Healthcare Central London - Just Listening

Just Listening is a philosophical and practical approach for supporting people in distress and for building relationships in community.

It strengthens connection, communication, a mutual sense of compassion and reduces pressure on staff, and improves outcomes for both individuals and services.

It was developed by Matt Ball in Australia and draws inspiration from the approach of Leon Redler and Steven Gans in their book, Just Listening: Ethics and Therapy.

The Just Listening approach is grounded in psychotherapy but designed for use by anyone, not just clinicians.

It offers a clear, accessible approach for listening to people in a just way that:

Develops connection between the listener and person sharing their story
Reduces distress and empowers the person in need of support
Supports staff wellbeing through shared understanding and collaboration
Improves service quality

Three key words underpin the approach: Connection. Compassion. Community.

Just Listening is defined by the following principles and skills:

1. Listen with the intention to offer justice to a person’s story
2. Slow down: be aware of your thoughts and intentions
3. Resist the urge to fix – continue listening
4. Focus responses on the story of the person you are listening to

Why we’re using it

We’re using Just Listening within the Octopus programme to help teams work more effectively and to improve the experience of patients and residents.

It supports both those receiving and those delivering care.

For the person being listened to: it creates space to be heard without the listener offering judgment or interruption, which can reduce emotional distress and increase connection and engagement in relationship.
For the person listening: it offers an ethical way to listen to others. This approach helps reduce the emotional burden and the feeling of needing to fix others. As a result, it supports wellbeing and job satisfaction. It also encourages a sense of mutual understanding in both work and personal life.

Case study: supporting a distressed older adult through Just Listening at their GP Practice

How this approach works in Primary Care

A GP had an appointment with a 90-year-old woman living alone with a history of psychosis. During their first meeting, she shared distressing beliefs involving surveillance and harm, which she attributed to external forces. Rather than offering medication, a common clinical response, the clinician chose to simply listen, respecting her wish to avoid treatment.

The woman returned for follow-up visits, each time engaging in brief sessions where she was heard without judgement or intervention. Over time, she expressed gratitude and continued to share her thoughts, many of which remained delusional. With her consent, a neighbour confirmed the positive impact of these interactions.

Thanks to Just Listening training, the GP felt confident in offering compassionate presence without escalating to services the patient did not want. A trained coach was later invited to provide additional support, allowing the clinician to maintain oversight while reducing the frequency of visits.

This approach prevented unnecessary referrals and honoured the patient’s autonomy: demonstrating how Just Listening can be a powerful tool in primary care.

What it aims to achieve

Our core aims for Just Listening in London are to:

Help people in the system feel more connected, so they can work more effectively
Support staff to feel more satisfied and supported in their roles
Improve patient and resident experience, leading to better care outcomes

Results so far

We’ve already trained over 200 staff across Westminster, including:

Community Health and Wellbeing Workers (CHWWs)
Health and Wellbeing Coaches
Social Prescribers
Care Navigators
Family Navigators
GPs, Community Matrons, Psychologists, Managers, and others

These staff are now using Just Listening in their daily work across a range of settings.

Our goal is to train over 2,000 staff across the Octopus network over the next two years through a train-the-trainer programme. This will allow each organisation to embed Just Listening sustainably within their teams.

Meet the Just Listening team

Matt Ball
Rory Ritchie
Berny Maywald
Dr Saul Kaufman
Dr Anna Dentschuk

Matt Ball

Founder of Humane Clinic and Co-Director of the Just Listening Community charity

Matt Ball is a Nurse Practitioner and Psychotherapist who works with individuals and communities experiencing what is often-labelled as psychosis or schizophrenia. He supports people in exploring what a good life means through relational psychotherapy, drawing on psychodynamic, existential, Buddhist, humanistic, and Indigenous approaches.

