Category Archives: Research

Dr Sarah Krähenbühl blogs on the 2016 Intermediaries for Justice Conference

Posted on by

Dr Sarah Krähenbühl (Lecturer in Forensic Psychology & Course Leader for Staffordshire’s BSc in Forensic Psychology) reports on a recent conference held at Staffordshire University for researchers, policy makers and professionals with interests in the use of vulnerable individuals as witnesses:

On March 12th 2016 a national conference took place at Staffordshire University called ‘Intermediaries for Justice’. Registered Intermediaries (RI) are professionals who facilitate communication with vulnerable witnesses (and now also with vulnerable suspects) who are participating in legal proceedings. An RI will have specialist expertise in an area of communication, will conduct an assessment with a vulnerable person, and then liaise with all other professionals involved in the legal proceedings (e.g. Police Officers, Barristers, Judge) to ensure that appropriate communication takes place. At this conference, in addition to Registered Intermediaries, there were a range of delegates including Police, Social Workers, charitable organisation representatives (e.g. Citizens Advice Bureau), academics and students from Staffordshire University. The speakers included Hon Ms Justice Russell, HHJ Sally Cahill QC, Dr. Sarah Krähenbühl, Gill Darvill, Dame Joyce Plotnikoff and Dr Richard Woolfson.

Apr16 SK Conference picture

Dr Sarah Krähenbühl (of Staffordshire University) and Gill Darvill (Registered Intermediary) gave a presentation on the UK findings of a Europe-wide research project conducted for the Fundamental Rights Agency (Vienna) regarding children’s experiences in the Criminal Justice System.

In addition there were a series of 6 discussion groups facilitated by professionals covering a range of topics related to legal proceedings such as witness interview training, pre-trial recorded cross-examination, pre-trial preparation, individuals with autism or mental health vulnerabilities, and fitness to plead issues.

The conference was a huge success and was greatly oversubscribed. You can get further information about the work of Registered Intermediaries from the ‘Advocates Gateway’ website http://www.theadvocatesgateway.org/intermediaries – and of course, look out for their next conference in 2017!

The School of Psychology, Sport and Exercise at Staffordshire University is a leading School in the UK for Psychology degrees and is situated in the heart of England.  We produce internationally recognized research which is driving knowledge in this area forward and we work with a variety of healthcare providers, charities, international sports teams and private sector organisations.

For more information or details of the wide range of Psychology degrees on offer at Staffordshire University please visit our website and our courses page.

The Role of Health Psychology in fighting the Obesity Epidemic, #StaffsVSS, Thursday 7th April 4pm

Posted on by
Apr 16 Gillison VSS

Dr Fiona Gillison

The School of Psychology, Sport & Exercise is pleased to welcome Dr Fiona Gillison (Senior Lecturer in Exercise & Health Psychology, University of Bath) who is giving the next Visiting Speaker Series talk on Thursday 7th April, 4pm, in the LT003 Lecture Theatre in the Ashley Building (Leek Road campus).

Fiona previously worked in a public engagement role with primary care teams, and as a stop smoking and weight management specialist in the NHS, and so has continued to take a very applied approach to her research. Fiona’s current focus is on applying psychological theory into practice, in investigating how we can better support people to improve their health behaviours in the prevention and reduction of obesity – whether at the individual, community or policy level. She is currently involved in a range of research studies including; an intervention to promote weight loss in people with high cardiovascular risk, work with school nurses, public health teams and health communication specialists to improve the positive impact of the National Child Measurement Programme, and a collaborative project to identify the important dynamic processes within groups that facilitate behaviour change.

April7th VSS F Gillison

All staff, students and members of the public are welcome to attend these free Visiting Speaker talks – join in our live tweeting from the talk using the #StaffsVSS event hashtag. We hope to see you there!

The Visiting Speaker seminars are a regular series of free talks hosted by the School of Psychology, Sport & Exercise. Psychologists from across the country are invited to speak at these events to share their research and discuss their findings with staff and students from Staffordshire University. The Visiting Speaker series is also open to anyone from the general public with an interest in psychological research.

No need to book a place – just turn up!

