Evelyn Montgomery, MBPsS MBACP BSc (Hons) Psy, founder of pioneering nutritional supplement brand, M+E.
My academic story reflects my primary drivers to heal + to keep learning. In the first place to make sense of my life + how I was feeling.
Travelling in Africa for a year after leaving school helped me to start putting my own jigsaw together. Learning about myself + why I reacted to people + events in a way that I wanted to change started my exploration of Psychology.
I went on to study at university successfully completing a Bachelor of Science in Psychology (BSc (Hons)), and going on to become a member of The British Psychological Society (MBPsS). Then wanting to apply my research to help heal my life + to help others I went on to study Life Coaching, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Counselling and Psychotherapy, becoming a registered member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (MBACP), while bringing up my young family.
Nutritional Psychology became my area of special interest. This is the study of how what we eat directly affects the structure + function of our brains which impacts on our moods, how we feel + how we think. I call it Mood Nutrition.
After working for the NHS, at the University of Surrey and at Grayshott Medical Spa I set up a private practice in 2015. I now work as an Integrative therapist incorporating Nutrient Therapy along with my counselling and coaching approaches.
Helping my clients to be able to lift their mood, reduce their anxiety + boost their energy by eating good mood foods + taking supplements filled them with feelings of self-control, empowerment + hope.
Biohacking my own mental health also included becoming aware of my feelings + emotions + staying with them or letting them go, learning about breathing + visualisation exercises, exploring which physical exercise worked for me, getting outside in nature regularly, finding creativity + fun + connection in groups, + underlying all of this was developing my self-acceptance + self-care.
Looking at myself from 360º
360ME
My mission is to empower you to build your beautiful brain + to optimise your well-being with nutrients + self-care.
THE POWER OF HERSTORY
From my earliest days I have been fascinated by the lives of my ancestors. Any one who knows me well would know that Who Do You Think You Are? is without doubt my favourite TV programme. Luckily I had parents + grandparents who fuelled my interest which meant that growing up I knew the story of several previous generations.
My maternal family is a long line of migration, start-ups and entrepreneurs. Seekers. My great great grandfather, GF Smith (above), had started a paper company in the 1800s searching far + wide for the best, most beautiful papers.
Then his son, my great grandfather, HN Smith (above with my granny, Margaret far left), went to work for his uncle + together started Smith + Nephew. A medical supplies company that originated with supplying the best Omega oil supplement. Travelling to Norway to find the most tasteless + pure oil he then built a multinational company on its success. To this day both are still successful British companies. A testament to their inspiring values, people + vision.
On my father’s side my great grandfather + my namesake, Evelyn Montgomery, worked for the British East India Company. He was based in India for much of his adult life sourcing + trading + transporting spices from the Far East back to Britain. Another seeker. Another trader.
And then along came me. And M+E. It has been vital to me to know my story + to pass this on to my children. Part of this had been to build a relationship with the companies started by my family. It felt like my dream to develop a range of pure supplements in beautiful paper boxes was channeling both my Smith ancestors.
I am thrilled to say that when GF Smith heard about my plans they offered to help wherever they could + as a consequence the boxes for M+E are made from GF Smith paper.
I think George would be proud + pleased about that.
And the next product in the M+E range will be a vegan Omega oil.
And I think Horatio Nelson would be pretty pleased about that.
And to be honest, I’m pretty pleased about it too.
