Gaynor ParkinClinician

Biography

Gaynor Parkin is a clinical psychologist and the founder of Button Psychology, a consultancy that uses psychology to craft resources guiding organisations and people to be productive, healthy and happy. She previously founded Umbrella Wellbeing, a workplace wellbeing company, where she served as CEO for nearly 12 years before it was acquired in 2019. She holds a BA (Hons) and MA (Applied) in Clinical Psychology from Victoria University of Wellington, and earlier in her career worked as a Consultant Clinical Psychologist at Bedfordshire NHS Trust in the UK (1996–2000). She was a long-serving lecturer of Clinical Psychology at Victoria University of Wellington and is the author of a book on work stress and resilience. She is known for writing on mental health and workplace wellbeing for The Guardian's Modern Mind column, including on chronic health conditions and self-compassion.

References

1. 1.Button Psychology – official website — Confirms Gaynor Parkin as founder of Button Psychology; lists Guardian columns and general contact email
2. 2.Doubling-Down: Clinical Psychologists x2 on Tall Poppy Talk — Describes Parkin as clinical psychologist, founder of Button Psychology, co-founder of Terrain, founder and 12-year CEO of Umbrella Wellbeing, lecturer at Victoria University Wellington, and author
3. 3.Gaynor Parkin – Umbrella Wellbeing — Establishes her experience in NZ and the UK, her book on work stress and resilience, and her focus on workplace mental health
4. 4.Gaynor Parkin – RocketReach profile — Lists prior role as Consultant Clinical Psychologist at Bedfordshire NHS Trust UK (1996–2000) and academic qualifications from Victoria University of Wellington
5. 5.Gaynor Parkin – LinkedIn — Confirms affiliation with Button Psychology and contributions to The Guardian's Modern Mind column on health topics including chronic conditions

Expertise

Cited on

• Mental health

Stated areas of expertise

• Workplace mental health and wellbeing
• Psychological resilience
• Organisational psychology
• Chronic health conditions and self-compassion
• Leadership development
• Mental health at work

Notable achievements

• Founded and led Umbrella Wellbeing as CEO for nearly 12 years before the company was acquired in 2019 Source ↗
• Published book 'I've had it up to here: From stress to strength' on handling work stress and building resilience Source ↗
• Regular contributor to The Guardian's Modern Mind column on mental health topics Source ↗

What they’ve said

• “In our work we increasingly see people struggling not because they are failing at productivity and hustle, but because they are succeeding at it too well.”

  Psychologist · Mental health · 27 Aug 2026 · Hustle culture is destroying our clients. It’s time they let their impossible standards crash to the ground | Gaynor Parkin and Dave Winsborough ↗

• “Gaynor Parkin is a clinical psychologist at Button Psychology.”

  clinical psychologist at Button Psychology · Mental health · 27 Aug 2026 · Family estrangement is more common than people think, but research shows the effects on wellbeing are mixed ↗

Source references

1. Hustle culture is destroying our clients. It’s time they let their impossible standards crash to the ground | Gaynor Parkin and Dave Winsboroughtheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
2. Family estrangement is more common than people think, but research shows the effects on wellbeing are mixedtheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026

Contact & links

• Websitehttps://www.buttonpsychology.com
• Press office emailhello@buttonpsychology.compublished here ↗
• LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/gaynor-parkin-a938b122/

Organisational contact points only, each taken from a page the organisation publishes itself. No personal or direct contact details are held or shown.