New research explores experiences of talking about suicidality from perspective of people with Bipolar Disorder diagnoses

Posted on by
019

Dr Rob Dempsey

Dr Rob Dempsey, Lecturer in Psychology & Course Leader of Staffordshire University’s BSc (Hons) Psychology degree, blogs about a new study published with his PhD Student Rebecca Owen on understanding the experiences of discussing suicidality from the perspective of people with Bipolar Disorder diagnoses:

As part of Rebecca’s PhD research we have been exploring the experiences of suicidal thoughts, feelings and behaviours by people with a Bipolar Disorder diagnosis, with a particular focus on understanding the role of social factors and appraisals of social interactions in suicidality. We have already conducted a qualitative study where we interviewed 20 people with bipolar disorder to explore the sorts of social factors that might enhance or reduce their feelings of suicidality. We published the first part of this study last year on the relationship between social factors and suicidality (click here) and have previously blogged about our findings (click here and here).

As part of these interviews we also asked our participants about their experiences of discussing suicidality with us to help us to better understand if there were any negative or positive effects of discussing suicidality on our participants and to obtain feedback about our research. We identified six themes in our analysis:

(1) talking about suicide was not distressing for the majority of our participants.

(2) negative interview expectations: whilst most participants did not find taking part in the interview to be distressing, many had negative expectations before the interview about how they would cope with talking about personal experiences of suicidality.

(3) personal benefits: discussing suicidality for some participants helped them understand and reflect on their own experiences and, for some, helped with their own personal recovery process.

(4) value of suicide research: most participants felt that research into suicidality was worthwhile and many participants mentioned that they took part as part of a desire to help other people in similar circumstances.

(5) interview advice: for future studies, participants emphasised the importance of having stable moods before discussing suicide-related experiences, and positively commented on our approach  in the interviews to build towards discussing suicide in a gradual and careful manner, and ensuring regular breaks during the interview for the participant.

(6) talking about suicide was difficult: although most of our participants did not find the interview distressing, it is important to note that some did find talking about suicide and reflecting on past negative experiences to be difficult. A couple of our participants were also experiencing some ongoing difficult life circumstances at the time of the interview which appeared to explain why they felt talking about suicide was more difficult for themselves than other participants.

So what did we learn from these interviews? It was clear from conducting this study that many people with personal experience of bipolar disorder valued the opportunity to discuss their own experiences of suicidality, even though it was something difficult to discuss. Anecdotally, we were aware that many people with bipolar disorder experience significant periods of suicidality but may feel unable to discuss such experiences with friends, family or healthcare workers for a variety of reasons. We also found that a number of individuals with bipolar disorder, including those who didn’t end up taking part in our interviews, felt that suicidality in bipolar disorder was a poorly understood phenomenon – so there was a clear interest from individuals with lived experience bipolar disorder in better understanding suicidality. Whilst the majority of our participants did not find discussing suicidality to be distressing in our interviews, some participants did find reflecting on negative experiences to be difficult. The research team were careful to sample only those individuals whose moods were stable (based on a standardised screening interview) and only sampled those individuals who were willing to discuss their experiences with Rebecca.

Based on our analysis of the interviews, and our own experiences of conducting this study, we have made a number of recommendations for best practice when conducting similar interviews in the future. Examples include: (1) ensuring participants have a realistic overview of what the interview will involve during the pre-study consent process; (2) ensuring participants’ mood stability prior to the study and that the risk of suicidality is minimal; (3) providing extensive training in interviewing for the interviewer (including on-going support and training in discussing difficult topics during interviews); as well as appropriate after-study practices like liaising with the participant’s care team if the individual became distressed, follow-up phone-based support as well as post-interview brief mood-boosting techniques (see our paper via the link below for more details).

We are very grateful to our participants for their time and for their very valuable contributions to the study. We are in the process of completing a larger-scale project investigating which of the psychosocial factors identified in these interviews and a review of the past research literature are associated with increased suicidality over time or which help to buffer (reduce) feelings of suicidality. These quantitative studies will allow us to model the psychosocial pathways implicated in suicidality for people with bipolar disorder diagnoses, which may be crucial for developing theory-informed targeted psychological therapies.

Owen, R., Gooding, P., Dempsey, R., & Jones, S. (in press). The Experience of Participation in Suicide Research from the Perspective of Individuals with Bipolar Disorder. Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease.

