We are delighted to welcome our final two staff to the LUNA team – Richard Talbot and Gabriella Procida. They join Sarah Johnston, as research therapists delivering LUNA therapy to 28 people with aphasia between now and April. You can read a little about their backgrounds below, and about the whole research team here.

Richard Talbot

Twitter: @rtslt

Richard is a speech and language therapist and researcher joining the LUNA team as a therapist for the final phase of the project. He previously contributed to the therapist co-design phase. Richard has over 10 years clinical experience in a variety of adult neurology settings. He currently works part time in community rehabilitation in Sussex, alongside the post on the LUNA project at City, University of London, and is the Newsletter Coordinator for the British Aphasiology Society Committee. Richard was previously a project manager on the EVA Project also at City, and continues to support an early adopter initiative to promote uptake of the technology in clinical practice. The opportunity to continue to be involved with linking research and practice was a key motivator in applying for the therapist role on the LUNA project. Richard is excited to be able to learn from and contribute to the development of therapy co-designed to make a meaningful change to the communication of people with aphasia through telling their own story.

Gabriella Procida

Gabriella qualified as a Speech and Language Therapist from City University in 2009, following many years working in the charity sector. At City, she realised very quickly that her passion lay with working with adults with neurological conditions. Since then, Gabriella has worked in a number of roles in the Guy’s and St Thomas’ community neuro rehab service across Lambeth and Southwark. Here, she developed special interests including supporting people living with motor neurone disease; improving quality of life for people with dementia living in care homes; and the use of technology to support communication. Working in the community, her focus was very much on helping people get back to their real lives – with meaningful, everyday communication a key part of that. The LUNA approach to aphasia really struck a chord with Gabriella – telling our personal stories is the stuff of life, and how we tell our stories is central to who we are. She is very excited have the opportunity to help develop a practical tool for therapists to use in this key area of clinical practice – and which has the inclusion of people with aphasia at its heart.