Testimonials

“A brilliant, capable and outstanding young researcher who will reach high places.” Michael Crawford, Founder, Mother and Child Foundation

“After seven years of despair, evaluations, and a myriad of meetings with teachers and Early Intervention workers, my son’s behaviour continued to spiral out of control and his self-esteem plummeted to dangerously low levels. In November 2016 I received the dreaded call from the Head Teacher to inform me that my son was ONE incident away from permanent exclusion. My world crumbled beneath me as I sat at my desk at work trying to contain my emotions whilst imploding within. This is the point when my close friend urged me to contact Dr Rachel Gow. She was so friendly and empathetic, and within minutes I knew she understood what I was going through. She was passionate about it and it genuinely came from a heartfelt place. Within one day we made positive plans. Dr Gow continued to liaise with the school to ensure they were implementing as many learning strategies as possible, and she continues to offer her support, always happy to answer my call if I need any advice. I’m so thankful for everything she has done; she is the key catalyst of my son’s success over the past year. Without her I have no doubt my son would have been expelled and would be following a very different path. Today he has a great group of friends and focuses on his work and is excited about the transition to secondary school this year. Life isn’t perfect, but we are happy, and that is all credit to Dr Rachel Gow.” Carly Jordon, mother

“My daughter went through a harrowing experience for nearly two years when she was the subject of sustained bullying in school by a large group of children at a school with hardly any discipline. We tried everything to resolve this, to no avail. The school were not very helpful and the educational welfare wouldn’t agree to a move of school despite the bullying. We removed her from the school for her own well being and she was off for nearly 10 months whilst we wrangled back and forth with the school. Then Dr Rachel Gow took up our case, she made phone calls, wrote letters, attended meetings and an appeal tribunal enlisting the help of other professionals including clinical psychologists and our local MP. Last week we were over the moon that we won the appeal. My daughter now has a place in our school of choice against all odds. I can’t recommend her services highly enough, she has given my daughter a chance to achieve her potential which she was being denied.” Chris Reed,MC Creed

“Rachel Gow was assigned to my sonʼs case by Kids Company, a charitable organisation who help and support parents and vulnerable children experiencing various and complex difficulties in their lives. My son has social, emotional and behavioural difficulties and has experienced many fixed-term exclusions and two permanent exclusions throughout his school life. Ultimately my son was left at home for almost a year without any formal education or appropriate support and I was left to deal with his education and extreme behavioural difficulties without any support. There was no practical advice or support from the Local Authority and Parent Partnership offered little guidance into the complex world of the Special Educational Needs process. Rachel is highly organised, dedicated and professional. She completed all the appropriate assessments, reports and referrals needed for my sonʼs case. She attended many difficult meetings at schools and other educational establishments within the Local Authority, Social Serviceʼs and other professional agencies. She was a key witness at my sonʼs Special Educational Tribunal, which we won for a placement at a residential special needs school. Her professional support was crucial in securing this placement. Her knowledge and expertise of children with ADHD and other associated social and behavioural difficulties was exemplary and paramount in securing the appropriate educational placement to meet my sonʼs special education needs. Rachelʼs work and support have been invaluable and I will always be eternally grateful to her involvement.”  Marion Holloway, Parent

“I first met Rachel Gow while she was working for the charity Kid’s Company in 2010 and supporting one of our more challenging students who seemed unable to follow instructions and was prone to unregulated behaviours including violent outbursts. After initial meetings, Rachel offered to work with us to reduce this child’s risk of exclusion and to also help better explore the reasons for his behaviors from a psychological perspective. Over a period of 18 months, she assisted us in the successful process and application of a statement of special educational needs by the local education authority. In addition, alongside a clinical psychologist, Rachel compiled a report and subsequent referral to the local Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services as well as securing funds from Kid’s company for a private educational psychology assessment. Rachel was consistent in providing practical and emotional support to the family throughout the diagnostic process and also organized a student social worker to assist the child in the classroom on a part-time basis in order to minimize low level disruptive behaviours and improve concentration. Rachel managed to organize a bus pass to help the mother get the child in question to the school on time as the family lived some distance away. Overall, Rachel was the main liaison at the time between mother and school which substantially helped improve communications during this challenging time. In my opinion, I found Rachel to be extremely professional, knowledgeable and personable. The help she provided to this family and to the school was invaluable and I wouldn’t hesitate to work with her again.” Dave Hackin, Vice Principal for inclusion, behaviour and attendance, Harris Primary Academy, Peckham Park, London SE15

