Cause4’s Pick of the Month celebrates individuals who are making a significant and lasting impact across the charity and social enterprise sector. Dr Patel’s selection reflects her national leadership in advancing trauma informed practice across education, health and social care systems.
As highlighted by Cause4, Dr Patel’s work is driven by a clear mission: to create sustainable, systemic change in how services understand, respond to and support mental health and wellbeing, particularly through early intervention and prevention.
After beginning her career in forensic mental health, Dr Patel recognised a recurring and deeply concerning pattern: many individuals entering crisis services had experienced significant childhood trauma, without access to timely or appropriate support. This insight shaped the foundation of Innovating Minds, established to ensure trauma informed support reaches children, families and professionals earlier, safely and effectively.
Today, Innovating Minds is recognised for its evidence based programmes, training and consultancy, supporting:
• Schools and education systems
• Local authorities and commissioners
• Health and social care services
• Community and voluntary sector organisations
Central to Dr Patel’s leadership is her ability to translate complex clinical psychology into practical, accessible frameworks that can be embedded into everyday practice, policy and commissioning. Her work consistently emphasises that trauma informed practice must go beyond one off training, requiring long term cultural change, workforce support and strategic commitment.
👉 Read the full Cause4 feature here: https://www.cause4.co.uk/blog/pick-month-february-2026