Psy1

The Science Centre, home to the Psychology Department

The School of Psychology, Sport and Exercise at Staffordshire University is a leading School in the UK for Psychology degrees and is situated in the heart of England.  We produce internationally recognized research which is driving knowledge in this area forward and we work with a variety of healthcare providers, charities, international sports teams and private sector organisations.

 

For more information or details of the wide range of Psychology degrees on offer at Staffordshire University please visit our website and our courses page.

New paper exploring the effectiveness of mindfulness for reducing stress in health care professionals

Posted on by

Dr Amy Burton and Dr Sarah Dean (Senior Lecturers in Health Psychology) have been working in collaboration with an MSc Health Psychology graduate, Catherine Burgess, and researchers at the University of Leeds to explore the effectiveness of mindfulness interventions for reducing stress in health care professionals.

With the proposal of a move to a 7 day Mar16 AB Mindfulness Review 1NHS service hitting the headlines there are growing concerns about the impacts this may have on the quality of patient care. Many health care professionals already feel overworked, stressed and at risk of burnout with a recent survey highlighting that 81% of doctors and specialists are considering early retirement due the impact of stress on their sleep, relationships and physical health (Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association, 2015). It is therefore vital that we identify successful ways to reduce stress levels in the caring professions.

Mindfulness is one approach to reducing stress and is a simple form of meditation that encourages the stressed person to focus on the present moment and acknowledge and accept their thoughts and feelings. For this research the team identified and reviewed nine published studies that have tested the value of using mindfulness interventions to reduce stress in health care professionals. The results of this review indicated that mindfulness interventions significantly reduced stress levels in this group.

Mar16 AB Mindfulness Review 2However, there were problems with the studies that indicate the need for more work in this area. Many of the interventions were very time intensive and drop out was common due to work, family and other pressures. This suggests that the mindfulness approach is not always possible within current health care environments without additional support. Furthermore, the quality of some of the reviewed studies was poor and very few explored whether the reduced stress levels reported were maintained long term. The team propose that more high quality research is needed before clear conclusions about the value of this type of intervention for reducing stress in health care professionals can be drawn.

Details of the full paper:

Burton, A. E., Burgess, C., Dean, S., Koutsopoulou, G., & Hugh-Jones, S. (2016). How effective are mindfulness-based interventions for reducing stress among healthcare professionals? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Stress and Health.

The Home of Health Psychology – Staffordshire University

Staffordshire University’s Centre for Health Psychology is a centre of excellence for teaching and research in Health Psychology, and is home to Staffordshire’s BPS Accredited Stage 1 MSc in Health Psychology and BPS Accredited Stage 2 Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology. The Centre for Health Psychology is part of the School of Psychology, Sport and Exercise, one of the leading research-active academic schools for Psychology and Sport degrees situated in the heart of England.

Follow the Psychology Department’s latest research news via @StaffsPsych and clicking on the #StaffsPsyRes hashtag.

For further information about Health Psychology courses and research at Staffordshire University please visit the following webpages:

“Reflecting Nature: Psychology & Art”, #StaffsVSS, Thursday 10th March 4-5pm

Posted on by

The School of Psychology, Sport & Mar16 VSS 2Exercise is pleased to welcome Mark Ware (an award-winning multimedia artist and a Honorary Research Fellow at Brighton and Sussex Medical School) who is giving the Visiting Speaker Series talk with Dr Nichola Street on Thursday 10th March, 4pm, in the LT003 Lecture Theatre in the Ashley Building (Leek Road campus).

Mar16 VSS

Mark will be speaking about his personal experience of a stroke, how this affected his art, and his recent Arts Council England supported collaborative art/science work with Dr Nikki Street (Lecturer in Psychology at Staffordshire University) – click on the below flyer for more details:

Mar16 VSS Street WareAll staff, students and members of the public are welcome to attend these free Visiting Speaker talks – join in our live tweeting from the talk using the #StaffsVSS event hashtag. We hope to see you there!

The Visiting Speaker seminars are a regular series of free talks hosted by the School of Psychology, Sport & Exercise. Psychologists from across the country are invited to speak at these events to share their research and discuss their findings with staff and students from Staffordshire University. The Visiting Speaker series is also open to anyone from the general public with an interest in psychological research.

No need to book a place – just turn up!

