I am an HCPC-registered Clinical Psychologist based at both the School of Psychology, University of Leeds, and the Bradford Institute for Health Research. I graduated from the University of Manchester with a BSc(Hons) in Psychology in 2007. I was awarded a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Manchester in 2010, and a ClinPsyD (Clinical Psychology Doctorate) from the University of Birmingham in 2013.
I am an expert in psychological resilience. My work has identified psychological factors which help some individuals to cope better with stressors than others, and I have used this to develop a training intervention to equip healthcare staff to cope better with stressful clinical events. A pilot evaluation of this has been conducted in multidisciplinary healthcare professionals and further funded evaluations are now being undertaken in critical care nurses and medical students.
A key focus of my work is the healthcare workforce. My research suggests that when healthcare staff burnout is high, patient care suffers. I am now working to see how we can support healthcare staff better, to reduce burnout and improve patient care.
One stream of my work investigates the process of breaking bad or unexpected news in healthcare contexts. My work in this area suggests that news delivery is a frequent but challenging event for healthcare professionals. I am now evaluating whether communication coaching could be a useful intervention and whether it might improve experiences for both staff and patients.
My work on resilience has been featured in the Guardian newspaper and my resilience framework has informed the World Health Organization’s approach to resilience to suicide. My work into communication in ultrasound settings has been featured on BBC news and BBC social media feeds and has informed the UK Society of Radiographers and British Medical Ultrasound Society’s Professional Practice Guidelines. My research into burnout has been reported in the Guardian, the Independent and the Scotsman newspapers.
I have provided consultancy services to private and third sector organizations. I have produced a range of videos for teaching clinical psychology and cognitive behavioural therapy which are available on YouTube. These are used by universities internationally. I have spoken at conferences in the UK, USA, Singapore, Italy and Sweden. My work has been funded by the MRC, the NIHR, the British Medical Association, the Burdett Trust, the Sir Halley Stewart Trust and the Society and College of Radiographers.
To contact me, please use the email address provided on my university profile page. Please note that I am unable to provide individualised career guidance or advice.