United Kingdom United Kingdom

I am a Lecturer (FHEA) with expertise in mental health, psychotherapy and medical humanities. I remain in clinical practice as a Psychotherapist specialising in child/adolescent mental health and working with offenders in HM Prisons. I lead on the mental health teaching on the Occupational Therapy team, and I am also a module lead for Intro II MA Medical and Health Humanities.

My academic background and my work is interdisciplinary. I am influenced by psychological theory and scientific enquiry, alongside wider theoretical perspectives such as philosophy, sociology and anthropology.

As a Lecturer, I teach a broad range of topics across mental health. I have developed innovative approaches to teaching complex subjects, using mixed medias and experiential methods. I design and deliver reflective and creative sessions on therapeutic use of self and self-exploration, drawing on art psychotherapy. I also work closely with our service user colleagues in teaching and assessing, designing original assessments that echo clinical practice. My colleague and I developed work around student communication skills, and we authored the Communication Star learning tool for assessment. I am developing my work on trauma-informed Pedagogy through my MA HEP, conducting research on our student population. I am the first generation of my family to attend university - I am keen to demystify academia, and encourage confidence and individuality in our students. I also value remaining a specialist in clinical practice, and orienting teaching and research alongside real-life experience.

I am a qualified Psychotherapist with over a decade of experience. My work concerns understanding the effects of, and treating, trauma across the lifespan. My work is informed by developmental, relational and psychoanalytical theory. I am very interested in the politics of mental health: societal inequalities, family and the care system; the effects of poverty and substance use, and the relational power structures that oppress and cause harm. I am also particularly interested in harmful and violent behaviour, such as sex offending and incel culture, and the relationship between gender and violence, as well as the gendered response to trauma.

I am currently writing about my work in the prison through a relational and gendered lens, drawing on feminist literature. I have previously published work about death and endings and have a book chapter coming out soon, expanding on these ideas.

I also volunteer for the charity NACOA (The National Association for Children of Alcoholics) which is a cause close to my heart.

Module Lead for Intro II Medical & Health Humanites (assessment design, moderation)

Module Lead for MSc OTP1 and OTP2 (inc. moderator)

Panel member for FMH FACP 

Member of ACAT Ethics Committee

Associate Editor for Reformulation (ACAT)

Trustee for FPSA (Foundation for Professionals in Services to Adolescents)

Consultancy for SenSI Treatment LTD (Children's therapies/ adopted children)

Psychotherapist in NHS / HM Prisons

Psychotherapy/ psychology (developmental/ psychoanalytic/ relational theory)

The politics of mental health (inequalities, poverty, care system, class)

Harmful behaviour - violence, sexual offending, incel culture (interdisciplinary perspectives - feminism/ psychoanalysis/ anthropology)

Therapeutic use of self/ therapeutic communication skills

Child and adolescent mental health

Interdsciplinary perspectives on death and dying/ endings