Our Team
All our healthcare professionals are passionate about helping people restore their health. They all work tirelessly to provide you with the best healthcare solutions for the problems that you have. Our professionals are all registered professionals, and their clinical work is monitored by their respective registration councils. They are all committed to lifelong personal development to improve their skills, so they can continue to provide you with the most effective up to date treatment and advice when you need it.
Viraj Gopaul – Osteopath BSc (Hons) Ost. 1992
Viraj is a highly experienced member of our team. He qualified as an osteopath in 1992 from the European School of Osteopathy.
He has over 27 years in clinical practice and has amassed a wealth of experience treating all types of patients using all treatment techniques. His skills within the cranial field allow him to treat all manner of complex problems by using the gentlest of osteopathic techniques. Viraj treats all ages of patients from day old babies to the elderly.
Over his lengthy career, Viraj has held numerous teaching posts. He was Clinic Tutor at the Osteopathic Centre for Children, London and Cranial Anatomy Lecturer at the British College of Naturopathy and Osteopathy. In both roles he enjoyed working with students, imparting his knowledge so that they gained a greater understanding of anatomy and osteopathy.
Viraj likes to treat all ages of patients and all types of problems. At the Stamford Osteopathic Clinic he particularly enjoys carrying out osteopathic treatment for the benefit of mums and babies, in our busy Children’s clinic.
Viraj has had a successful career in both private and public sectors and continues to work as an osteopath as well as having a successful career establishing and owning several care homes. In this role he has worked in social services and with the local health boards to provide safe, effective and the best of healthcare environments for his residents.
Whist being an extremely busy osteopath Viraj continues his love of project managing and business development by continuing to work on many of the property developments that he has on the go.
Viraj was born in the UK but has family in Mauritius that he visits regularly. He enjoys a challenge and relishes hard work.
Viraj has a busy home family life, however when he has time and not working, Viraj likes to keep fit by running regularly. He appreciates and takes in the natural world around him whenever he can. He is a keen pilot and in 1987 attained his Private Pilot’s licence.
Steve Miller – Osteopath BSc (Hons) Ost. 1991
Steve has been in osteopathic practice for over 27 years. He has a wealth of experience in treating all types of problems and focuses his work on the treatment of adults and older children (from the age of 5 years upwards).
Steve, has great experience in looking at the whole of the body and analysing how its various parts contribute to the problems that the patient presents with.
Although, like all osteopaths, he treats pain due to mechanical strain in any part of the body, he has a particular interest in the treatment of strains of the sacro-iliac joints of the pelvis, as this was the subject he chose for his final year dissertation.
Prior to completing his osteopathic education, Steve attained an honours degree in Mechanical Engineering and then went on to work in the London Stock Exchange as an I.T. Network Engineer. It was during this latter period, at the age of 23, that he put himself through a 6-year course to graduate as an osteopath.
Steve spent much of his earlier years mountaineering, skiing, climbing and undertaking various training regimes like running, swimming & cycling to maintain his fitness for these activities. During this time, he explored various disciplines to help him rehabilitate from injuries and improve his performance which lead to his exploration of osteopathy as a career. However, he also undertook lessons in Yoga, Tai Chi and Alexander Technique and self-study of Homoeopathy, NLP and Hypnotherapy. Today, in practice, this wide experience has enabled him to better inform his patients about how they can play an active part in their own recovery. It also means that he has an extensive knowledge of how and when patients with certain conditions would benefit from being referred to an alternative discipline.
Steve also has a long-term fascination with the martial arts and currently practices Akido. He was awarded his Black Belt, 1st Dan in 2015 and is an instructor at the Spalding Aikido club.
Steve also has a passion for the natural world and especially of animals. In the future Steve hopes to attain the formal qualification of a post graduate diploma in Animal Osteopathy.
Steve lives near Holbech with his partner where they have a small holding and many animals including 5 horses, 5 dogs, chickens and 1 cat, although the numbers continue to grow as and when these animals seem to appear in their lives!
