The M Wordcic Reviews 

Lavinia and Yasmin at The M Wordcic are lovely, professional people, working for a good cause. I had the pleasure of visiting their stall at a motoring festival at Silverstone, and went on to purchase some of their products online. I understand this helps raise money for parents struggling to pay specialist support for their children, so I am glad I was able to help, even if just a little bit. My purchase arrived in good time, well wrapped and in overall good condition, so I would certainly do business with them again.

Hello !
I am a carer / personal assistant.
I had the privilege of working with Lavinia for one and a half years, during a time when I was providing mental and organizational support to a young client with autism, PDA, anxiety, and depression, who is also transgender. The situation was complex and required not only theoretical knowledge, but also a great deal of empathy, patience, and understanding.

With her extensive experience as a nurse and her expertise in autism and PDA, Lavinia was an invaluable support. She taught me clear, practical strategies, tailored to my client’s specific needs, which I could apply immediately. Her guidance went beyond professional advice – she conveyed trust, calm, and reassurance, enabling me to handle challenging situations with greater clarity.

The results were visible and profound: my client regained self-confidence, became more independent, made better decisions, and learned to manage emotions more effectively. All these changes were made possible thanks to Lavinia’s patience, professionalism, and dedication.

I wholeheartedly recommend her to any person or family facing similar challenges. Lavinia is not only an excellent professional but also a compassionate human being who can bring real change to the lives of those she supports.

Over the last 3 years, we have sought the help and support of the M-Word on a few occasions; they have been exceptional every time! They are so knowledgeable, understanding and supportive. The reports they have written are remarkably, providing firm evidence to help both acknowledge and get the support and help our children desperately needed. I have and would recommend their services.

Excellent support from the team, always willing and flexible to suit our needs. Have such great knowledge around MH and other things. Reports really substantial to be able to provide sufficient evidence for schools and LA's. Would highly recommend.

The M Word provided a great report that was used by our LA for our child’s EHCP. The reports and appointments have allowed us to better understand our childs needs.
Appointments have been flexible to suit us.

I was a parent on the Expert Parent Programme when I came to The M Word for myself as I was beginning to suspect I had undiagnosed ADHD. I was in my late 40s. Despite feeling extremely nervous before the Mental Health Assessment and Initial Screening, Lavinia immediately put me at ease and made it an enjoyable and positive experience. We discovered I was showing strong traits of Autism (with a PDA profile) and ADHD.

At first I just found this interesting and carried on as normal; my work were hugely supportive and I did not see a need for therapy. Several weeks later it felt as though my mind just fell apart. Lavinia was able to see me the same week. After only 6 sessions I felt more like myself but stronger and with a far greater awareness. The homework was so helpful too, I would strongly recommend doing it!

The whole therapy process was not always easy as we did some incredibly deep digging, but Lavinia provided such a safe space. As someone who doesn’t even really cry on their own I felt comfortable enough to cry in front of her.

I had spent over 2 years (with the Covid situation and a breakdown in my Child’s mental health) just living in survival mode and a permanent state of anxiety. Since I have finished the therapy, I have felt better and better, the effects have been powerful and long lasting. I finally can feel a sense of inner peace more and more often.

I feel a bit like a child who has learnt to ride a bike - having someone with you helping you balance, picking you up, dusting you down when you fall, helping you get back on. Then that final time where they’re there pushing you and you’re pedalling, they let go and suddenly you’re off and on your own, doing it yourself and feeling invincible!

Thank you, Lavinia I will never forget your wisdom and kindness, and humour!

I was going through an emotionally devastating breakup of a long and often abusive relationship. The help provided to me through this service was excellent, friendly, and well-paced. I paid for the treatment privately and I do think it was worth the money. I was barreling toward losing control of my mind and losing a sense of who I was, the counseling helped me to end that cycle and recover my mental health before it developed into something I would struggle to undo.

I was very fortunate to be recommended to The M Word for my autistic son. although we had a diagnosis Lavinia was able to uncover much much more detail to help us understand what is happening for him. she walked me through the parental questionnaires and was able to help me see the reason behind some of my son's behaviour. such a relief to talk to someone with lived experience who understands and can talk about it in regular language. a real eye opener, don't hesitate to reach out to this company.

The M Word was recommended to me by a close friend when I was at my worst and at rock bottom. Lavinia was truly someone who I connected with instantaneously and felt immediate comfort in opening up to her. Her method is truly unique and was life-changing after years of failed therapy through the NHS. She got me to a stage where I was able to uncover deep parts of myself that I never truly acknowledged and always suppressed. Coming out as a trans woman in our initial consultation was the start of a new life for me. Truly, Lavinia has saved my life and it has been such a special journey working with her as I navigate through my transition. Lavinia has a magical way of connecting to anyone she meets and giving her entire soul to helping people with their mental health. I would thoroughly recommend investing in yourself and working with Lavinia on your journey. She is my guardian angel, my saviour and will forever be a lifelong friend to me, I couldn’t be more thankful!

