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Biography
Simon Duff has a BSc in Psychology and Physiology, MSc in Forensic Psychology, and a PhD in Applied Psychology. He received a SERC-NATO post-graduate scholarship and worked for 2 years at the University of California, San Diego with Professor Donald Norman. After graduating from the Professional Guitar Program at the Musician's Institute of Technology he took up an Assistant Professor post at the Cognitive Section at the University of Bergen, Norway. This led to a Senior Research Fellow post and a Lectureship at the Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Liverpool. During this time Simon qualified through the BPS Stage II route to become a BPS Chartered and HCPC Registered Forensic Psychologist. Simon moved to the University of Nottingham to work on the Doctorate in Forensic Psychology Programme where he is an Associate Professor, the Director of Stage II Training, and Placement Manager. He was a member of the Division of Forensic Psychology committee and the BPS Research Board.
Expertise Summary
Until recently Simon's primary clinical work, based at the Merseycare NHS Trust's community service, Mersey Forensic Psychology Service and the associated MSU, The Scott Clinic, was with men who have offended sexually against children. However, working across a community and medium secure setting he also routinely worked with men who had offended sexually against adults, women who had offended against children, violent people, stalkers, and individuals with fetishes. This work has been the driver behind much of Simon's research focus, which is concerned with sexual offending and stalking. Simon has recently moved to work at a local Low Secure Service in Nottingham.
Simon has collaborated with a number of international colleagues on projects concerned with stalking, fringe consciousness, and concealment, has provided input to the BPS response to the government's plans for new stalking legislation, and is an editor on a number of professional journals. As a trained hypnotherapist Simon has been involved in work concerned with the use of hypnosis in changing the quality of life of individuals living with Dementia, with Dr Dan Nightingale. Simon is trained in a number of different ways of working with individuals including EMDR and CFT.
Occasionally Simon works outside of the NHS and has provided expert opinion for the National Crime Agency, the Parole Board, the Courts, MAPPA, and has advised on IPP cases. He also provided clinical input to an episode of the ITV program Bad Girls, the Channel 5 series, Robbing Your Relatives, and has spoken on radio about pornography and issues of sexual offending. He has a blog where he writes about forensic issues that interest him.
Simon is happy to consider PhD applications in areas related to his interests.
Teaching Summary
Stalking, sexual offending, anger and aggression, the psychology of victims, communication skills, the cognitive interview, the jury, genograms, working with complex cases, story completion, EMDR,… read more
Research Summary
Aspects of stalking
Conceptualizations of rape
Grooming
Theory of Mind
Fetishism
Pornography
Incels
Selected Publications
Simon's clinical work was previously with the team at Mersey Forensic Psychology Service, a specialist NHS service providing assessment and intervention for offenders in the community, and in a medium secure service. The team used a variety of approaches to work with individuals including EMDR, Schema Therapy, Mindfulness, and CBT. Simon was the manager and co-facilitator for the introductory sex offender group, working mainly with men who have offended sexually against children, at the stage when these men are at their most psychologically fragile and vulnerable. Most recently he has co-facilitated the Non-Offending Partners Group. The forensic team have been involved in a number of research projects, regularly present at the Division of Forensic Psychology Annual Conference, and provide teaching to a range of programmes at a variety of universities.
Currently Simon works at a local Low Secure service working with a range of men.
Stalking, sexual offending, anger and aggression, the psychology of victims, communication skills, the cognitive interview, the jury, genograms, working with complex cases, story completion, EMDR, CFT, Gestalt Therapy.
Past Research
Attributions in male sexual offenders
Child vs Adult Theory of Mind differences in male sexual offenders
Aspects of therapeutic need in male sexual offenders
Personality Disorder and Aggression
An ICS conceptualisation of Personality Disorder
Self-harming; 1) attitudes of staff working with women in a medium secure unit
2) attitudes of staff working with men in a high secure hospital
3) attitudes of men in a high secure hospital
Religion and sexual offending
Secrecy/deception
Future Research
Further aspects of pornography, voyeurism, stalking, sexual assault, and concealment behaviours.