About

Hi! I’m Dr. Jake Hollis, a Clinical Psychologist from Brighton, England.

I have always been fascinated by people. That initially led me to study History at the University of Cambridge. I went on to do a Master’s degree in Global Studies across three universities in Germany, India and Poland. I then worked for the United Nations in Thailand, promoting the rights of people with disabilities. I also worked for different non-government organisations on health and education projects in Iraq and India.

As much as I loved living and working abroad, I had a strong desire to gain specialised skills that could make a tangible difference to people’s lives. This led me to return to the UK and gain a master’s degree in psychology at the University of Glasgow. I went on to train as a mental health social worker and later as a therapist. Next, I completed my doctoral training to become a clinical psychologist at the University of Surrey.

I have worked in a number of health services in the NHS and the charity sector for over seven years, including in an NHS Post-Covid Assessment and Support Service. I have worked with a diverse range of people including people living with:

  • long covid;

  • ME/CFS;

  • fibromyalgia;

  • burnout;

  • chronic pain;

  • neurological conditions;

  • dementia;

  • PTSD and complex PTSD;

  • depression and low mood;

  • anxiety disorders;

  • severe and enduring psychological difficulties, including diagnoses of psychosis and personality disorder;

  • offending histories.

I am also proud to work with people from a diverse range of racial, cultural and national backgrounds; people with different sexual and gender identities; Autistic people; people with ADHD; people with other forms of neurodivergence; people with learning disabilities and people with additional needs.

During my doctoral training, I became unwell with ME/CFS and long covid. At my worst, I was housebound for several months and I had to take a year off work. It was by far the hardest period of my life so far, but I also learned a lot. As Hubert Selby Jr. wrote: “lying in bed gives you a greater opportunity than usual to look inside yourself and find out exactly what’s going on”.

After five years living with ME/CFS and long covid, I am now fully recovered and living a fulfilling life again. This is not, of course, the same thing as returning to the same life I was living before I got ill. For me at least, I am much more interested in balance and spending time with the people I love than I was before got ill, when I was mainly interested in achieving things.

As much as I love the NHS and what it stands for, I decided to set up the Fatigue Psychologist for two main reasons. Firstly, I wanted to create a service that is able to support people with fatigue-related conditions to recover and thrive, not just cope and survive. Secondly, I decided to practice what I preach and create a working life for myself that is conducive to my own health and wellbeing.

In addition to the work I do here at the Fatigue Psychologist, I also work with asylum seekers and refugees to support them to recover from the impacts of torture and persecution.