Health Psychology staff, students and graduates present their research at the 2016 MHPN Conference

Posted on by

Staffordshire University has once again illustrated why we are the #HomeOfHealthPsychology at the Midlands Health Psychology Network Conference. The event, held at Kings Hall in Stoke-on-Trent on the 25th February 2016, was attended by 3 members of staff and over 20 current students and graduates from Staffordshire University’s Centre for Health Psychology. Our Health Psychologists and trainees made a huge impact at the conference presenting in half of the talks and displaying several research posters.

Mar16 MHPN Conference 3

Our current MSc in Health Psychology students enjoying the MHPN Conference

Mar16 MHPN Conference 1

Aimee Cooke with her poster at the MHPN Conference

Contributors included: current MSc Students, such as Aimee Cooke who presented her poster on vestibular rehabilitation interventions; Professional Doctorate students, including Katrin Hulme who presented the experience of chronic cough; and graduates, including Rebecca Rushton who presented on her MSc research exploring the effectiveness of personality and the theory of planned behaviour for predicting intentions to attend for cervical screening. Rebecca found the conference a fantastic opportunity to put into practice the skills developed during her time studying for the MSc Health Psychology: “Having the opportunities to develop my presentation skills during the MSc prepared me to present at the conference. Although I was apprehensive it has provided me with invaluable experience”.

Mar16 MHPN Conference 2

Rebecca Rushton presenting her research in the Kings’ Hall, Stoke

A trip to the conference was built in to the MSc Health Psychology teaching programme to ensure all current students had the opportunity to attend. MSc student Suha Ahmed really enjoyed the experience: “I learnt a lot from the conference and particularly enjoyed learning about all the different areas where Health Psychologists work and conduct research. I also found it useful to watch the presentations and pick up tips to help me develop my own presentation skills and enjoyed having the opportunity to talk to other health psychologists in person and ask questions about their research. I absolutely loved it!”.

Mar16 MHPN Conference 5

Rebecca Lawrence-Higton presenting her research at the MHPN Conference

The MSc students also valued the opportunity to learn about research conducted by our own Professional Doctorate students. For example, Mike Oliver particularly enjoyed the presentation by current Professional Doctorate student Alison Killen: “I thought Alison’s presentation was really thought provoking.  The points about gratitude as a means to promote wellbeing was interesting, and the ‘gratitude diaries’ sounded like a practical way to take the theory into practice.  Set in the context of ageing and loneliness which are receiving more and more attention, I think the work provides an example of how health psychology could make a big difference in society”.

Some of our current and past Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology students

Some of our current and past Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology students

Our MSc Health Psychology Course Director, Dr Amy Burton, was impressed by the professionalism, confidence and health psychology knowledge shown by our current and past students: “three of my current and graduate project students presented at the conference this year and all were passionate about their research. They used skills developed throughout the MSc to network with, and answer questions from, other health psychologists and trainees from throughout the Midlands – I’m confident they all have an exciting career in Health Psychology ahead of them”

Current MSc Student presentations:

Cooke, A., & Burton, A. Vestibular Rehabilitation: Impact upon Quality of Life and Physical Daily Tasks. A Mixed Methods Approach. (Poster)

Current Professional Doctorate Student presentations:

Killen, A., & Macaskill, A. Using a gratitude intervention to enhance well-being in older adults.

Highton, F., C., O., & Clark-Carter, D. The experience of vision impairment diagnosis and its prognosis on health related quality of life.

Hulme, K., Dogan, S., Parker, S., & Deary, V. “Chronic cough, cause unknown”: A qualitative study of patient perspectives of idiopathic cough.

Sumodhee, D., & Payne, N. Healthy eating beliefs and intentions of mothers and their adult children: An intergenerational transmission perspective. (Poster)

Health Psychology MSc Graduates and Staff presentations:

Higgins, S. J., & Semper, H. The effects of nutrition label format on healthier dietary choices: A forced choice eye-tracking study. (Poster)

Hope, K., & Sherman, S. Perceptions of cervical cancer and screening among older women – A work in progress. (Poster)

Hughes, M., Burton, A., & Dempsey, R. Using photo elicitation to explore quality of life in people with paraplegia and chronic pain.

