Before enrolling on your MSc Psychology Conversion (BPS) course, it’s nice to get to know the faces of who you’ll be learning from. The School of Psychology is headed up by Dr Gail Steptoe-Warren, along with a team of multi-disciplinary lecturers, bringing a wealth of academic and practitioner experience with them. Their use of an evidence-based approach to learning provides you with the opportunity to develop skills in psychology that can be applied across multiple career paths.
Prof Gail Steptoe-Warren is the Head of School for Psychology and is a Chartered Member of the British Psychological Society, a Full Member of the Division of Occupational Psychology, and a registered occupational psychologist with the Health Care Professions Council. Gail has worked within the HEI sector for over 16 years, having achieved Senior Fellow status of the HEA, as well as worked in a consultancy capacity within the public, private, voluntary, and charitable sectors.
Gail has close links with the British Psychological Society as the chief supervisor and registrar for the Qualification in Occupational Psychology, as well as being the chair for the Supervisor Training Working Group. Gail has authored several publications including books and journal articles, from occupational psychology to forensic psychology. She has won awards for her research contributions including the Fire Service Research Award and the Psychometrics Forum Award and was shortlisted for Occupational Psychology Practitioner of the Year Award 2018.
Sophie is a Chartered Coaching Psychologist and has been working in Higher Education for over 10 years, both in professional services and academia. Sophie’s main area of interest is Occupational Psychology, with her PhD exploring the sources of and reactions to work frustration, testing multiple models using mixed methodology.
Sophie is also a qualified test user and mental health first aider, who continues to work with public sector organisations such as the Fire and Rescue Service and National Health Service. Sophie has worked closely with West Midland’s Fire Service as a data analyst, researcher, educator, and on a project aimed to assess operational preparedness on incident ground. She is currently a governor for an education academy in West Midlands and is assisting on research assessing service user experience of online therapy within the National Health Service. She has also recently supported the public sector through voluntary work with the British Red Cross and St John’s Ambulance. In 2023 she was awarded a national award for women in leadership by SheInspires.
Leanne is a chartered Psychologist with the British Psychological Society, division of academic, researchers, and teachers, and senior fellow with AdvanceHE. She has had several teaching roles within higher education over the past seven years, and now works in a leadership position with strategic oversight of teaching, learning, and digital innovation within the School of Psychology. Her main area of interest is applied neuropsychology, and her work within brain injury rehabilitation has had an impact upon clinical practice, has been published in high impact journals, and has been presented at the World Federation of Neuropsychological Rehabilitation conference. Her work with the NHS and voluntary sector in North Wales has been awarded by a ‘North Wales Excellence Award’ and a Draper medal for ‘Outstanding Contribution’ within her previous institution. She has also contributed to Policy work to improve rehabilitation, processes and policies, and support for people with acquired brain injuries in Wales across healthcare, the criminal justice system, education, sports, and the welfare benefits system, by authoring the ‘Time for Change – Wales’ report with the UK Acquired Brain Injury Forum.
Anthony’s areas of interest include occupational psychology, health psychology and co-creation. Anthony’s PhD explored solutions to sedentary behaviour and physical inactivity in workplace settings. Anthony also has a keen interest in personality and intelligence research, is a qualified psychometrician and has been a recipient of the Psychometrics Forum’s Excellence in Psychometrics Award. Alongside academic research, Anthony has also worked as an independent business psychology consultant helping organisations to develop evidence-based recruitment and selection practices. Passionate about making psychology more accessible, Anthony has written and contributed to books, blogs and magazines within the field of occupational psychology, with his research being featured in publications such as Forbes.
Lucy Anacleto has recently joined the School of Psychology at Arden University as a lecturer. She is module leader for Cross-Cultural Psychology a level 6 module as well as leading the Introduction to Studying Psychology which is one of the first modules that students complete on their psychology degrees. She is particularly passionate about making sure that students develop a good set of study skills to help them get through their degrees and flourish beyond. Lucy is also supervising undergraduate and postgraduate dissertations.
Lucy has been teaching psychology for five years and as an early stage researcher has an interest in child and adolescent mental health, especially anxiety. She is also currently training to be a relational integrative psychotherapist and would like to expand her research area to incorporate psychotherapy as well.