Steve’s other main passion is for Natural Horsemanship. He specialises in ‘Liberty’ work with the horse, in which the human remains on the ground and guides the horse without ropes or other tack. This is achieved by the strong social bond that the human can, over time, develop with the horse, enabling subtle, almost invisible communication to be used to direct and guide the horse. He is currently undertaking year long courses to learn how to school horses to perform Classical Dressage movements. His eventual goal is to be able to also perform these at Liberty, which is highly unusual.
Recently, Steve has been able to expand his harass of horses with the addition of foals to the team, when opportunities arise. This keeps Steve busy but helps him switch off and unwind after a busy day treating patients.
Susan Nicholson – Osteopath & Founder BSc (Hons) Ost. 1998
Susan has worked as an Osteopath for over 22 years. She can treat all manner of problems and all ages of patients, from babies to the elderly. She uses all types of techniques that osteopaths use to get her patients better. During her career she has carried out an enormous amount of continual professional development and likes to push herself to learn more to provide the best care for patients.
She established the Stamford Osteopathic Clinic in 2000 and has worked tirelessly building this clinic’s reputation for clinical excellence. Since qualification as an osteopath, she has worked continuously throughout her career, participating in key professional development projects for the British School of Osteopathy, General Osteopathic Council, Institute of Osteopaths, and the National Centre for Osteopathic Research. In doing so she has helped generate data for our profession that gives further credence to our osteopathic work.
The work she was involved with in the NHS produced a robust data set that provides further evidence of the benefits of osteopathy over the types of treatment currently being offered in the NHS setting for patients with spinal pain. It was during her time working to attain her Osteopathic Spinal Fellowship at QMC Hospital, Nottingham that she acquired the expertise in all Spinal, MSK and Orthopaedic activities at the hospital. Moreover, she gained experience in the surgical spinal procedures that are routinely offered to patients. She also worked in Spinal theatre, Injection Clinics, Orthopaedics/ Sports Injuries, Radiology and Research to deeper her knowledge of NHS services. This now gives Susan the ability to treat complex spinal problems with good success.
Sophie Moncrief – Osteopath M.Ost 2021
Sophie is a fully qualified Osteopath with a Master’s degree from the University College of Osteopathy, London. During her 5 years training in London, Sophie spent the last 2 years working in the busy student led clinic at the University. During this period, she was involved in treating patients with a wide array of conditions, including specialised free clinics for the elderly.
Prior to her degree in osteopathy, Sophie attained a First-Class Honours degree in Forensic Science from the University of Lincoln in 2013. The scope of this degree covered modules including Microbiology, Anthropology, and Chemistry. Sophie’s started her career working on opioid addiction treatments and latterly putting her scientific background to good use as a formulator in the animal nutrition world, responsible for formulating pig & poultry feed for the leading manufacturer of animal feed in the UK.
Sophie has a huge passion for helping people and has a kind and warm nature. She is keen to help patients heal and restore them back to health. It is these attributes together with her intellectual curiosity about how to optimize people’s health, that lead Sophie retrain as an Osteopath.
Sophie’s interest & passion for women’s health, coupled with becoming a mum herself, lead her to undertake further post-graduate study in obstetrics, post-partum & women’s health fields. She is currently completing further study in Paediatric Osteopathy, hoping to help women through their pregnancies & their children beyond.
Sophie uses a wide range of techniques to meet the needs of her patients, from manipulations and muscle energy techniques to the more gentle massaging and stretching soft tissue work. She also uses a gentle (cranial) osteopathic approach when problems and patients require it. Sophie aims to tailor each treatment plan to meet the individual needs and goals of her clients.
In her spare time, Sophie enjoys yoga, reading and spending time outdoors with her family. She loves being creative whether it be drawing, designing or embroidery; all whilst taking care of their much loved cats!
