Research Assistant, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences
I joined the School of Health Sciences in 2017 as a researcher on the Narrative Experiences Online (NEON) study, investigating the effects of accessing online narratives of recovery from mental health distress on people's own recovery from mental ill health. My academic background is an interdisciplinary mix of English literature & creative writing, community and youth studies, and sociological research methods.
In my previous life I worked for 20 years with children and young people in both the voluntary sector and the NHS, developing services within the fields of substance misuse, sexual health, mental health and emotional wellbeing. I was the first director of Sheffield's LGBT youth service, SAYiT. I am a firm believer in the transformative power of the arts, and am a co-founder of Out Aloud, Sheffield's first LGBT choir. A continuous theme in my professional and academic life has been the role of creating and sharing stories in transforming stigmatised identities, and so I have found my natural home with NEON!
Narrative identity and social constructivism
Narrative analysis
Mental health recovery
In addition to my RA role within NEON, I am currently undertaking a part-time PhD funded by the School of Health Sciences. The PhD will take a narrative approach to investigating "what makes a 'good'… read more
In addition to my RA role within NEON, I am currently undertaking a part-time PhD funded by the School of Health Sciences. The PhD will take a narrative approach to investigating "what makes a 'good' recovery narrative", investigating the potential benefits and harms for narrator and recipient, and exploring questions of disnarration, power, and what is 'allowed' to be told in given historical moments. It is being supervised by Dr Stefan Rennick-Egglestone and Professor Paul Crawford.
My research interests include the role of stories in the negotiation and transformation of stigmatised identities, personal recovery in mental health, staff wellbeing within mental health services and the roles of mindfulness and the arts in wellbeing.
B236, Medical SchoolQueen's Medical Centre Nottingham, NG7 2HA
telephone: +44 (0)115 95 15559 email: mhssupport@nottingham.ac.uk
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