Lynne Hemingway is the Programme Leader for the Distance Learning undergraduate Psychology programmes
Lynne is an experienced lecturer and has a range of teaching experience and course development from L2-L7. She has previously conducted research relating to cognitive models of language production within both clinical and non-clinical populations. She is now primarily interested in the application of psychology within education, and the impact of research inspired teaching to challenge barriers to learning and the promotion of widening access and participation.
Holly Stokes is a lecturer in psychology at Arden University. Her research interests lie within developmental and educational psychology. She is particularly interested in how we can use play to facilitate both development and learning, and the barriers which prevent both teachers and parents from implementing play within the school and home. Her other main area of interest is in the lived experiences of those with developmental disorders, specifically Autism Spectrum Disorder. She has also worked as a reviewer for the Journal of Gender Studies, contributed to government select committees, and presented at key conferences.
Dr Rachel Marchant is a lecturer at Arden University teaching on our MSc Psychology course. Before joining Arden, Rachel taught for several years in the Schools of Psychology and Medicine at Birmingham University. Rachel’s interests include neuroscience, psychology, cognition, perception and consciousness, hallucinations, mental health and psychiatry, brain imaging and stimulation methods, psychometrics, and qualitative and quantitative analysis. Rachel is also interested in pedagogy and andragogy, and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Rachel completed her PhD at Birmingham University where her doctoral research explored the neurocognitive mechanisms of anomalous experiences (e.g. hallucinations) in healthy, non-clinical groups. Rachel has experience using a variety of research methods including electron microscopy, brain stimulation (tDCS), recording (EEG), and imaging (fMRI), skin conductance, psychophysical tasks, and questionnaire measures. Extending her PhD research, Rachel is involved in several projects exploring hallucinations and related experiences in healthy people.
Dr Mvikeli Ncube is a Chartered Psychologist who received his PhD from the University of East London. His expertise, research and teaching interests are in social psychology, social constructionism, qualitative research methods, cultural & media psychology, and conceptual and historical Issues in psychology. Mvikeli has taught on a number of different modules across both bachelor’s and master’s degree psychology courses. Mvikeli’s scholarly work is primarily concerned with interpersonal relationships and social identity. In the past, he has published research on cultural psychology and social identity.
Nicola Bentham is senior lecturer within the school of psychology, focusing on the progression of our level 4 psychology students. Nicola, who started working at Arden in 2020 as an associate and then as a lecturer, leads the level 5 occupational psychology module for both blended and distance learning students. Nicola has contributed to various activities within the school, including receiving funding for a digital innovation research project called “Digital Capital: Examining the relationship between capabilities and wellbeing through inclusive online learning experiences”, and contributed to the delivery of Arden’s 2023 Global South Critical Psychology conference
With a background in Occupational Psychology, a member of the British Psychological Society and the Association of Business Psychology, Nicola’s research interests include organisational development and change, learning and development and digital technology. Her PhD, which began in 2020, focuses on organisational change and the concept of the ideal worker within the not-for-profit sector.
Prior to entering academia, Nicola worked across several different industries, including, oil and gas, investment banking, not-for-profit, construction and property in various learning and development, organisational change and coaching roles.
"Kieron is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology and he been lecturing at Arden since 2020. Prior to that, he completed a Psychology BSc and Health Psychology MSc at Coventry University as well as a PGCert in Research Practice with Birmingham City University. Currently, Kieron is completing a PhD at Birmingham City University exploring toxic behaviour within esports (competitive videogames) using qualitative research methods. Alongside his PhD, Kieron is also involved in research relating to eating disorders, specifically a phenomenon known as the 'Eating Disorder Voice'. This is a particular passion of Kieron's as he worked for a short time in a mental health hospital supporting individuals with eating disorders - he would love to make a positive difference to the diagnosis and treatment of eating disorders.
Kieron enjoys raising funds for charity and combining his interests. In 2021 he competed a 24-hour gaming marathon and raised over £1400 for the mental health charity Mind. Mind were so impressed that they included him in their adverts!"
Ali is an Occupational Psychologist (registered with the HCPC and chartered by the BPS). Ali is passionate about the application of Psychology (particularly Positive Psychology) to making practical improvements to people’s wellbeing and productivity at work. With this in mind, Ali consults with a variety of organisations, conducting all manner of projects for clients including leadership training initiatives, assessing staff mental health and wellbeing, training in job-crafting and self-compassion, and designing bespoke psychometric tests. In 2019, Ali won the Excellence in Psychometrics award (with The Psychometrics Forum) for her situational judgment test commissioned by the Fire Service. Ali is an accredited coach and supports neurodiverse individuals to develop self-confidence and practical strategies at work. Recently, she has been coaching individuals to facilitate forgiveness and reconciliation in workplace relationships.
