College of Health, Psychology and Social Care staff

Ruth Hawley teaches on the Occupational Therapy programmes, is the MSc (pre-reg) Occupational Therapy stage lead and is a member of the placement team.  Her professional background is in Mental Health and she has completed research regarding video creation for assessment.

As a Lecturer in Mental Health Nursing, Kelly supports Student Nurses across the BSc Mental Health Nursing programme through teaching and assessments. Having recently moved into academia from clinical practice, she is responsible for the 'Practice Assessment Module'.

Dr Fiona Holland leads the health and well-being pathway on the MSc Behaviour Change and also teaches on the undergraduate Psychology degree and on the MSc Health Psychology. Fiona also leads on academic enterprise for the department, teaching workshops in Motivational Interviewing and Qualitative Research Methods, and is involved in consultancy projects.

Joan Howarth is a HCPC registered Occupational Therapist and Lecturer in Occupational Therapy. Joan has 24 years of experience in the field of higher education. Joan is passionate about teaching the concept of occupation in addition to the fields of occupational therapy and occupational science.

Kathy is a senior lecturer and the programme leader of BSc Counselling and Psychotherapy: Principles and Practices.

Yoon Irons is an Associate Professor in the field of Arts in Health and Wellbeing at the University of Derby's Health and Social Care Research Centre.

As a Research Nurse, Jessica Jackson conducts primary and secondary research for the Health and Social Care Research Centre. She is also an academic advisor for Public Health England and an Associate Academic for the University of Derby Online.