Inequalities in society

Community Psychology and Community based interventions

Catherine has a specialist interest in community based interventions in relation to suicide, loneliness and mental health. Catherine is currently working with local neighbourhood and peer support organisations to examine factors which enhance emotional wellbeing and address suicide in the community. She has also recently completed research into in-work poverty and the involvement of people with disabilities in research. 

Suicide and self-harm

Member of the National Suicide Prevention Alliance and locally the Tees Valley Suicide Prevention Task Force.

Catherine has undertaken research into the role of meaning in life in suicide, gender (particularly masculinity), post traumatic growth and crisis interventions. 

Culture, BAME, refugee and asylum seekers

Catherine worked for Just Psychology, a social enterprise specialising in applying knowledge of culture and diversity in relation to mental health, social care and community psychology. Whilst here Catherine lead on a ‘Cultural Consultants’ project. working with the Somali, Eastern European and Chinese communities to increase cultural knowledge and understanding in health and social services. This work has recently been wrtitten up as a book chapter. 

Self-Harm and Suicidality

Catherine has lead on an evaluation project around self-harm in young people. The project examined a community and school based self-harm project in Sunderland, interviewing young people in schools, their parents and professionals about a self-harm support network for young people. Catherine runs a biannual 'suicide community of practice' with over 130 clinicians, public health and VCS orgs registered across the UK. Catherine is currently working with 'Mens Minds Matter' a male suicide prevention CIC to validate their coproduced intervention model around suicide. 

Other funded and non-funded partnership work includes: 

- Development of a Disability Community Research Network with CLIP and Hartlepower

- Evaluation of a Tees-wide employability intervention with Humankind and CAB

- Evaluation of the 'mentally healthy schools' trailblazer

- Development and delivery of the Teesside 'lived experience annual conference' and conferences with 'South Tees Wellbeing Network' in Public Health

- Development and delivery of ImpactLab social sciences clinic