Dr Bethany Wainwright is a Senior Lecturer at Arden University. She completed her PhD at Lancaster University in 2020 - her thesis was entitled "Symbolic Understanding, Language Learning and Engagement in Autism Spectrum Condition - The Role of Interactivity." Bethany's research interests lie within developmental psychology and neurodiversity, and following her PhD she worked as an Autism Information Analyst at the National Autistic Society prior to joining Arden in 2022
Dr Nigel Wilson is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology. He joined Arden University in 2021. Nigel is a Chartered Psychologist, Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society, and Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (AdvanceHE). He has over 30 years’ experience of working within the HE sector, in a variety of teaching, supervision, examiner, and academic leadership roles. His teaching and research background is in biological psychology, with a focus on psychopharmacological areas.
Tom Hatton is a senior lecturer in psychology with a background teaching in ‘Sport & Exercise Psychology’ which he leads on the Level 5 elective modules in the BSc Psychology course. Tom is also a co-module leader of the level 4 research methods module at the start of the undergraduate courses as well. Tom’s research background has included research in mental health peer support with police officers and interest in positive psychology applied to mental health & sport and the use of sport & exercise psychology principles in Esports. Tom has previously worked in clinical mental health, spending time working as an ‘Assistant Psychologist’ and therapy assistant supporting the delivery of dialectical behaviour therapy.
Christina Murphy is a lecturer and an Academic Integrity Officer for the School of Psychology. She is module leader on both Level 4 and Level 6 modules, including students' first module (Introduction to Studying Psychology) on the distance learning programme. This means she is passionate about settling students into their studies and supporting them to develop the skills they will need for success. Christina's research interests centre around gender and sexuality, media representation, and fandoms/fan practices. She is also a Graduate Member of the British Psychological Society, holds HEA Fellowship, and is an External Examiner across psychology, criminology and social justice modules for another institution.
Since 2010, Dr James Au-Yeung has been a psychology lecturer at Arden University. His academic background is rooted in cognitive science, with degrees in computer science, language and linguistics - as well as in psychology. He has over 30 years of research experience in human language processing and speech production. His specialist area is in stuttering and he has developed a theory on stuttering, which has gained widespread interest across the world, and has been studied and tested on Dutch, Brazilian Portuguese, German. English and Korean speakers. For over 15 years James has reviewed papers for various international journals, and has also been an Associate Editor for a journal that specialises in speech fluency.
Daniella Nayyar is an applied social psychologist with an interest in how theory and scientific research can help us to solve social issues in society. She is currently researching the role that intergroup identification and bias plays in political competition. Whilst she specialises in social identity theory and its applications, her interests extend to wanting to understand the various experiences of those in higher education and how we can encourage and inform greater diversity and equality and overcome barriers to education. She is also interested in social action and social movements that aim to encourage social cohesion and greater acceptance.
Dr. Sue Pattison is an academic supervisor for BSc and MSc research projects. Sue has a background in teaching and researching internationally, with an interest in the mental health and well-being of children and young people. She has worked with several governments and education departments including Wales, Northern Ireland, Turkey, Kenya, Hong Kong and the Gambia, and her research was instrumental in getting a counsellor into every school in Wales and Northern Ireland. She also works in practice providing psychological therapies and clinical supervision, which keeps her knowledge, skills and experience thriving.
Matthew is a lecturer in psychology for Arden University, specialising in areas around technology and its interactions with the human condition. Specifically, he is currently undertaking his PhD investigating the potential mental health benefits of video games. He is a fellow of the higher education academy and teaches on the undergraduate programmes for the BSc in Psychology and has taught on the postgraduate course as well. He currently supervises both undergraduate and masters level dissertation research projects, with a focus on technology and human computer interaction.
Matthew has already had quite an extensive research career, working on private and publicly funded research projects, as well as publishing his studies from his ongoing PhD research. He is always welcome to talk through ideas and welcomes and encourages enthusiasm around research and ideas. There are no silly questions or ideas here, just the door to the next answer.
