Archive
December 2021
The uncanny
Dr Jon Sutton introduces the December 2021 issue.
Eroding the uncanny valley
Emma L. Barratt hears from researchers understanding our reactions to robotics.
Changing the language of care
Carmel Jacob-Thomson with a professional and personal reflection on the words used to talk to and about Care Experienced Children and Young People.
Diagnosis – only part of the picture
Lauren McGregor questions whether neurodevelopmental labels overshadow a fuller picture based on formulation.
A family story
Hannah Sherbersky is a family therapist, Co-Director of the Systemic Portfolio and lecturer at the University of Exeter. Tony Wainwright heard about her work, and her father’s book on being an apartheid prisoner.
‘The uncanny depends on a disruption to the self’
Our journalist Ella Rhodes uncovers uncanny thoughts and cognitive paradoxes…
Uncanny places
Lucy Huskinson explores…
Developments in psychology’s Covid research
Emma Barratt on ways of working and areas of interest.
You do the hokey cokey and you turn it around…
Kerenza MacLennan has worked for three and a half years as an Assistant Psychologist at Bradley Complex Care, a specialist hospital near Grimsby. She has recently enrolled on the BPS Qualification in Forensic Psychology (stage 2). Ian Florance heard about her journey so far, and what the future might hold.
The familiar become strange…
Uncanny Bodies (Luna Press), edited by Pippa Goldschmidt, Gill Haddow and Fadhila Mazanderani, is an anthology of papers and stories by academics and writers. Dr Clare Uytman, psychology lecturer at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, contributed to the book, and spoke to Pippa and Gill about the uncanny in life as well as the uncanny in putting the book together.
November 2021
The problem of pathocracy
Do psychologists have a responsibility to help prevent ruthless, amoral people attaining positions of power? Steve Taylor considers the arguments.
Books as friends
Keith Oatley wonders whether Marcel Proust might stand alongside William James as a psychologist, and how fiction may be important for us.
Can anger be a force for good?
Emma Young digests the research.
Resilience to uncertainty
Eleonore Batteux.
Work in the real world
Ian Bushnell, Programme Chair for the European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology Congress which is set to take place in Glasgow in January, introduces a set of conversations with the keynotes…
‘Unfreezing moments are here… we have to be ready to work together’
Stuart Carr is Professor of Psychology at Massey University in New Zealand/Aotearoa. He will be delivering the opening keynote at EAWOP. Ingrid Covington asks the questions.
‘Trauma work is a search for meaning'
Ian Florance interviews Noreen Tehrani, a founder member of the Society’s Crisis, Disaster and Trauma Section and Deputy Chair of the Division of Occupational Psychology.
‘How can we ensure people have a career that shapes them in a positive way?’
Ans DeVos is Professor of Antwerp Management School at the University of Antwerp. Ingrid Covington asks the questions.
‘Open your eyes to collective dimensions’
Alex Haslam is Professor of Social and Organizational Psychology and Australian Laureate Fellow at the University of Queensland. He studies group and identity processes in organisations, societies and the clinical context. Ingrid Covington asks the questions.
‘How individuals impact the place – not just how the place impacts the individuals’
Dr Gilad Chen is the Robert H. Smith Chair in Organizational Behavior at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. Ingrid Covington asks the questions.
A neat equation
Educational Psychologist Fraser Lauchlan on his unusual journey.
Understanding powerful instincts and emotions are key to managing modern conflicts
Deputy editor Shaoni Bhattacharya talks to Professor Mari Fitzduff about psychology’s role in global peacebuilding, Trump and Brexit, and the crisis in Afghanistan. Now with postscript on the Ukraine invasion.
October 2021
Using evolution science to build a prosocial world
Freddy Jackson Brown, Paul Cooper, Emma Balfour and Mary Stanley-Duke.
‘Communicating can create a virtuous circle’
Ian Florance meets Linda Kaye, Chair of the British Psychological Society’s Cyberpsychology Section.
'We need to unlock the door from the inside'
Dr Jolel Miah recently completed his PhD and is currently a Lecturer of Psychology at the University of Sunderland and a member of the British Psychological Society's Division of Health Psychology’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Taskforce. Here, he discusses his journey as a British Bangladeshi in the Psychology profession, with Associate Editor Chrissie Fitch.
