Psychology (2021 cohort)
I am a PhD student in the Department of Psychology and Counselling at the Open University. My research addresses a significant gap in psychological knowledge, through investigating the role of appearance norms in women’s narratives of self and body, following mastectomy for breast cancer. It applies a multi-modal narrative approach on women’s mastectomy narratives across multiple domains of everyday life, and over time. The rich mixture of visual and biographical methods used is designed to counter the limitations of conventional qualitative health research studies that ‘freeze’ space and time in a single snapshot. The project will build on and contribute to academic debates in feminist psychology on the objectification of women’s bodies, narrative psychological accounts of health and illness, and the social psychology of medicine.
After having a family, and once my children had grown up, I returned to study as a mature student and excelled by achieving a 1st Class degree in BSc Counselling and Psychology and a Distinction in MSc Psychology. I was awarded an MSc Scholarship for academic excellence, and then went on to achieve a commendation for outstanding performance, having achieved straight Distinctions.
Since gaining my Master’s degree in Psychology I have been running my own counselling practice and I have worked in a range of health and social care settings with vulnerable individuals. More recently I have been providing support for individuals who have experienced PTSD and Addiction problems during the recent Covid-19 Pandemic. Support has been aimed at improving resilience and mental wellbeing.
