Meet the Collective
At Friends of the Future Collective CIC, our team of Directors is made up of therapists, artists and educators with a profound belief in the power of creativity to positively impact the mental health of individuals and communities. Together, we are committed to enhancing connection between practitioners and building ethical practices through our training, resources, and events.
Georgia Cooper
Director, Artist & Therapist
Originally a textile artist, Georgia has been a BACP registered therapist since 2000.
For the best part of 30 years, Georgia has used art and creative activities to support wellbeing in multiple different contexts and communities, including working with excluded and marginalised young women, teenage cancer patients, young dancers in training, primary school children, teenage parents and those who have experienced CSE.
More recently, Georgia works as a DDP Certified attachment focused family psychotherapist working with severely traumatised children and the people who care for them.
Her activism often centres around class, epistemic and mental health based injustice.
Vic Leeson
Director, Poet, Psychotherapist & Activist
Vic is a poet, psychotherapist and activist from Rotherham. She is also a ‘Creative Writing in Therapeutic Practice’ Practitioner, facilitating community workshops that embrace the process of writing as much as the product.
She also collaborates with various theatre and artistic projects across the North to offer wellbeing support for artists, crew and audience participants.
Dr John Cussans
Director, Artist & Lecturer
John is an artist, writer and educator working across the fields of contemporary art, art theory and cultural history. He has a multi-disciplinary arts practice, often working collaboratively on creative projects.
He has exhibited work at many international galleries and events and has taught at many important art schools including Central Saint Martins, Chelsea College of Art and Design, Emily Carr University of Art and Design (Vancouver), Goldsmiths College, Ruskin School of Art and Royal Academy Schools.
John is currently a Senior Lecturer in Fine Art at the University of Worcester where he leads the BA Fine Art/BA Fine Art with Psychology programs and the Arts and Health Research Group, an interdisciplinary collaboration between arts, allied health, education and medicine. His forthcoming, co-authored book Drawing Analogies: Diagrams in Art, Theory and Practice will be published by Bloomsbury in January 2025.
Dr Helen Madden
Director, Musician, Lecturer & Music Examiner
Helen is a musician and composer who now works predominantly in the community, creating interdisciplinary person-centred works.
She is a passionate advocate for making the arts accessible to all and is a Senior Lecturer in Music Technology at Teesside University. She is a music examiner for the London College of Music (University of West London) and has composed pieces for the syllabuses of all major examination boards.
Helen’s many skills currently include looking after a spoilt rescue Greyhound.
Cat Cookman
Administrator
Cat is a Marketer, PA and Executive Function Coach. She lends her considerable talents to Friends of the Future as our Administrator.
Her role is managing communications, marketing and keeping everything as organised as possible.