Being alongside people in a time of isolation
Hope Samuel on Healthworker Talk, a podcast in which they talk with NHS workers; and producer David Ian Neville with some practical guidance.
‘Those secrets… they’re literally eroding my bones’
Kyle Kelleher considers Adverse Childhood Experiences, and the need to discuss family trauma.
‘Cybersecurity does not protect what it is to be human online’
Ella Rhodes spoke to Mary Aiken, Professor of Forensic Cyberpsychology at University of East London, about her recent work with the UK government on protecting people from harm online, and the areas of cyberpsychology which need more attention from researchers and policymakers.
The threat is coming from inside the house
Annie Hickox balances the value of sharing our personal stories of mental illness with the risk of exposure.
Listening with an open heart
'How to help someone with anxiety' by Rachel M. Allan is published by Welbeck Balance. Deputy editor Annie Brookman-Byrne asks the questions.
Tics in the room and tics on Zoom
Dr Seonaid Anderson, Chartered Psychologist and freelance neurodiversity consultant, hears from Becky Simpson about being a therapist with Tourettes during Covid-19.
One for sorrow… seven for a secret
Vanessa Moore on whether it is helpful to be a clinical psychologist if you develop mental health problems.
From academia to industry – two stories
Ashleigh Johnstone and Joshua Balsters on their moves to Gorilla, the online experiment builder.
‘Kill your selves’ every day
Dr Nic Hooper on students and self-stories.
‘People erase my existence’
Thomas York, a bisexual psychology student at Bath Spa University, draws on research and cultural sources to understand biphobia and bisexual erasure.
Featured job: Clinical Psychologist, Magna House
We hear from Lead Psychologist Hugo Santos.
September 2021
Conversations on class
Ella Rhodes and Annie Brookman-Byrne talk to psychologists about its impact.
Decolonising psychological science: encounters and cartographies of resistance
Luis Gómez-Ordóñez, Glenn Adams, Kopano Ratele, Shahnaaz Suffla, Garth Stevens and Geetha Reddy engage the decolonial project that Dr Deanne Bell outlined in these pages last year.
‘Never feel confined by methodologies or disciplines'
Ian Florance interviews Jovan Byford, a senior lecturer in psychology at the Open University.
‘Intercultural competence is a very important part of psychological literacy’
Intercultural Competence for College and University Students: A Global Guide for Employability and Social Change by Dr Caprice Lantz-Deaton and Professor Irina Golubeva is out now. Jon Sutton asked Caprice some questions about the book.
The justice system is failing victims and survivors of sexual violence
Tammi Walker, Alison Foster, Rabiya Majeed-Ariss and Miranda Horvath on a role for psychologists in improving processes and protection around rape cases.
‘Why aren’t there more of us?'
Nina Higson-Sweeney, a psychology PhD student of mixed heritage, discusses her podcast series Black Future Dr with Associate Editor Chrissie Fitch.
‘With AI, we’re amplifying the powers of the clinician'
Dr Ross Harper on his journey to CEO for Limbic, providing AI software for mental healthcare.
‘Sometimes the whole room morphs into a different place’
Lee Jones discusses Charles Bonnet Syndrome, and lockdowns, with Keith Valentine and Judith Potts.
Forbidden histories
Callum E. Cooper interviews Andreas Sommer (pictured) on the importance of historical awareness for psychology.
‘They had embodied a narrative’
Our editor Jon Sutton hears from Suzanne O’Sullivan about her new book, The Sleeping Beauties and Other Stories of Mystery Illness (Pan Macmillan).
One on one… with Katherine Carpenter
Clinical Neuropsychologist and new President of the British Psychological Society.
Let the children play
Emma Young digests the research…
‘The person becomes the universe of exploration’
Astrid Coxon meets Jonathan A. Smith, recipient of an Honorary Fellowship of the BPS, best known for his development of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis.
Empathy training: valuable enterprise, or basic misunderstanding?
Chris Timms argues for a different view.
Exploring novel approaches to youth mental health
Lawrence Howells turns to health and emotion.
Summer Edition
Our 'from poverty to flourishing' issue
Jon Sutton introduces the July/August edition, with links to the themed content.
Fair’s fair?
What should psychologists understand about austerity, and ways to broaden the role of psychologists in order to combat its effects? Insights from ‘Make My City Fair’ in Birmingham.
