Biography
I'm a Professor of Applied Counselling and Psychotherapy Research in Sight Loss at Abertay University, Dundee. I have been Programme Leader for the MSc Counselling, the Graduate Certificate in Counselling and the BSc Mental Health and Counselling courses. In addition, I'm a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. In 2022, I was a member of the advisory board, which reviewed the QAA benchmark statement for Counselling and Psychotherapy in UK (2022).
I am an accredited, registered counsellor with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), which is a professional body, consisting of approximately 80,000 members. From 2011 - 2020, I was a Governor for BACP. In my third and final term of office, I became Chair of BACP Research Committee, which had delegated responsibility for developing, informing and monitoring BACP’s research strategy, overseeing their research procedures, policies and plans, and approving and reviewing research projects. I am current Chair of the BACP Good Practice Committee.
My research interest is the social and emotional impact of acquired sight loss. Additionally, I am interested in wider issues surrounding disability, equality and inclusion. I am one of Abertay University’s Lead Voices for Disability. I was the Chair of the VISIONUK Mental Health Group from 2010 to 2016 and I am a current committee member of the Vision Impairment Charity Partnership Mental Health Committee.
I have produced high quality research, winning the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy New Researcher Prize 2009 and delivering invited keynote speeches and papers at a variety of national conferences, including the BACP International Research Conference. My research has also featured on BBC News and in the national press.
I contributed to the Patient Rights Act (Scotland) 2011, regarding the accessibility of health information for blind and partially sighted patients. I developed a research -informed model of counselling for people whose lives have been affected by sight loss. Following this, I collaborated with RNIB to design a course which trains qualified counsellors to work with clients with sight loss. The course gives qualified counsellors the opportunity to become accredited as a sight loss counsellor. My work on this became an Impact Case Study for Unit 3A of REF 2021. More recently, my work has influenced the work of Vision Loss Rehabilitation, Canada.
I am a member of Cross -Party Advisory Group on Vision Impairment at Scottish Parliament and I was a member of the Scottish Vision Strategy Advisory Board from 2010 - 2016.
I was associate editor for the International Journal of Disability, Development and Education and a member of the editorial board of Disability and Society. I am also an occasional reviewer for The British Journal of Visual impairment, the International Journal of Educational Research and Counselling and Psychotherapy Research. I have a guide dog called Meadow.
