Daisy Long

My name is Daisy Long and I’ve worked in mental health and social care for 31 years. I started my career on the front line and have since worked across almost every layer of the system, from practitioner to senior leader, including serving as an Executive Director in an NHS mental health and social care partnership trust. Over those three decades, I’ve seen the best of what compassionate, values‑driven practice can achieve, and I’ve also seen where people fall through the gaps.

Today, I’m the Chief Executive of DCC‑i and a Social Work England - registered social worker. I teach on post graduate AMHP and BIA programmes, write and lecture nationally, and work with local authorities, NHS trusts and universities to improve mental health, safeguarding and social work practice.

But beyond all of that, I’m also a neurodivergent woman diagnosed with ADHD later in life. Like so many women, I spent years masking, overthinking, overworking and wondering why “try harder” never worked for me the way it seemed to for others. My diagnosis brought huge clarity, but also grief for the years spent misunderstanding myself.

That lived experience is why I’m becoming an ADHD UK Ambassador. I want to use my voice, experience and platform to challenge stigma, improve understanding, and help shift the narrative around ADHD, especially for women, and especially for those who have spent years feeling “too much” or “not enough,” when in reality they were neither. For me, this is about justice, visibility and accuracy. I’m proud to support ADHD UK in amplifying the experiences of neurodivergent people and pushing for better recognition, assessment and support across society.

@DCCisocialwork

@daisy-long-41510020