The stranger
A chapter from Darren McGarvey’s book Poverty Safari
Forging brighter futures with young care leavers
Duncan Gillard, Louise Hayes, Aoife McNally and Kate Willis on giving people skills to ‘reboot’ their lives.
‘Out of poverty, I felt like an alien’
Karina Webb reflects on the complexity of flourishing.
Taking context seriously
Jennifer Sheehy-Skeffington with a socio-ecological perspective on decision-making in contexts of poverty.
‘For us it’s about getting out of the laboratory, into the field’
Our editor Jon Sutton meets Professor Clifford Stott MBE.
‘The pandemic has highlighted the huge social divide that exists in the UK’
Vivian Hill talks attainment gaps, education and resilience.
Four approaches for flourishing
Experiences from the Psychologists for Social Change network.
‘I’m one of them’
Our editor Jon Sutton meets Professor Greta Defeyter, Director of Healthy Living, a research lab at Northumbria University.
How can we flourish?
For our latest Voices In Psychology competition, looking to identify and nurture new writing talent, we asked the question…
From poverty to poetry
For our annual poetry competition we asked for entries related to the BPS policy theme, ‘From poverty to flourishing’. We present the winning poem followed by three runners up… plus a poem commissioned by the BPS from member and spoken word artist Sanah Ahsan.
The landscape of poverty
Rhiannon Cobner, Jen Daffin and Sarah Brown with a psychosocial ecological approach to flourishing.
Don’t care too much for money?
Emma Young digests research on money.
‘You can improve the policy by attending to people’s dignity’
David Robson meets psychologists considering the importance of how poverty is framed.
June 2021
A decade of ‘power posing’: Where do we stand?
Tom Loncar on credibility and challenges.
Unmasking Myanmar
It seemed Myanmar was inching towards a more democratic regime, but since February the military junta has cracked down again on protestors. In this article Chris Mabey seeks to understand the situation and discern some signs of hope for this war-torn land.
The other side of the story
Sophy Irwin works for NIACRO in Belfast, Northern Ireland, to reduce crime and its impact on people and communities. Here, she talks about a project called Get Real, which is supported by the European Union’s PEACE IV Programme and managed by the Special EU Programme Body. Get Real works with the six strands of hate crime that are recognised in Northern Ireland – racism, faith and religion, homophobia, transphobia, disability, and sectarianism.
'We’re moving around the garden to get different viewpoints’
Mark Fox has had a long and distinguished career as an educational psychologist. Ian Florance met him.
The psychological impact of a lifelong illness
Louise Foster has a conversation with her mother about Multiple Sclerosis.
Merchants of light
Richard Brown looks to lessons from the history of open science in order to move beyond ideals and technology.
‘I started living a more aware life’
An extract from The No-Nonsense Meditation Book: A Scientist’s Guide to the Power of Meditation, by Steven Laureys MD.
'Even the bleakest moments are not permanent'
Professor Rory O’Connor is Director of the Suicidal Behaviour Research lab at the University of Glasgow, and President of the International Association for Suicide Prevention (the first person from the UK in almost 50 years). Our editor Jon Sutton caught up with him.
‘The environmental crisis is also a crisis of hope’
Dr Elin Kelsey introduces some key arguments from her new book.
How can we understand the suicidal mind in the moment of crisis?
Ella Rhodes spoke to three psychologists working to understand and prevent suicide…
May 2021
Living with cancer
A collection of pieces from our May issue.
‘Cognitive control can improve the quality of life of women with breast cancer’
Nazanin Derakhshan is a Professor of Experimental Psychopathology at Birkbeck, University of London and founder of the Birkbeck Integrative Centre for Building Resilience in Breast Cancer. Delia Ciobotaru met her.
Beyond borders in applied psychology
Nick Hammond and Nikki Palmer ask whether we are united by commonality, or divided by difference.
How to train your senses
Emma Young digests the research.
‘You should be over cancer by now’
Cordelia Galgut on living with the long-term effects of cancer.
‘I focus on the iceberg below the waterline'
Ian Florance talked to Amanda Gatherer, Chief Psychologist at Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust, who also works as a Consultant Clinical Psychologist with elite athletes.
Stories of family love
‘We are family: What really matters for parents and children’ by Professor Susan Golombok is published by Scribe. Deputy Editor Annie Brookman-Byrne and PhD student Laura Cox asked Susan about the book.