Dr Penny Hyams has recently joined the expanding team in the School of Psychology at Arden University as a lecturer. She is currently leading a Level 6 module in Mental Health and Illness, and is contributing to other areas of our Psychology programme, including Social and Developmental Psychology and Qualitative Research Methods.
Her doctoral and post-doctoral research focused upon the organisation of social interaction, using qualitative research methods. This focused on interaction involving people with Autism Spectrum Disorders, but has since extended to other topics and areas. Her fascination with people and the highly diverse social worlds they inhabit extends to her three energetic children, two shaggy cats and one slightly wild garden!
Frances Simpson is a lecturer in the school of Psychology and leads the Introduction to Counselling Psychology module and the level 6 module Health and Psychological Wellbeing. She also leads the PGCert module ‘Neurodiversity in the Criminal Justice System’. As a practising Psychotherapist with ADHD, her research interests encompass the areas of social and developmental psychology, with a particular focus on the phenomenological experiences of mental and physical health problems and neurodiversity. She is passionate about using her knowledge and understanding of the strengths and challenges of neurodiversity to support all students in a holistic way.
Becky has completed several research roles including her most recent role as Senior Researcher at the Westminster Centre for Research in Veterans at the University of Chester, exploring health inequalities for those who had served in the British Armed Forces, where she received a Research Excellence Award for her work improving veterans access and recording in Primary Healthcare. She has also conducted research in the areas of Domestic Homicide, Suicide and Mental Health with extensive experience in both qualitative and quantitative methodologies and research ethics. Becky has a background rooted in Psychology completing her PhD in 2019 at Liverpool John Moore’s University focusing on a novel approach to measuring student learning gain with her undergraduate thesis exploring factors that affect essay writing. During her PhD, she also achieved a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education Teaching and Learning and a fellowship to the Higher Education Academy and has taught across both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, including supervising dissertations.
Dr Karina Hanson is a chartered psychologist and lecturer for undergraduate and postgraduate programmes at Arden as well as being a dissertation supervisor here. She is currently leading the Level 4 Introduction to Studying Psychology module as well as teaching on other modules across the London study centres.
Karina gained her doctorate in 2022 from the University of Greenwich where she researched barriers to success in Higher Education, particularly considering identity and belonging. Prior to that she completed a Masters in Child and Adolescent Psychology there, having been away from academia for many years following careers as a computer programmer for investment banks and then as a secondary school teacher. As an Early Career Researcher Karina continues her interest in Widening Participation in Higher Education and is keen to continue to research potential barriers to success for students and how they may be minimised.
Paula is a Lecturer at Arden University, she is a Chartered Member of the British Psychological Society and a Fellow of HEA. Her doctoral research focused on the effects of dehydration and water consumption on cognitive performance in children. Subsequently she worked as a Research Fellow on a grant from Cancer Research UK exploring the effects of e-cigarette advertisements on attitudes towards smoking and vaping. Paula has authored a number of publications on a range of topics (see ResearchGate for further details) but now focusses on the effects of beverages and nutritional substances on mood, motor and cognitive performance and attitudes towards diets and nutritional products and substances. Paula is an experienced teacher in Higher Education at both BSc and MSc level and particularly enjoys teaching Developmental and Lifespan psychology.
Linda Rockson is a Lecturer in Psychology. She leads the Level 4 Developmental Psychology module and teaches on Social Psychology, Contemporary Developmental Psychology, Key Studies in Psychology and Professional Development. She also supervisors undergraduate and postgraduate research projects. Her academic background is in Psychosocial Studies, Education and Psychology. Linda has worked in education for over 15 years across Early Years, Primary, Secondary, FE and HE sectors. Her experience has involved supporting students with barriers to learning to access the curriculum with their peers. Linda has experience teaching Higher Education modules in Psychosocial Studies, Family Studies, Education, Criminology and Psychology at all levels. This has led to a wider interest in researching the impact that teaching has on student engagement. Her PhD takes a cross disciplinary approach combining education and Psychology. Her research interests lie in student-lecturer interactions and student experiences. She is passionate about raising attainment levels for disadvantaged students and would like to further explore the impact that barriers to learning may have on student engagement. She aims to also explore lecturers’ experiences, as a tool to improve their own professional practice.
