I am a Research Fellow within Bristol Medical School (Population Health Sciences) at the University of Bristol. My research focuses on young people’s mental health, wellbeing and self-harm using interdisciplinary and collaborative approaches. I am interested in working out what factors can increase risk for mental health issues and how we can target these factors to prevent and treat mental illness. I am committed to improving young people’s mental health through evidence-based, inclusive, and community-driven research.

My expertise spans psychology, epidemiology, co-production, and creative methods.

I currently lead the Create for Confidence project, a fellowship funded by The Prudence Trust and the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute (“Preventing anxiety and depression in schools: Co-production of a novel arts-based programme” November 2022-May 2027). In this fellowship, I am working with young people, parents, schools, creative therapists and mental health professionals to:

1. Explore current experiences of school staff supporting student mental health;
2. Assess barriers for an art-based prevention programme in schools; and
3. Co-develop and optimise a novel art and wellbeing programme aimed at preventing anxiety and depression in UK secondary schools.

I have worked on community projects to co-produce guidelines on how to create a safe space to support wellbeing and mental health, co-design a cultural activity to improve teenagers’ wellbeing, and optimise art and wellbeing workshops alongside Home2School Link. Please get in touch if you would like to discuss ideas for a community research project on mental health.

My previous work has focused on the psychology and epidemiology of mental health problems in young people. Most recently, I examined the bidirectional relationships between mental health problems and incontinence using methods to improve causal inference. I have also investigated the comorbidity of, and shared underlying risk factors for, disordered eating and self-harm. When based at Cardiff University, I conducted a study assessing the acceptability and feasibility of collecting genetic data in schools. 

For my PhD (Cardiff University), I examined whether overgeneral autobiographical memory could be a potential risk factor for early-onset depression using a number of different approaches (epidemiology, psychology, neuroimaging). I also worked on a project looking at changes in child mental health and associated outcomes over time.