Rushton, R., & Dean, S. Predicting cervical screening intentions using personality and the Theory of Planned Behaviour

Lawrence-Highton, R., & Burton, A. Looking at things from a positive point of view: an IPA on the exercise experience of individuals with positive body image

The Midlands Health Psychology Network

The MHPN hold a one day conference in February every year which is attended by around 100 members from across the Midlands and is a forum for health psychologists to share clinical and research experiences, information, knowledge and training. Existing members include MSc students, doctorate students, chartered health psychologists based at local NHS sites and regional universities, third sector employees, senior and early career academics, health practitioners and pharmacists. To learn more about the MHPN please visit the website: www.mhpn.co.uk.

The Home of Health Psychology – Staffordshire University

Staffordshire University’s Centre for Health Psychology is a centre of excellence for teaching and research in Health Psychology, and is home to Staffordshire’s BPS Accredited Stage 1 MSc in Health Psychology. The Centre for Health Psychology is part of the School of Psychology, Sport and Exercise, one of the leading research-active academic schools for Psychology and Sport degrees situated in the heart of England.

For further information about Health Psychology courses and research at Staffordshire University please visit the following webpages:

MSc Health Psychology Graduate wins National BPS Prize!

Posted on by

We are very pleased to announce that our own MSc in Health Psychology graduate Sarah Higgins has won the UK-wide award for ‘Outstanding MSc Thesis’ awarded by the British Psychological Society’s Division of Health Psychology. The competition for this award is stiff with course leaders from across the UK nominating the best MSc thesis from their cohort of students.

Sarah Higgins‘ thesis was entitled ‘The effects of nutrition label format on healthier dietary choices: A forced choice eye-tracking study’ was nominated by her supervisor Dr Heather Semper and course leader Dr Amy Burton as she achieved the highest mark in the 2014-15 cohort, and the work was of exceptional quality. Sarah completed her MSc in Health Psychology alongside a full time job as a Psychology Technician at Staffordshire University, and achieved a Distinction overall for her Masters’ degree.

Sarah Higgins presenting a poster version of her study at the Midlands Health Psychology Network conference in Stoke-on Trent on February 25th 2016.

Sarah Higgins presenting a poster version of her study at the Midlands Health Psychology Network conference in Stoke-on Trent on February 25th 2016.

Sarah’s thesis explored whether hybrid labels, which combine text values and traffic light colours, could improve the selection of healthier dietary choices and the attention to health-related nutrients. She used an eye tracker to investigate the label formats with 48 healthy participants. The analyses showed significantly lower correct selections of healthier dietary choices for colour-only vs. hybrid label formats. The colour-only and hybrid label formats were processed faster than the text-only label formats, with reduced fixation counts and fixation dwell times. For all label formats the percentage fixation dwell time was significantly greater for fats and sugars than other nutrients.

Supervisor Dr Heather Semper said “Sarah’s thesis was exceptional, and we are very pleased that she has won the award and very proud of her. She clearly worked very hard on the project and the topic is novel and interesting. We are currently in the process of writing this study up for publication in a peer reviewed publication. She has a very bright career in health psychology ahead of her”.

The award will be presented at the Division of Health Psychology’s Annual Conference in Aberdeen in August 2016 (http://ehps2016.org/) where she has been invited to present the paper in an oral presentation.

Staffordshire University’s Centre for Health Psychology is a centre of excellence for teaching and research in Health Psychology, and is home to Staffordshire’s BPS Accredited Stage 1 MSc in Health Psychology. The Centre for Health Psychology is part of the School of Psychology, Sport and Exercise, one of the leading research-active academic schools for Psychology and Sport degrees situated in the heart of England.

For further information about Health Psychology courses and research at Staffordshire University please visit the following webpages:

 

From the body to the self: How body signals contribute to self-consciousness (#StaffsVSS, Thurs 11th Feb 4pm)

Posted on by
StaffsVSS Jenkinson profile

Dr Paul Jenkinson

The School of Psychology, Sport & Exercise is pleased to welcome Dr Paul Jenkinson (Senior Lecturer, University of Hertfordshire) who is giving the Visiting Speaker Series talk on Thursday 11th February, 4pm, in the LT003 Lecture Theatre in the Ashley Building (Leek Road campus).