Janet joined Arden as a Lecturer in Psychology in July 2023 and is a module lead on the distance learning programme. Coming from an education background, Janet is interested in inclusion and wellbeing of children and young people. She is particularly focused on ensuring education is accessible to everyone and worked on research into auditory processing difficulties within higher education, to identify enablers and barriers. Janet also supervises undergraduate and postgraduate dissertation students.
With a background in Neuroscience, cellular signalling and Forensic Psychology, Dr. Aman Asif-Malik has an expertise in bridging different fields within Psychology in order to see the bigger picture. Aman’s research experience has ranged from drug addiction, schizophrenia, neurodegeneration and forensic psychology. All very much connected under the wide umbrella of mental health. She is driven by supporting people in developing their knowledge and skills to reach their goals.
Brought up in two very different cultures, Aman has an ept ability to bridge the language and cultural differences that often occur in such a multi-cultural and neurodiverse society. She is passionate about challenging stereotypes and breaking language barriers that can often promote these stereotypes.
Artistic at heart, in her very little spare time, she enjoys interior design, decorating and walking bare-foot on cold sandy beaches 😊
Dr Ashleigh Johnstone is a Lecturer in the School of Psychology at Arden University. She has particular interests in teaching cognitive psychology and neuropsychology, as well as applied psychology - considering how we can take our knowledge of psychology to help us understand the world around us. Recently Ashleigh has developed an interest in the psychology we see in action in TV and film, with an exciting project on this topic in the works!
With a background in psychological research which spans both academia and industry, Ashleigh is passionate about science communication and public engagement. Her research ethos is that there is no point in doing exciting research if it's not shared with the wider public! She often contributes to outlets such as The Psychologist and regularly takes part in widening access schemes such as I'm a Scientist and Letters to a Pre-Scientist.
Thomas James, Tom for short, is a Lecturer in the School of Psychology and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). He is module leader of L4 Introduction to Research Methods and L7 Research Methods; he teaches on L4 Cognitive Psychology, too. Tom is also Deputy Lead for the Upskilling of Students - part of the Psychology School’s Employability Team - and a dissertation project supervisor for undergraduate and postgraduate students.
Tom previously taught at Aston University for six years before joining Arden in 2023, and he has a varied background across Psychology (BSc) and Neuroscience (MSc; PhD). This has involved using brain imaging (EEG and MEG) in research, commercial, and clinical contexts, as well as brain stimulation (TMS and tDCS), neuropsychological and cognitive testing, and other related work with charities and research volunteer participation panels.
Tom truly loves teaching in higher education settings, values lifelong learning and self-development, and brings energy, positivity, and enthusiasm to interactive and accessible sessions.
Sorcha Newby is an assistant lecturer at Arden University. Her current PhD topic and research interests lie within cyber and developmental psychology. She is currently investigating how social media use and anxiety level affect sleep quality in young children, with specific focus on social media engagement and the fear of missing out.
This has also led to Sorcha becoming the founder and director of a Child Safe Ltd, a certification body that encourages social media platforms to prioritise the well-being of their young users.
Emily Blakemore is the psychology experimental officer at Arden University. Her role is vast but includes being the editor of the school newsletter and managing the Arden Psychology Twitter page among other various engagement projects. Emily graduated with a BSc in Psychology with Criminology but has found that her interests lie firmly within the health aspect of psychology which motivated her to undertake an MSc in Health Psychology. As a keen meditator herself, she is a strong advocator for enhancing psychological health and wellbeing through meditative practice and this passion has been translated through her research interests. Emily’s area of interests includes mindfulness and the neuroplasticity of long-term meditators, the impact of nature and mindfulness combined with virtual reality technology utilised in therapeutic settings to reduce stress and anxiety. As part of her philosophy, she strives to be distinctively experimental using quantitative methodology to investigate how to make an impact in the field.
I am an Assistant Lecturer with a BSc in Psychology from the University of Birmingham. Prior to my current role, I served as both a 1-2-1 and group Psychology tutor for A-Level and University Level students. Additionally, I have contributed as a research assistant at the Applied Memory and Cognition Lab at the University of Birmingham. Currently, I am pursuing an MSc in Health Psychology at Aston University, with a particular interest in eating behaviour. My voluntary experience includes working with child and adolescent inpatients through Wonder Connection and The Ronald McDonald House charities. Presently, I am engaged as an End-of-life support worker at Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust. I am also a candidate for Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) and hold membership in the British Psychological Society (GMBPsS).