I contacted the M Word when I realised my son was showing signs of severe anxiety which was causing demand avoidance at school. This was phrased as "work refusal" by the respective Educational "professionals" while it was very clear to me he unable to do his work and experiencing meltdowns because of severe anxiety. Therefore, I initially contacted the M Word for a PDA screening, but it has resulted in so much more. We now know he shows definite traits of ADHD (and so is now on the paediatric pathway for diagnostic invesitgations), he will be seeing a school nurse and Barnardos sessions for his anxiety - which would not have been accepted without Lavinia's expert analyses and insight. She was also, amazingly, able to bring my son out of his shell to talk to her and tell her about himself. We also now know what I always dreaded, that he experiences social phobia and depression :( Her recommendations have been hard hitting which is exactly what was needed to be honest, for people involved with him to wake up and see what is going on. I can't thank Lavinia enough for her experience and insight, or John for putting up with all my emails :)

My wonderful daughter has been talking to Lavinia for a couple of months. She is helping her understand and except herself for who she is. Prior to finding Lavinia her life was very complicated and difficult. The everyday world saw many different masks, even with people who considered themselves close to her, she presented an image of what she thought they expected.
There’s a long way to go, but I finally feel we have found the right person to help her.

Lavinia has been in my son's life for a few months now and she has made a huge difference in this short amount of time seeing him once a month after an initial MH/ASC Screening with her. I asked my nearly 14 year old, what would he give as feedback about Lavinia ?He said she is very supportive and has she helped me a lot.
This is high praise indeed, coming from a person with strong avoidant traits and high social anxiety, who for the last 4 years, could not attend appointments, or talk about his personal feelings with Drs and MH professionals... So we could not get proper access to support services. Lavinia has changed all that which I am immensely grateful for. I finally feel validated my long held concerns as mum to a highly anxious child who could not attend school.
Lavinia is very straight forward and approachable and her Zoom calls have been intimate ,despite the 'technical distancing effect'. My son opens up to her and this has reassured me that we have finally got the right person backing me up and holding that space for my boy to be Ok with all that is not Ok in his mind.

Lavinia first made an impression on me when I met her some years back whilst we both worked for a mental health service. I remember listening to the plans she had in her head about where she wanted to go with her work. Well here she is! Bringing support to those that need it most. I now work for local government and I see the difficulties that children and parents go through whilst waiting for specialist support. This is when I talk about "The M Word" I recommend this because I whole heartedly acknowledge what and who Lavinia truly is.

Before getting support from Lavinia I felt at a complete loss on how to support my daughter, protect her wellbeing and enable her future prospects. This was a very scary place to be! With Lavinia's support, I have been able to reconnect with my daughter's needs, celebrate her wonderful neurotypicalness and reinforce and affirm boundaries with school, ESCC and other agencies supposedly responsible/collaborating in our daughter's wellbeing. Lavinia is a fountain of knoweldge, she is refreshingly honest, treats you as an equal, validates your experiences as a parent and keeps you on track. Our lives are truly better as a result of her support. Although we had a diagnosis already we did the screening and assessments and follow up support sessions. Our daughter is also about to have individual support. Worth every penny and minute! Also a huge thank you to John - forever helpful and quick to get back to you. Wonderful support - thank you.

Thank you to John and Lavinia at The M Word for providing, at the last minute, a screening assessment and report to support evidence that our son was struggling with his mental health. This enabled us to clarify with the LEA his difficulties reinforcing the adjustments required in order to meet his needs effectively. Enabling us to prevent any further damage to his mental health.
The screening indicated PDA, ADHD, social anxiety and school phobia, plus ASD which we already had a diagnosis of.
Lavinia is extremely knowledgeable and I have also found her webinars are great too.

I think this service is extremely misleading and not explained very well at all at initial point of contact. After being frustrated at the long referral times through the NHS we contacted 'The M word' and we have spent a total of £480 on assessments only to be told the same information that we received from our NHS initial assessment. a lot of money to outlay for no official diagnosis and no further in getting support for our daughter in place before she goes to senior school next year. I feel very let down.

in response to your reply I must say I would disagree.
it’s not a full screening because you stated in the report you sent that our daughter has “traits, “highly likely” etc rather than nothing definitive. Your recommendations of support are not specific which as you know, recommendations put into an EHCP need to be. We contacted you asking for reconditions to be specific and now we are informed that will now cost me more!

The M Word has been amazing for us. From the first point of contact, The M Word has made us feel welcome, comfortable and encouraged. After years of no support, The M Word has given us hope for the future. We’ve finally been listened to, not judged, and strategies that work are in place. Thoroughly recommend.