James Thomas – Osteopath M.Ost 2021
I am a qualified Osteopath with a Master’s degree from Swansea University, gaining experience in student led clinics with NHS referrals, gaining much valued experience with a wide array of patients before moving back to Lincolnshire. Here I work with an equally diverse range from children (above the age of 5), elite athletes to elderly and chronic pain patients; all of which I enjoy treating.
My main interests lie in sports rehabilitation and optimisation thanks to my lifelong involvement in rugby which through my own injury, led me to osteopathy. Playing at representative levels and at university gave me an insight into the psychological elements of pain, injury and rehabilitation, which has been nurtured in professional practice by my exposure to working with elite athletes.
I have a passion for sport and enjoy weight training in my spare time, sparking curiosity in movement, anatomy and along with lifestyle factors, how these can play a crucial role in pain presentation. When I’m not doing this, however, good food and drink, music or a film is most likely what is occupying me.
I like to treat with a structural, biomechanics viewpoint and have a passion for helping people return to the activities pain has stopped them doing. I enjoy using a range of hands on treatment techniques relevant for each patient along with investigating beliefs about their injury, using exercise and education to restore control over their complaint.
Anna Minajeva – Osteopath M.Ost 2021
Anna grew up in Northamptonshire and has been practicing in this area since qualifying from the European School of Osteopathy in Kent with her master’s degree in Osteopathy, in 2021.
Anna loves to diagnose and treat a wide range of patients and their problems. She works hard to restore them as quickly as possible to a pain free life, getting her patients back to doing the things they enjoy.
During her training as an osteopath, and for the requirement of her master’s degree, she produced her dissertation on the management of acute ankle injuries. This area is of particular interest to Anna, as resolving issues in this area can have profound effects on helping other areas of the body.
Anna is especially keen to use her knowledge in sports injuries to help successfully diagnose and treat patients with injuries of this nature. She works tirelessly to help patients who have never done any sports regularly, but who would like to participate in them, but are prevented from doing so because of pain, discomfort or lack of mobility. She also loves to treat those very active people who require her skills to diagnose, treat and return them back to their favourite sport, fully functioning and pain free, as soon as possible. Both these types of patients benefit from Anna’s understanding and structured approach, with diagnosis, treatment, rehab and training. Moreover, with her care and when her patients have attained the pain free level of health and progress, She can use her knowledge and background in teaching Pilates and Strength & Conditioning exercise and training to establish good, safe and healthy rehabilitation and training programmes, tailer-made to each individual, regardless of their age.
During her working life Anna has worked as a carer both in the community and in care homes. In this time, she has gained experience in the care and management of the elderly as well as those with mobility issues. This work has been both rewarding and helpful in allowing Anna to better understand the needs of patients who have mobility issues, pain and discomfort. In addition, how her osteopathic treatments can benefit patients who have pain or discomfort, are not as mobile as they could be, regardless of their age or disability.
Helen Shardlow – Medical Herbalist BSc (Hons) 2016
Helen is a fully qualified and registered Medical Herbalist specialising in Personalised Medicine. She qualified with a BSc degree in Modern Herbal Medicine from the University of East London in 2016 and is registered with the National Institute of Medical Herbalists. Her comprehensive medical training in disciplines ranging from pathology to pharmacology and clinical diagnosis combined with years of hands-on clinical experience enables Helen to expertly and safely diagnose and treat patients using medicinal plants.
She has a particular interest in treating chronic and complex conditions which may require in-depth diagnostic testing. Helen has become known locally as an expert in supporting women through the menopause using natural remedies as well as other hormonal issues such as PMS, Endometriosis and Poly Cystic Ovary Syndrome. Her caring and compassionate approach facilitates a powerful therapeutic relationship to develop that enables the root causes of any health issues to be pinpointed and addressed. She will generously share her knowledge about your presenting condition with you, so you leave a consultation far better informed and able to support yourself to return to optimal health. She follows the National Institute of Medical Herbalists Professional Code of Conduct and Continuing Professional Development programme to ensure a high standard of practice and knowledge.