“Rachel Gow is highly motivated, knowledgeable and very personable; a great combination of talents which assisted her work at Kids Company in supporting our vulnerable clients, many of whom had severe behavioural disorders such as ADHD or autism. Rachel’s compassion, enthusiasm and knowledge made a real difference to the lives of our children and young people and she was able to provide practical, emotional and educational support to families in the local area within the context of limited resources and complex needs. Rachel also helped plan and organise a training day on ADHD for over 300 of our staff, inviting guest speakers from both Imperial College London and Oxford University as well as conducting a nutritional survey which formed part of our Plate Pledge Campaign in order to help provide food for vulnerable and hungry children.” Laurence Guinness, Director of Campaigns and Research, Kid’s Company

“Rachel worked with, and successfully supported, a large number of families at our childrens charity in London. These were families who often found themselves voiceless in a system seemingly not interested in supporting them. A system that didn’t seem to keep in mind the well-being of the pupils yet professed to be there to educate and prepare them for the rest of their lives. Rachel tirelessly advocated for children and families for the right to education, for the right to support, for the right to be housed in appropriate conditions. Conditions which would be conducive to providing a platform for physical, intellectual and emotional growth and well-being. Rachel is passionate and committed to her work. If there is a task that seems impossible but has even the slightest chance of being possible, Rachel will do all she can to make it so!” Chileshe Mutumba and Michelle Bosman, Heart Yard, Kid’s Company

“Dr. Rachel Gow was my supervisor and mentor during my time working as a research assistant at the NIH. Her brilliant management skills have enabled me to be my most productive self. She is one of my great role models in both my professional and personal life.” Melanie Carmen Lozano, Research Specialist at Georgetown University (reported to Rachel V. at National Institutes of Health)

“Rachel is an experienced researcher with well-developed skills in building effective team interactions. She is a positive presence.” Bill Lands, independent think tank scientist, worked directly with Rachel V. at National Institutes of Health (reported to Rachel at National Institutes of Health)

“Working with Rachel was a great experience. Her expertise in ADHD and alternative therapies, her patience and her guidance helped me research and write a dissertation that received a first class degree grade (above 70%) at University of Oxford. This grade would not have been possible without her, she taught me so much and I am extremely grateful.” Chelsea White, Business Development Associate at Dulwich College International. (Chelsea was with another company when working with Rachel at University of Oxford).

“During her time at Equazen (Vifor pharma), Rachel proved to be a committed, highly tenacious and motivated individual who displayed great vigour and enthusiasm in her area of research. She was very successful in managing a number of clinical trials around the world, providing scientific training to distributors and evaluating cutting edge fatty acid research, all while studying for an MSc in Psychological Research Methods.” J. L. Wain, Web Managing Editor at Mott MacDonald

“Rachel is an incredibly bright high achiever. She has excellent interpersonal skills, making her a natural networker with the ability to foster new and meaningful relationships at every level. Tenacious, driven and savvy; project management on any scale comes naturally to her. Knowledgeable and confident, she has strong presentation skills – notable examples include speaking at global conferences attended by industry experts.” Kate Bailey, Equazen

“Rachel completed Birkbeck’s MSc in Psychological Research Methods in 2006/07. She was a committed, consistent, enquiring, and persistent student who worked hard – obtaining distinctions in each and every module (and of course a distinction overall).” Rick Cooper, Professor of Cognitive Science at Birkbeck, University of London