About

I completed my undergraduate Psychology degree at Staffordshire University in 2007. In 2021, I completed my PhD here at Derby. The PhD focused on investigating the relationship between implicit and explicit measures of optimism and examining changes in them using positive psychology interventions. During my PhD, I worked as an Associate Lecturer and Associate Academic at Derby. I also worked as a GTA at Brunel University. 

During my PhD, I continued to research and publish in the area of positive psychology and well-being. I worked as a Research Assistant for Student Well-being at Derby and worked on several projects related to well-being. One of the projects was developing an online resource for postgraduate research students to support their wellbeing, learning and research.

I recently worked on a research project called Education for Mental Health, this project developed a national online toolkit for academic staff to help support university students’ well-being. The toolkit was designed to provide evidence-informed guidance on the ways in which curriculum can support both well-being and learning.

Teaching responsibilities

I currently teach both undergraduate and postgraduate students.

My teaching responsibilities are based on areas of: 

• Positive Psychology and Wellbeing
• Research Methods
• Biological / Developmental Psychology 
• Psychopathology

Research interests

My research interests are around Positive Psychology, Optimism and Wellbeing.

Membership of professional bodies

I am a member of the British Psychological Society.

Qualifications

Undergraduate qualifications

• BSc (Hons) Psychology, Staffordshire University

Research qualifications

• PhD in Investigating the relationship between implicit and explicit measures of optimism, and examining changes in them using positive psychology interventions

In the media

• University Student Wellbeing Website (2022) - Education for Mental Health Toolkit
• PGR Wellbeing Website (2021) - The Wellbeing Thesis
• Reach Website (Research Ensemble for Advancement in Cross-cultural Healthcare) 

Recent publications

• Kotera, Y., Adam, H., Kirkman, A., Aledeh, M., Brooks-Ucheaga, M., Todowede, O., ... & Jackson, J. E. (2023). Positive Mental Health of Migrants in the UK during COVID-19: A Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(22), 7046
• Colman, R., Kirkman, A., Jackson, J., Goldburn, L., Ozaki, A., & Kotera, Y. (2023). Breast cancer understanding among university students: A rapid review of cross-country comparisons. Archives of Breast Cancer, 10(2), 1-11
• Kotera, Y., Jackson, J., Aledeh, M., Edwards, A., Veasey, C., Barnes, K., ... & Kirkman, A. (2023). Cross-cultural perspectives on mental health shame among male workers. Journal of Men's Health, 19(3), 65-71
• Rushforth, A., Durk, M., Rothwell-Blake, G. A., Kirkman, A., Ng, F., & Kotera, Y. (2023). Self-compassion interventions to target secondary traumatic stress in healthcare workers: A systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(12), 6109
• Kotera, Y., Kirkman, A., Beaumont, J., Komorowska, M. A., Such, E., Kaneda, Y., & Rushforth, A. (2023, July). Self-Compassion during COVID-19 in non-WEIRD countries: A narrative review. In Healthcare (Vol. 11, No. 14, p. 2016). MDPI
• Kotera, Y., Lieu, J., Kirkman, A., Barnes, K., Liu, G. H., Jackson, J., ... & Riswani, R. (2022, August). Mental wellbeing of Indonesian students: Mean comparison with UK students and relationships with self-compassion and academic engagement. In Healthcare (Vol. 10, No. 8, p. 1439). MDPI
• Hughes, G., Upsher, R., Nobili, A., Kirkman, A., Wilson, C., Bowers-Brown, T., & Byrom, N. (2002, January). Education for Mental Health. Advance HE
• Kirkman, A. (2020, January). Education for mental health case study: Vivas Advance He
• Kirkman, A. (2020, January). Education for mental health case study: One-month field trip. Advance He
• Kirkman, A. (2020, January). Education for mental health case study: Compassionate Micro Skills of Communication (CMSC). Advance He
• Kotera, Y., Pope, M., Chircop, J., Kirkman, A., Bennett-Viliardos, L. A., & Sharaan, S. (2021). Resilience intervention for families of autistic children: reviewing the literature. Journal of Concurrent Disorders
• Kirkman, A. (2021). Investigating the relationship between implicit and explicit measures of optimism, and examining changes in them using positive psychology interventions
• Byrom, N. C., Dinu, L., Kirkman, A., & Hughes, G. (2020). Predicting stress and mental wellbeing among doctoral researchers. Journal of Mental Health, 1-9