Esse became a consultant paediatrician in 2006 and accredited mediator in 2014. She gained a PhD in vaccine development research in 1989 before qualifying as a doctor from Bristol Medical School in 1994 then training in Melbourne, Australia and South East England to specialise in Infectious Diseases & Immunology. In 2012, she helped develop the Evelina Resolution Project with MMF while she was a consultant at the Evelina London Children’s Hospital.

Esse is one of the principal trainers working with MMF to deliver training and coaching in understanding and managing conflict to multidisciplinary health and social care professionals around the UK and internationally. She mediates conflicts in healthcare and workplace settings. Esse has been a course director for the Guy's & St Thomas' MRCPCH Clinical Examination Course in London since 2012 and is certificated in Compassion Training from the Centre for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, Stanford, USA (2019) and Mindful Self Compassion Training (Kristen Neff/Christopher Germer model), London, UK (2019).