I’m based in Buckinghamshire and my first-year placements are with ReConnect (supporting parents with a child on a Child Protection Plan) and Psychological Services. As an undergraduate I studied Human Sciences, followed by an MSc and a DPhil in Cognitive & Evolutionary Anthropology, all at the University of Oxford. I was a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, where I conducted research into singing as a group-bonding mechanism and the genetics of human sociality. More recently, I was a Senior Research Fellow in the Division of Psychiatry, University College London, where my research focused on loneliness and mental health. I have also worked for charities. At Oxfordshire Association for the Blind (now MyVision Oxfordshire) I coordinated a befriending scheme and social activities for individuals with visual impairments. At Elmore Community Services I provided practical and emotional support to individuals with complex needs including mental health problems. After completing an MSc in Psychology (conversion course) at Oxford Brookes University, I worked as an Assistant Psychologist in the Oxfordshire Early Intervention for Psychosis service. As part of a small team, I set up a new service for young people experiencing at-risk mental states for psychosis (e.g. hearing voices, paranoid thinking).
