Psychological wellbeing

Exploring peoples fears, pressures and behaviours

Our psychology researchers are spearheading important studies into fears, pressures and behaviours, which can act as obstacles to emotional health and quality of life and devising strategies to help people overcome them. 

These research interests centre on, for example, tackling maths anxiety where research has shown that children as young as four experience worrisome thoughts about working with numbers. We focus on raising awareness of the role played by negative emotions in eating disorders, binge eating and obesity. We also apply concepts from compassionate mind training to counteract stress and burn-out in settings such as schools.

The in-depth knowledge we have developed in these - and many other critical areas - has shaped a broad portfolio of services designed to help people improve their psychological wellbeing and reach their full potential. It has also contributed to the development of our acclaimed MSc Health Psychology, accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS).

Our expertise 

The University is home to innovative and internationally recognised research projects led by a dynamic team of Chartered Psychologists, for example:

• Dr Tom Hunt, a leading authority on the possible causes and consequences of maths anxiety and measures to address it. Undertaking wide-ranging studies into the interplay between emotion and mathematical processing, he has a strong track record of consultancy work for various organisations, all informed by innovative published research
• Dr Frances Maratos, is an Associate Professor and Reader in Emotion Science. For the past 20 years, her research has centred on understanding psychological, neurological, cognitive and physiological correlates of emotional well-being. In particular, her research has contributed to understanding anxiety and its relationship with eating disorders, pain, understanding processes of threat and self-criticism, and the use of compassion for emotion-regulation across various populations. She has published over 30 peer-reviewed papers in these specific areas, as well as several book chapters. In recent years, she has become a key individual within the compassion in schools movement, leading on the UK arm of the international Compassion in Schools research programme (Gilbert, Maratos & Matos). Currently, she is also serving as a consultant on UK ‘Mindfulness Initiative Education Strategy’ policy
• Dr Emma Sharpe, whose research focuses on eating behaviour, emotion processing and behaviour change. Current projects include the development of a diagnostic tool and psychological interventions for obesity, based on the role of emotion, compassion and personality. She is also exploring how effective emotion regulation skills training could help individuals with disordered eating

Psychological Wellbeing Services

Our expertise are harnessed by many different client groups to help transform their thinking about psychological wellbeing. We deliver workshops, training, consultancy and project evaluation services to schools, universities, public sector organisations, businesses and the general public. 

Among the many opportunities are:

• Bespoke workshops for schools, charities, educational psychologists and special educational needs co-ordinators (SENCOs) on ways to combat maths anxiety. We also offer consultancy and evaluation to measure interventions aimed at reducing maths anxiety and bridging achievement gaps in maths
• Services designed to ease drug dosage calculation anxiety for those working within the field of nursing, health and social care
• Emotional wellbeing workshops, including techniques for managing stress and coping with pain or for parents to understand emotional development in children
• Compassionate mind training not only for schools but also for businesses, where the focus is on skills in team working, communication, listening and reflection
• Training relating to all aspects of eating behaviour, including how to recognise the signs and symptoms of eating disorders in family members, staff, students or children