Susan Quilliam is passionate about helping people have the best possible mental and relational health. This CV outlines her work.
As well as coaching clients face-to-face on relationship issues, Susan is a relationships columnist for Woman magazine.
She is author of 22 books published in 33 countries and 24 languages. Three of her books have been written for Relate and The Samaritans, with whom she has worked closely, while her book How to Choose a Partner is based on the course she co-wrote for the global self-development organisation The School of Life. She has also updated and substantially rewritten the classic book The Joy of Sex.
Susan is a regular presenter at international conferences and has also spoken several times at the Royal Society of Medicine on the links between relationships and both physical and mental health. In addition she uses her teaching experience in less formal contexts and was for several years on the London faculty of The School of Life, where she designed, wrote and delivered workshops. She also delivers training to counsellors and coaches, including for Relate and Relationships Scotland.
Susan has written and commented for all major British Sunday and daily newspapers and websites plus several US and worldwide publications. She also comments regularly on radio and television and for two years co-presented a weekly two-hour emotional advice phone-in on LBC radio which became the most-listened-to programme in Britain in that time slot.
Susan consults regularly for PR and advertising agencies through surveys, reports, presentations and advisory board work. Her more recent projects include helping a national pharmacy think through their women’s health strategy, and supporting a nationwide campaign for family relationships. Projects Susan has worked on have won PR Week Award for Campaign of the Year and PR Week Award for Ethical Health Care.
Susan’s academic involvement focusses on how improving relationships can improve health. She serves on the Council for Sexuality and Sexual Health of the Royal Society of Medicine and for 12 years was Consumer Correspondent on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care . Other past projects have included advising the Enduring Love? project at the Open University on maximising their public engagement strategy.
Susan is one of the Family Planning Association’s 21st Century Achievers and has also been nominated for the Our Bodies Ourselves Health Hero Award. She was named UK Dating Expert of the Year 2015 at the UK Dating Awards and was a judge at the 2017 Awards. She has been shortlisted for the Family Planning Association’s Rosemary Goodchild Award for excellence in journalism, and has also served as a judge for this and several other awards at the FPA’s Health Awards ceremonies.
Susan has also advised and campaigned for a number of charities dealing with relationship issues; currently she is the Ambassador for Relate Cambridge and a Patron of the Outsiders charity.
Since 2020 Susan has been developing a project to increase awareness, understanding and resources to enable a worldwide audience resolve internal conflict.
Qualifications: Honours Degree in Psychology, University of Liverpool; Cert Ed Hons; DipNLP; MNLP; qualified Trainer and Teacher-Trainer of Co-counselling; co-founder of the Brussels Co-counselling Community.
Memberships: Professional Associate of COSRT.org.uk; Associate member of the Royal Society of Medicine; Member of the Society of Authors.