‘I can’t remove every obstacle that myeloma patients will face… but I can provide support’
Sarah Dempsey on work as a Myeloma Information Specialist at Myeloma UK.
Francis Huxley and the human condition
Ron Roberts and Theodor Itten.
‘Psychology is a young subject… even early in your career, you can contribute to its development’
Ian Florance hears about Assistant Psychologist roles and more from Liam Myles.
My chemical romance
Ginny Smith picks out six chemicals from her new book Overloaded: How Every Aspect of your Life is Influenced by your Brain Chemicals (Bloomsbury Sigma).
‘We’re all fighting the same battle, with different journeys’
Kate Fulton, working within Maggie’s, and Rachel Trimmer working within The Royal Marsden, both clinical psychologists, share their experiences of cross-sector working on cancer care.
‘Filtering down psychological thinking into cancer care: that’s how we make a difference’
Sahil Suleman is a consultant clinical psychologist and lead for Macmillan Cancer Psychological Support team at St George’s Hospital in London. Our editor Jon Sutton caught up with him from lockdown…
April 2021
Cycles
Our journalist Ella Rhodes considers the cyclical nature of life, both the more literal and the metaphorical.
The hidden life of a Top Boy
Ron Dodzro, who identifies as Black man, a Clinical Psychologist in Training and a lover of UK rap, looks to the genre to make sense of the hidden aspects of gang-affiliated violence.
Pathways to Psychology Part Two: What next?
Madeleine Pownall and Ian Florance with follow-up stories from the next generation.
Keeping it neutral: conducting research on immigration detention
Jake Hollis speaks to those detained at Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre in Scotland.
In a different timeworld
Steve Taylor seeks to make sense of time expansion experiences.
‘I realised I should put more trust in myself’
Georgia Dunning with her personal reflections on an undergraduate professional placement in a Clinical Neuropsychology Service.
‘I tend to deal with unconventional clients’
Ian Florance interviews Lindsay Wilkinson, who works primarily in the area of personality disorders. Among other subjects, Lindsay discusses her transition from the NHS to private practice and her route into psychology.
‘How is your parents’ relationship?’
Dr Camilla Rosan and Patrick Myers both support parents in reducing conflict and improving outcomes for children. Here they interview each other on the context of their work, their aims for the future, and the challenges in reducing inter-parental conflict.
One on one… Kristina Xavier
We dip into the Society member database and pick out Kristina Xavier, Clinical Psychologist & Integrative Nutrition Health Coach at Kristina Xavier Clinical Psychology & Coaching.
‘I’ve become increasingly interested in cultural differences’
Lance Workman interviews Peter K. Smith about his research on play and bullying.
Mental health and alcohol use – a chicken and egg problem
Daren Lee argues that for those who use alcohol to cope with distress, the landscape of mental health provision and its opaque exclusion criteria can be disorientating.
Scraps from the table?
An early career researcher shares experiences in the neoliberal Higher Education institutional setting.
Demystifying attachment
Robbie Duschinsky with part of an untold story.
‘Dehumanisation paves the way for the very worst things…'
David Livingstone Smith is Professor of Philosophy at the University of New England and is a campaigner for social equality, having spoken at a G20 summit about dehumanisation. David’s latest book On Inhumanity: Dehumanization and How to Resist It, published by Oxford University Press, is out now. Harriet Over, Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of York, asked David about the book.
March 2021
Lost
Psychologist Hugo Spiers introduces chats with five authors of popular books on the topic of finding and losing your way…
Dropping my mask
Eloise experiments with mindfulness to find her authentic, autistic self.
One on one… with Dr Cerith Waters
We dip into the Society member database and pick out Dr Cerith Waters, Clinical Lead Psychologist for Perinatal Mental Health Services in Cardiff and Vale University Health Board and a Senior Lecturer at Cardiff University.
‘The buried emotional tangle in the rag and bone shop’
Veronica O’Keane, Professor of Psychiatry and practising Consultant Psychiatrist at Trinity College Dublin, has her first trade book out now with Allen Lane: ‘The Rag and Bone Shop: How We Make Memories and Memories Make us’. Our editor Jon Sutton fired her some questions.
Joining the dance
Lucie Clements wonders why there aren’t more applied psychologists working with dancers.
Pathways to Psychology, Part one: Why psychology?
Madeleine Pownall and Ian Florance introduce stories from the next generation.
