Contact
Biography
I hold a B.A. (Hons) from the University of Leeds and a PhD from the University of Nottingham. Before joining Nottingham as a Lecturer in 2001 I spent three years as a post-doctoral researcher in the Centre for Suicide Research in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Oxford. I am a member of the PSPH in the School of Psychology and PI of the Self-Harm Research Group (SHRG).
Expertise Summary
Self-Harm. Suicide Prevention. Mental Health. Psychology.
Research Summary
I am a Professor in the School of Psychology at the University of Nottingham and PI leading the Self-Harm Research Group (SHRG) (click here for our lab www). Our group researches psychological… read more
Selected Publications
TOWNSEND E, NESS J, WATERS K, KAPUR N, TURNBULL P, COOPER J, BERGEN H and HAWTON K, 2016. Self-harm and life problems: findings from the Multicentre Study of Self-harm in England Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. HAWTON K, WITT KG, TAYLOR SALISBURY TL, ARENSMAN E, GUNNELL D, TOWNSEND E, VAN HEERINGEN K and HAZELL P, 2015. Interventions for self-harm in children and adolescents. Cochrane Library. TOWNSEND E, WADMAN R, SAYAL K, ARMSTRONG M, HARROE C, MAJUMDER P, VOSTANIS P and CLARKE D, 2016. Uncovering key patterns in self-harm in adolescents: Sequence analysis using the Card Sort Task for Self-harm (CaTS): (Open Access.) Journal of Affective Disorders. 206, 161-168
Current Research
I am a Professor in the School of Psychology at the University of Nottingham and PI leading the Self-Harm Research Group (SHRG) (click here for our lab www). Our group researches psychological factors associated with self-harm and suicidality, and interventions that promote recovery, especially in young people using a range of techniques including sequence analysis, the Card Sort Task for Self-Harm (CaTS), experiments, questionnaires, epidemiology, interviews and systematic reviews. This work has been funded by the NHS, NIHR and the ESRC. Our work has influenced policy - earlier versions of our systematic review of interventions for self-harm were included in the 2011 NICE Guidance on the Longer Term Management of Self-Harm.
I led a national Clinical Research Group on self-harm funded by the Mental Health Research Network (NIHR) and am a Fellow of the Institute of Mental Health. I am a collaborator on the Multicentre Study of Self-Harm in England and am co-leading the development of INTERACT - a new research initiative for participatory research and public engagement working with colleagues from across the university. I was PI on a Wellcome Trust People Award supporting the development of our Café Connect model of public engagement. We were finalists in the UoN Knowledge Exchange and Impact Awards 2016 for this work.
I was PI on a project investigating self-harm in looked-after young people funded by the Department of Health Policy Research Programme. See our project website: www.listen-up.ac.uk for more information. I am a Fellow of the International Academy of Suicide Research and a member of the BPS Expert Panel on the Psychology of Suicidal Behaviour. I was a participant in the Nottingham Research Leaders Programme 2015-16. I have recently been awarded a Miegunyah Distinguished Visiting Fellowship at the University of Melbourne, Australia which will take place in April 2017.
In 2016 a publication co-authored with Dr Katie Glazebrook received the Institute of Mental Health 'Best Overall Publication Award' - Glazebrook K, Townsend E, Sayal K (2015). The role of attachment style in predicting repetition of adolescent self-harm: a longitudinal study. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior. DOI: 10.1111/sltb.12159.