinburgh University, funded by a Leverhulme Artist in Residence Award. The work from this residency was shown at the National Museum of Scotland and the Scottish Parliament. She was also Artist in Residence with Craig &Rose, Dunfermline; funded by an Arts and Business Creativity at Work Award.

"People are constantly amazed by what they achieve in the art group, particularly as they have usually told me at the beginning: “I’m no good at art”  What is so uplifting is just how amazing and creative the work that patients produce is." ~ Catriona Taylor

Hervé Willems

Executive Chef

Hervé Willems is a French chef with extensive experience in Paris, Loire Valley, Germany, London and Scotland, and has previously managed his own restaurant. Hervé now operates as Executive Chef at Castle Craig.

Hervé was formerly a Private Chef at 'Chef Hervé' where he was known for his excellent standards and quality, as well as innovation and efficiency. It is within this framework that Hervé maintains his reputation. He has a genuine passion for his trade and finds immense satisfaction in passing on his love of food to the patients and staff at Castle Craig.  As a person Hervé is professional and highly organised, he is reliable, a good team player and comfortable with staff and clients at all levels. As a good communicator Hervé is able to pass on his knowledge and skills to others and enjoys building relationships with key suppliers to source the best local ingredients.

Skills and experiences

High level of cuisine knowledge and practical expertise, covering French, British, European and international techniques and cookery spanning a career of more than 30 years in Hotel Catering.

-          Owner of Chef Hervé, a venture mainly providing clients with a chef, Maitre’D and Managing for their holiday and business requirements, this has included Mercedes Benz business trip in Scottish Highlands, VIPS and family holidays around the world.

-          Experience working with large multinational caterer as Head Chef for Sodexo prestige in Paris.

-          Cooking for the Scotland Rugby Team whilst Head Chef at Stobo Castle (2004/2005)

-          Owner and Head Chef of a successful restaurant in the Loire Valley in Beaugency recognised by Michelin, Gault Millau and Guide Champerard.

-          Working as Maitre’D and Restaurant Manager in different style restaurant from Bistro, Brasserie and Michelin star.

-          Experience managing and teaching individuals and teams; A tutor at Edinburgh School of Food and wine and offering private tuition at the Jean Christophe Novelli Academy near London.

-          Demonstrated and carried out cooking lessons at Edinburgh Taste Festival.

Maureen Crosbie

Deputy Housekeeper

David Kilgour

Fitness Instructor

Fitness Instructor

Jane Roberts

Governance Administration Assistant

Gordon Hogg

Visiting Therapist

Gordon joined Castle Craig in 1993 and was formerly our Head Therapist and played a leading role in developing the Castle Craig treatment programme. Gordon has now retired but continues to visit Castle Craig from time to time to provide valuable sessions for our patients.

As well as being affiliated to COSCA (former board member) Gordon is on the board of the UK Professional Board of Alcohol/Drug Counsellors.

Gordon graduated from Leith Nautical College and was previously an officer in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary with the Ministry of Defence. After the Navy he worked for Philips Electronics in Cambridge for six years specialising in electron microscopy and often travelled to the main Philips factory in Eindhoven where the microscopes were built and developed.