Keynote Speaker | Doctoral Researcher | Family Systems Change Leader

Natasha Manning is an experienced systems leader and speaker working at the intersection of trauma, parental mental health, and early help innovation. With over 17 years of frontline experience, Natasha has designed and led services across housing, safeguarding, mental health, and early intervention—most notably managing a borough-wide parental mental health service in Wandsworth for the past seven years.

Natasha Manning is the Founder and Director of Rise and Thrive Families CIC, a London-based organisation transforming how services support parents navigating trauma, mental health challenges, and family disruption. Natasha is currently completing a Professional Doctorate at the Tavistock and Portman, focusing on the impact of parental mental health on children's wellbeing and long-term development.

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Recent Speaking Engagements

  • Royal College of Psychiatry Student Conference – Leeds (2025)
    Delivered keynote on the interplay of trauma, parental mental health, and the nature vs nurture debate

  • Royal College of Psychiatry International Congress (2024)
    Presented to 700+ professionals on childhood trauma and early intervention

  • House of Commons Briefing
    Spoke on the policy gap in child and family mental health

  • Anna Freud National Conference (2023)
    Keynote on integration of the Family Hubs

  • Royal College of Psychiatry – Children’s Mental Health Position Statement Contributor (2023)
    Contributed lived and professional expertise to a national policy document highlighting best practice in supporting families affected by parental mental illness. This position statement now serves as an example of good practice for clinicians, commissioners, and policymakers across the UK.

Natasha is a powerful and engaging speaker whose work is grounded in lived experience, research, and practice transformation. Her talks invite reflection, disrupt harmful norms, and offer practical, systems-aware insights that inspire change.


National Centre for Family Hubs conference: panel one - what does good integration look like?

This panel discussion explored what integration looks like in Family Hubs for both professionals and families. The panel considered the differences between ‘structural integration’, for example through co-location of professionals in different teams or having data sharing agreements and shared referral pathways between services, and ‘cultural integration’ where all partners making up a Family Hub have shared values, use a shared language and are clear on their shared outcomes they hope to achieve for families.

Practice examples of integration from Wandsworth and Blackpool were highlighted and the panel reflected on the importance of passion and commitment to ‘close the gap’ and improve outcomes for families, which sits at the heart of good integration. ‘All of the technical discussions about structures and policies mean nothing if we don’t transform them into reality and into a change in the outcomes for the people we are seeking to support.’ Elaine Fulton, For Baby’s Sake Trust

Panellists:

• Bronia Arnott (Chair) - Regional Implementation Advisor, Anna Freud Centre

• Natasha Manning - Project Manager, Wandsworth Early Help - Parental Mental Health Service

• Elaine Fulton - Director of Strategic Partnerships, For Baby's Sake • Joanne Stewart - Head of Early Help and Support Service, Children’s Services Blackpool Council

• Jo Flanagan - Senior Local Development Adviser, What Works for Early Intervention and Children’s Social Care

• Kirby Swales - Deputy Director at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Royal College of Psychiatry International Congress (2024)

Natasha was invited to speak at the Royal College of Psychiatrists' flagship annual congress as part of a panel addressing childhood trauma, early intervention, and the nature vs nurture debate.

The session was chaired by Dr Lade Smith CBE, the College’s current President and its first Black woman in that role. Natasha contributed alongside leading clinicians and researchers, offering a unique perspective grounded in 17 years of frontline experience and doctoral research into parental mental health and child development.

Her contribution focused on:

  • The systemic impact of parental distress on children's emotional wellbeing

  • The role of culturally responsive, trauma-informed early interventions

  • Pathways for preventing harm and supporting parents using harmful behaviours

The session was attended by over 700 professionals and included in the College’s Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme. A video clip is available upon request.