What Very Important thing have you lost or found on your psychology journey?
The winning answers to our latest question for our Voices In Psychology programme, identifying and nurturing new writing talent…
‘There are no good options’
We hear from psychologists finding themselves in the firing line on Covid information and response.
Changed at a stroke
Frances L. Vaughan on writing with stroke survivor Jody Mardula.
‘The aim of the game is to support kids’
Dr Rob Webster on working with schools to maximise the impact of teaching assistants on outcomes in children with special educational needs. As told to Annie Brookman-Byrne.
Sound of mind
Jackson Musker on six mental health podcasts for psychologists (and anyone, really).
Find the river: On loss, living, and love
Dr Nick Little, Clinical Psychologist, on a year of national tragedy, played out in small, personal vignettes.
‘We’ve got vacancies, and we’re missing out on the right people’
Catherine Dooley and Hannah Farndon introduce new advice on best practice in Psychology recruitment.
February 2021
What are the barriers to our profession, and how can we remove them?
The winners and runners up in our latest 'Voices In Psychology' programme.
The art of negotiation
Emma Young digests the research.
'We should, as a profession, be siding with the dispossessed’
Ian Florance interviews Rachel Tribe, an occupational and counselling psychologist who is, among other roles, Professor of Applied Psychology at the University of East London.
Changing ideologies and the role of the educational psychologist
Lorna Selfe on a career spent swimming against the tide of segregation.
Valuing early career psychologists
Daniel Yon offers concrete suggestions for supporting and valuing early career researchers in psychology.
Psychoeducation doesn’t have to be boring
Fiona Zandt on creative ways to help children and families understand anxiety.
The Rorschach Test at 100
The Executive Board of the British Rorschach Society – Kari Carstairs, Justine McCarthy Woods, Marc Desautels and Kevin Lambe – trace the history of the often controversial test in this country, and provide an outline of its use today.
‘Careers are squiggly’
Ella Rhodes, Jon Sutton and Annie Brookman-Byrne report from the British Psychological Society’s Careers in Psychology online event.
AWEsome work
Anna Sutton on promoting Authenticity to enhance Well-being and Engagement at work.
Words which can catch a wolf
Fears of child sexual abuse are on the rise in the digital era, with the internet providing a perfect playground for predators. But could technology also be the solution? Talia Gilbey writes.
The harmonic healing houses of Turkey
Asude Ucal revisits the Darüsiffas.
January 2021
A vegan future?
Dr Annie Brookman-Byrne introduces the January issue.
On ‘meatheads’ and ‘soy boys’
Alina Salmen and Kristof Dhont on the gendered nature of meat consumption and veganism.
‘Trying to change the world on my own would not work’
When Ian Florance asked him for an interview, Lawrence Moulin gave two reasons for agreeing: he wanted to talk about ‘how psychology can be applied in interesting places such as the Department of Health’; and to tell undergraduates who are, like him, from less ‘prestigious’ backgrounds, that they too can have a place in the profession.
The shift to sustainable diets
Richard Carmichael works on behaviour change, public engagement and policy for Net Zero. He tells us how food policy can help us reach climate goals.
Foundations for the best start in life
Ella Rhodes on a new British Psychological Society report on supporting children and families.
The distance between us
Matthew Cole and Kate Stewart on how society ‘helps’ us to rationalise the exploitation of other animals, giving us a ‘licence to harm’.
Let’s meat!
Charlotte De Backer with a history of meat consumption, and how a simple choice to eat or not eat meat can complicate our social lives
The four Ns of meat justification
Jared Piazza on psychological barriers to becoming and staying vegan.
The father of British neuropsychology
Barbara A. Wilson on Oliver Zangwill.
‘Vegan’: Recent word, ancient ideas
Matthew Ruby and Tani Khara on the power and status of plant-based diets in different cultural contexts.
Steakholders
An extract from ‘Why We Love and Exploit Animals: Bridging Insights from Academia and Advocacy’ edited by Kirstof Dhont and Gordon Hodson, published by Routledge. This chapter was written by Tobias Leenaert.
Challenging boundaries of work space
Emma Young digests the latest research on working from home during Covid-19.
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ISSN: 0952-8229 (Print), 2398-1529 (online)
...From the archive
Robert J. Sternberg on the stages of his quest to understand what bonds us together (download PDF for tables etc).