Joel Owen

I am an Associate Professor in Evidence Based Psychological Therapies, working in the Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychological Therapies. I am the Programme Director for the Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner (PWP) training programme, and in this capacity I hold overall responsibility for all aspects of the programme delivery.

I have extensive experience in regards to all aspects of the PWP programme. I contribute widely to many aspects of the training including teaching, marking, designing course materials, acting as a Personal Advisor to students and liaising with our partner NHS Talking Therapies services. As Programme Director I also undertake a range of leadership activities, providing direction for the training and working closely with colleagues both within and outside of UEA to ensure that we offer a stimulating training that meets the needs of trainees, our partner services, and our accrediting body.

I also contribute to a range of other work within the department and the Faculty. With colleagues from Norwich Medical School, I am co-leading a research project funded by NICHE evaluating the effectiveness of interprofessional Student Schwartz Rounds in Higher Education. I also collaborate on a range of other research projects with colleagues across the department, supervising research on the Clinical Psychology Doctorate, and providing occasional teaching into other programmes such as the Clinical Associate in Psychology (CAP) programme, or IAPT Long-term Conditions training.

The main focus of my research is on the topic of wellbeing, particularly in relation to psychological therapy trainees. I have worked on projects related to this for several years, and it is also the topic of my PhD, currently being completed in the School of Health Sciences.

My clinical background is as a PWP, and I trained at UEA before working over a period of several years in two separate IAPT services in the East of England. I joined the UEA academic staff in early 2017, and have worked on the PWP training since that time.

My academic background before training in IAPT was in philosophy, and I have an interest in bringing together my passions for philosophy and psychology in practical ways. It was through my studies in philosophy that I originally developed an interest in early ideas regarding psychological wellbeing, human flourishing and resilience, as well as the philosophical origins of CBT. 

I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Masters (MA) in Higher Education Practice - University of East Anglia (Sep 2021)

PGCert in Evidence-Based Low-Intensity CBT - University of East Anglia (Feb 2017)

Masters (MA) in Philosophy - University of Warwick (July 2011) 

BAHons in Philosophy - London Metropolitan University (July 2010)

My current research interests focus on wellbeing and resilience, particularly in relation to psychological therapy practitioners and trainees. I am currently involved in several projects exploring wellbeing, stress and resilience in Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) therapists and trainees.