Founder of Humane Clinic and Co-Director of the Just Listening Community charity, Matt teaches globally and is a respected keynote speaker and advisor. He developed the concepts of Dissociachotic, Suicide Narratives, and Just Listening, and has led therapeutic-community projects using these ideas. His work has earned national and international recognition, including the Australian Mental Health Nurse of the Year award.
Rory Ritchie

Social Worker and Psychotherapist at Humane Clinic and Co-Director of the Just Listening Community charity

Rory is a Social Worker and Psychotherapist at Humane Clinic and Co-Director of the Just Listening Community charity. He specialises in working compassionately with people who experience psychosis, contemplation of suicide, or other often misunderstood expressions of distress and survival. Rory is co author of the Suicide Narratives publication. Rory is one of the team who developed and implanted the Just Listening Community.
Berny Maywald

Psychotherapist at Humane Clinic and Co-Director of the Just Listening Community charity

Berny is a Psychotherapist at Humane Clinic and Co-Director of the Just Listening Community charity. She brings over 20 years of experience in the mental-health field, supervising and supporting teams of workers and volunteers across diverse settings. Berny has facilitated hearing voices groups and individual therapeutic support with voice hearers for the past 13 years. Berny is one of the team who developed and implanted the Just Listening Community.
Dr Saul Kaufman

HCL Vice-Chair, St Johns Wood and Maida Vale PCN Clinical Director and GP Partner, St Johns Wood Medical Practice

Having previously worked in various Practices in neighbouring boroughs, Saul joined St John’s Wood Medical Practice as a GP in January 2016. He also spent nine years as a colorectal clinical assistant at the North Middlesex Hospital and six years at the Urgent Care Centre in the Royal Free A&E.

He is the Clinical Director of St John’s Wood & Maida Vale Primary Care Network (PCN) and joined the board of Central London Healthcare/Healthcare Central London in 2020. He leads on mental health and was heavily involved in the COVID-19 vaccination programme. Saul is the Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) for the Octopus, and was introduced to the model by Amanda Bueno and wanted to bring it to Westminster.
Dr Anna Dentschuk

GP at Wellington Health Centre, and Clinical Lead for Just Listening and Health and Wellbeing Coaches.

Anna is a General Practitioner at Wellington Health Centre, in St Johns Wood, with over 20 years of experience in general practice across North West London and more than a decade in the borough of Westminster. She is the Clinical Lead for Just Listening (JL) in London and for the Health and Wellbeing Coaches (HWBC), her other roles include GP appraiser and GP tutor.

Anna’s approach is guided by compassion, connection, and community. She is passionate about supporting the wellbeing of both patients and practitioners, offering kindness, acceptance and an open heart. As clinical lead for the JL Train-the-Trainer programme in London, she is privileged to help share this transformative work widely, making a meaningful difference in people’s lives.

Interested in Just Listening training?

Please contact us via hcl.corporate@nhs.net

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Just Listening

Three key words underpin the approach: Connection. Compassion. Community.

Just Listening is defined by the following principles and skills:

Why we’re using it

Case study: supporting a distressed older adult through Just Listening at their GP Practice

How this approach works in Primary Care

What it aims to achieve

Results so far

Meet the Just Listening team

Matt Ball

Rory Ritchie

Berny Maywald

Dr Saul Kaufman

Dr Anna Dentschuk

Matt Ball

Rory Ritchie

Berny Maywald

Dr Saul Kaufman

Dr Anna Dentschuk

Further reading and resources

Interested in Just Listening training?

Just Listening

Three key words underpin the approach: Connection. Compassion. Community.

Just Listening is defined by the following principles and skills:

Why we’re using it

Case study: supporting a distressed older adult through Just Listening at their GP Practice

How this approach works in Primary Care

What it aims to achieve

Results so far

Meet the Just Listening team

Matt Ball

Rory Ritchie

Berny Maywald

Dr Saul Kaufman

Dr Anna Dentschuk

Matt Ball

Rory Ritchie

Berny Maywald

Dr Saul Kaufman

Dr Anna Dentschuk

Further reading and resources

Interested in Just Listening training?

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