I am an Associate Professor in the Division of Psychiatry, and a specialist in qualitative research methods in mental health.  I work across numerous research projects, leading qualitative work streams that aim broadly to explore and understand the experiences and perspectives of stakeholders (particularly service users) in mental health, and to bring these insights into treatment and service development.  

My specific research interests centre around collaborative forms of medication management in mental health, and acute care for mental health crises. In the field of psychiatric medication management, I have led work on service users’ views and experiences of taking medication, and of related discussions and decisions with prescribers; developed a conceptualisation of shared decision making (SDM) in mental healthcare contexts; and developed and evaluated interventions to enhance SDM. I currently lead qualitative work within the ‘RADAR’ study (PI: Joanna Moncrieff, UCL) on antipsychotic reduction and discontinuation. In the field of acute care, I have led qualitative work in a number of related UCL projects (eg the ‘CORE’ and ‘Alternatives’ studies, PI: Sonia Johnson), exploring mental health crisis care provided in psychiatric hospital units, crisis houses, crisis resolution and home treatment teams, and acute day units. This has contributed to understanding the critical ingredients of good crisis care, and to service improvement initiatives in this area.

I believe that good research is a collaborative endeavour in which team working and multiple perspectives enrich understanding and enhance the quality of findings and outputs. As a qualitative researcher, much of my work interfaces with PPI (Public and Patient Involvement) activities. In particular, I am strongly committed to the development of service user voice and participation in research. I often work closely with ‘lived experience’ and stakeholder groups, and with researchers at the McPin Foundation. I regularly run research methods training workshops for ‘peer researchers’ (people who identify as mental health service users), and supervise peer researchers up to PhD level and beyond.