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Jacqui Ellis of Deep Connexions Named Influential Woman in Business 2026 for Child Development & Family Wellbeing

Jacqui Ellis of Deep Connexions has been named the recipient of the Influential Woman in Business 2026 Award for Child Development & Family Wellbeing, recognising her dedicated work helping babies, children, parents and families better understand the influence of their earliest experiences and develop deeper, more conscious connections.

Jacqui’s professional journey grew directly from her own experience as a mother. When her children began struggling with different aspects of school and everyday life, resulting in increasingly challenging behaviour, she found herself searching for answers that were not forthcoming through conventional medical or educational routes.

She had an instinct that pregnancy, birth and early development could be significant. Her research eventually introduced her to retained reflexes and led her to train in Neurodevelopmental Therapy with the Institute for Neuro-Physiological Psychology (INPP).

This discovery became the beginning of a much wider journey into child development, early experience and family wellbeing. At the heart of Jacqui’s approach is a belief that everyone comes into life with their own gifts and that children themselves can be some of our greatest teachers. For parents, she believes the responsibility is to create an environment in which those gifts can emerge, while recognising that a child’s earliest experiences may influence their ability to thrive.

That understanding was forged through significant challenges within her own family. At eight years old, Jacqui’s daughter was assessed as being two and a half years behind peer group expectations, yet no additional funding or focused support was available despite Jacqui knowing she was highly capable.

 

Her eldest son, meanwhile, became increasingly angry as he struggled with activities other boys seemed able to do easily, including kicking a ball and running quickly. He was labelled a ‘bully’ because of his reactions and also experienced toileting difficulties until the age of 11. Jacqui recalls feeling as though she was doing the ‘walk of shame’ into the playground on most days. His behaviour became increasingly difficult to manage, and the teenage years were particularly challenging, eventually bringing the family into contact with various services and agencies.

Her youngest son was an extremely talented sportsman but was hyperactive, unable to sit still and labelled disruptive and the class clown.

Through it all, Jacqui continued to trust her instincts.

“I trusted my gut, kept faith in my sense of knowing and pushed through.”

That persistence led to extensive learning and training, alongside a commitment to continually work on herself. It is also the foundation of the advice she now gives other women pursuing their own path: follow your instincts, trust your gut, remain curious and open-minded, continue researching and learning, train with and shadow experts, and never stop doing your own inner work.

Today, Jacqui’s greatest fulfilment comes from witnessing change. She loves hearing about the shifts and achievements taking place in the lives of the people she supports, particularly when a child becomes competent in something they had previously found extremely difficult and can proudly share that achievement.

The impact frequently extends beyond one individual. Jacqui sees positive changes ripple through the wider family environment, improving parent-child relationships and helping parents become more connected and conscious in the way they parent. Her work also supports adults who have struggled throughout their lives to make different choices and decisions that can profoundly change how they live going forward.

One of Jacqui’s proudest achievements was training in Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy (BCST), establishing her therapy practice and becoming self-employed at the same time as her marriage and family life were falling apart and she was going through an acrimonious divorce.

Until then, she had been financially dependent on her former husband and had been fully responsible for family life and childcare. The prospect of supporting herself financially was terrifying. Having previously enjoyed a successful, career-driven professional life before motherhood, she remembers being challenged by her ex-husband and his barrister to return to HR and find a ‘proper job’.

Instead, she continued building the practice she believed in.

She is equally proud of seeing her children excel and successfully make their own way in adulthood, as well as recently receiving another award recognising her work.

The journey has not been without periods of serious doubt. During the past ten years there have been times when finances became extremely tight and Jacqui considered giving up her practice, returning to the corporate world and becoming an employee again.

What stopped her was the knowledge of how much she had invested in her training, combined with the memory of being the parent who had once been struggling for answers herself. Having gained information that could now help transform the experiences of other families, walking away did not feel possible. Jacqui also believes in the concepts of soul contract and soul journey and sees this work as part of her own journey in this lifetime.

Her development has been shaped by opportunities to train with leaders across several specialist fields. Among those she credits are Sally and Peter Blythe of the Institute for Neuro-Physiological Psychology for Neurodevelopmental Therapy; Franklyn Sills of Karuna for Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy; Karlton Terry for Birth Mask Reveal and pre- and perinatal psychology; and Matthew Appleton and Jenni Meyer of Conscious Embodiment Trainings for Integrative Baby Therapy.

Yet her teachers have not only been professionals. Jacqui also credits her children, who continue to teach her about life, and her clients, whose sessions are never predictable. Rather than trying to control what emerges, she trusts the process and goes with the flow, learning from every person she works with.

Fundamentally, these influences have taught Jacqui a great deal about herself and about how to hold a compassionate, grounded space in which another person can share their untold story.

Looking ahead, Jacqui believes there is still something more she needs to give professionally. Her work currently centres on individuals and families, but she wants to find ways of sharing her lived experience and professional knowledge with a much wider audience.

This includes helping more people understand how their earliest experiences can influence the way they go on to live their lives, while also encouraging professionals to consider how they may subconsciously bring their own layers of trauma into professional settings. Her next challenge is understanding how to expand from individual and family work into working with larger groups, including both parents and professionals.

Personally, Jacqui hopes to move back to the countryside and spend more of her life surrounded by nature.

Receiving the Influential Woman in Business recognition has added further momentum to those ambitions. Jacqui describes winning the award as completely unexpected and says she was astonished simply to have been nominated. Recognition has never been the reason behind her work, but the experience has reinforced her sense that what she has learned needs to reach more people.

“Whilst it is really great to be recognised, I do not do my work to win awards! That said, it is reinforcing that I really have something that I need to share in a wider way. I need to bring what I do to a larger audience so it can change more people’s lives.”

For Jacqui, figuring out exactly how to achieve that wider reach represents the next chapter. What began as one mother searching for answers for her own children has developed into a professional journey centred on understanding early experience, supporting development and helping individuals and families create deeper connections with themselves and one another.

About Jacqui Ellis

Jacqui Ellis is the founder of Deep Connexions, supporting babies, children, parents and families through an intuitive and holistic approach to child development and family wellbeing.

Drawing on extensive training in neurodevelopmental therapy, biodynamic craniosacral therapy, integrative baby therapy and pre- and perinatal psychology, Jacqui helps families understand how early experiences can influence development, behaviour and relationships. Inspired by her own journey as a mother, her work focuses on creating deeper connections, helping children thrive and supporting more conscious, connected family relationships.

Contact

Phone: 07790 783280

Email: info@deepconnexions.co.uk

Website: deepconnexions.co.uk