Dr Kate Blake-Holmes joined the school in 2013 having worked for 10 years as a senior social worker with in both community and acute teams mental health teams, during this time she also practised as a Best Interest Assessor (MCA 2005), and an Approved Mental Health Professional (MHA 1983).

Both her teaching and research reflect her specialism in mental health social work and services. She teaches across the BA, MA and CPD programmes with a focus on mental health and the law. 

Kate continues to be a registered Social Worker under Social Work England and practice as an Approved Mental Health Professional for the Local Authority.

Her doctoral research explored the experiences of children growing up with a parent with mental ill health, how they made sense of their experiences and their own identity within them. Her research interests continue to focus on families who experience parental mental ill health and young carers.  She works closely with local authorities, NHS mental health trusts and charitable organisations to ensure her research is co-produced with both service users and practitioners. 

Kate is commitee member of 

• The International Research Collaborative for Change in Parent and Child Mental Health. 
• The Young Carers Alliance 
• The UK Parental Mental Health Network 

Kate serves on the board of trustees for the MAP youth services https://www.map.uk.net/ 

Accepting PhD students