About

I am a HCPC registered and chartered Forensic Psychologist, having completed the doctoral route to qualification in 2022. I have worked across prison, hospital and community settings as part of my professional practice. 

Teaching responsibilities

I am an Associate Lecturer in Forensic Psychology on the Postgraduate Diploma in Forensic Psychology Practice and the Masters in Forensic Psychology. 

Within this role, I am module lead for:

• Professional Practice and Professional Ethical Standards (7FP512)
• Applied Critical Thinking and Self Reflection (7FP517)
• Forensic Risk Assessment and Case Formulation (7FP504)

I am also an academic supervisor. 

Professional interests

Areas of interest that I have developed throughout my training include the use of a strengths focused approach to guide compassionate and trauma informed practice. Moreover, as I qualified as a HCPC registered Forensic Psychologist in 2022, I am continuing to develop my professional interests and expertise.

Research interests

My doctoral research examined memory processes involved in eyewitness identification and optimising lineup construction in police practice, in particular to protect innocent individuals from misidentification. I have presented my doctoral thesis research on ‘constructing lineups for distinctive suspects’ at conferences in the UK, USA and Japan.

I am currently involved in research in the following areas; social climate in prison settings, the illicit economy in prison settings, perceptions of individuals convicted of sexual offences, substance culture in university students, police responses to stalking offences, and testing a new theory and risk assessment of child sexual exploitation. 

Membership of professional bodies

• A member of the British Psychological Society (BPS)
• A full member of the Division of Forensic Psychology (DFP)
• A registrant of the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)

I am also on the BPS Register of Applied Psychology Practice Supervisors (RAPPS) and an Associate Fellow of the BPS. 

Qualifications

• 2019 - 2022 - Forensic Psychology Practice Doctorate (ForenPsyD) - University of Birmingham
• 2018 - 2019 - MSc Forensic Psychology – Coventry University
• 2015 - 2018 - BSc Psychology - University of Plymouth

Recent conferences

American Psychology-Law Society Annual Conference, ‘Constructing lineups for distinctive suspects’, Denver, USA, March 2022. [paper presentation]

British Association of Cognitive Neuroscience Conference, ‘Constructing lineups for distinctive suspects’, Birmingham, UK, May 2022. [poster presentation]

Division of Forensic Psychology Annual Conference, ‘Constructing fair lineups for distinctive suspects’, Solihull, UK, June 2022. [paper presentation]

European Congress of Psychology Annual Conference, 'Replicating Similar but Non-identical Facial Features Improves Eyewitness Accuracy', Brighton, UK, July, 2023. [paper presentation]

Society of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition Annual Conference, 'A Systematic Review of Lineup Filler Similarity', Nagoya, Japan, August, 2023. [paper presentation]

Experience in industry

I am employed by the University of Derby as an Associate Lecturer in Forensic Psychology (0.2 FTE) on the Postgraduate Diploma in Forensic Psychology Practice. In addition, I work in practice as a HCPC registered Forensic Psychologist. Throughout my professional training and practice I have worked across prison, hospital and community settings. Within these environments, I have worked within individuals on both a one to one and group basis, and within an assessment and intervention context.

My work within the prison setting has included the delivery of Kaizen, a high intensity violence risk reduction programme. I have also worked on a Democratic Therapeutic Community, which is a high intensity intervention for individuals with complex needs and offending related to personality functioning.

In the hospital setting, I have worked with individuals with a range of mental health needs and cognitive functioning abilities and have delivered both open groups and manualised groups, as well as providing consultancy on risk management and care planning.

In the community setting, I have worked for a private practice that specialised in expert witness assessment for the family courts. Assessments were completed with adults, children, parents, teachers, and key workers. Forensic risk assessments include risk of violence and risk of harmful sexual behaviours. I have completed neuropsychological assessments of memory and intellectual ability and a range of psychometric assessments including personality, emotions, social problem solving, social competence, self-esteem, sexual behaviours, coping, violence, and aggression.

International experience

In 2022, I presented my thesis research on 'constructing lineups for distinctive suspects' at the American Psychology-Law Society (APLS) annual conference in Denver, Colorado, USA. 

In 2023, I presented my thesis systematic literature review on suspect filler similarity at the Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition (SARMAC) annual conference in Nagoya, Japan. 

Additional interests and activities

I am a member of the BPS Register of Applied Psychology Practice Supervisors and currently supervise BPS Stage 2 Forensic Psychologists in Training alongside my role at the University of Derby. 

I am currently authoring a book chapter on forensic case formulation and risk assessment. 

Recent publications

A paper is currently in preparation to publish my thesis research on ‘constructing lineups for distinctive suspects’.