Paul will be speaking about his neuropsychological research which explores the underlying mechanisms and relationship between the mind, body and self. He employs various methods including experimental neuropsychology, and cognitive, behavioural, and psychodynamic neuroscience. His work examines the neural and psychological mechanisms underlying body awareness, ownership, and interoceptive signals in neurological patients and healthy subjects.

All staff, students and members of the public are welcome to attend these free Visiting Speaker talks – join in our live tweeting from the talk using the #StaffsVSS event hashtag. We hope to see you there!

Feb16 VSS Jenkinson

The Visiting Speaker seminars are a regular series of free talks hosted by the School of Psychology, Sport & Exercise. Psychologists from across the country are invited to speak at these events to share their research and discuss their findings with staff and students from Staffordshire University. The Visiting Speaker series is also open to anyone from the general public with an interest in psychological research.

No need to book a place – just turn up!

The role of Health Psychology in understanding death and dying (#StaffsVSS, Thurs 28th Jan, 4pm) CANCELLED

Posted on by

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS TALK HAS BEEN CANCELLED

The School of Psychology, Sport & Exercise is pleased to welcome Dr Paula Smith (Senior Lecturer, University of Bath) who is giving the fifth Visiting Speaker Series talk on Thursday 28th January, 4pm, in the LT003 Lecture Theatre in the Ashley Building (Leek Road campus).

Paula will be speaking about her applied psychological research into death and dying. Paula is a Health Psychologist and a qualitative researcher whose current work explores the way in which families and health professionals manage the loss of a baby at birth, the nature of twin bereavement and also the psychological consequences and management of stroke in the acute phase.

All staff, students and members of the public are welcome to attend these free Visiting Speaker talks – join in our live tweeting from the talk using the #StaffsVSS event hashtag. We hope to see you there!

Jan16 VSS Smith

The Visiting Speaker seminars are a regular series of free talks hosted by the School of Psychology, Sport & Exercise. Psychologists from across the country are invited to speak at these events to share their research and discuss their findings with staff and students from Staffordshire University. The Visiting Speaker series is also open to anyone from the general public with an interest in psychological research.

No need to book a place – just turn up!

New Study into Pathological Demand Avoidance & Parental Wellbeing

Posted on by
Jan 16 Sarah Rose

Dr Sarah Rose

Dr Sarah Rose, Lecturer in Psychology & Course Leader for Staffordshire University’s BSc in Psychology & Child Development, blogs on her current research in Developmental Psychology including a new study being conducted with a Masters student:

If I said to you that I knew a child who had been diagnosed as having autism you would probably have some idea of the type of behaviour that this child might display. But what if I said to you that I knew a child with suspected Pathological Demand Avoidance… you probably would be less sure.

Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) is a recently recognised sub-type of autism. Children, and adults, with this disorder appear to be socially quite adept, can engage in role play and pretending but have extreme difficulty with demands and expectations from others. Consequently, even the simplest daily activities, such as getting dressed when asked to, can become a huge drama.

As PDA has only recently been recognised, many clinicians and educators seem to know little about it and there has only been a handful of research articles published on the topic. Parents of these children are likely to need a lot of support, as their children can often present severe behavioural challenges. A quick look on forums for parents tell us that many have struggled to get a diagnoses and many feel that they have been wrongly accused of poor parenting.

Jan 16 Mandi Baker

Amanda Baker

At Staffordshire University Amanda Baker, a student studying for her MSc in Applied Research in Psychology, is investigating the associations between children with suspected and diagnosed Autism and PDA and the parent’s well-being along with the impact it has on the family.

(August 2016 update) We have completed recruitment for this study and are currently in the process of analysing the data with a view to publicising the findings in the near future.

 

Dr Sarah Rose is a Lecturer in Psychology and a member of the School of Psychology, Sport and Exercise at Staffordshire University, a leading School in the UK for Psychology degrees situated in the heart of England.  We produce internationally recognized research which is driving knowledge in this area forward and we work with a variety of healthcare providers, charities, international sports teams and private sector organisations.

For more information or details of the wide range of Psychology degrees on offer at Staffordshire University please visit our website and our courses page. For further information about our MSc by Applied Research please visit our course page.

Follow the latest news and updates from Staffordshire University’s Centre for Psychological Research via the #StaffsPsyRes twitter hashtag.