Current PhD students and projects
On this page:
- Reem Alharbi – trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder in self-injury
- Peter Panayi – impact of complex PTSD in people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders
- Felipa Schmidt – understanding the psychological impact of online child sexual abuse
- Betul Yilmaz – trauma and psychotic-like experiences in Arabic speaking refugees, asylum seekers and migrants
- Alison Branitsky – online peer support interventions for individuals with auditory hallucinations
- Aidan Flinn – the impact of traumatic experiences in individuals experiencing an ‘At-Risk Mental State’ for psychosis
Reem Alharbi
My PhD aims to understand how experiences of trauma and subsequent development of complex post-traumatic stress disorder contributed to the difficulties with self-injury.
This will help to develop our understanding of the factors associated with self-injury for those who experience complex trauma and improve mental health interventions aimed at this population.
Email: reem.alharbi@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk
Peter Panayi
My PhD aims to explore how difficult life experiences and post-traumatic stress affect people who see or hear things that others don’t and/or may feel persecuted in some way by others. I will use data collected from clinical trials, and multiple research methods (for example, MRI scans and smartphone apps) to investigate this.
Email: peter.panayi@manchester.ac.uk
Felipa Schmidt
My PhD aims to understand the impact of online child sexual abuse and how support services are currently responding to these experiences. This involves conducting qualitative interviews with individuals who have experienced online child sexual abuse, as well as understanding the current framework of support that is offered by services.
Betul Yilmaz
My PhD is investigating the association between migration experiences/trauma and psychotic-like experiences in Arabic speaking refugees, asylum seekers and migrants in the UK.
Part of my PhD involves translating questionnaires into Arabic to accurately collect information about mental health and migration/trauma experiences in this population and to culturally adapt them.
The hope is to support research in humanitarian settings and understand the impact of adverse life experiences on Arabic-speaking people’s wellbeing.
Alison Branitsky
My PhD focuses on the development of online peer support interventions for individuals who hear distressing voices (auditory hallucinations).
The project will evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of implementing online peer support groups inspired by the ethos of the international Hearing Voices Movement. It will also look at if and how supportive relationships are developed and maintained in the online medium.
Aidan Flinn
My PhD aims to understand how traumatic experiences impact individuals who are experiencing an ‘At-Risk Mental State’ (ARMS) for psychosis how we should adapt existing psychological therapies for trauma to fit better their needs.
The project will include qualitive interviews with individuals at with an At-Risk Mental State and those who treat them alongside a clinical trial to investigate if trauma therapies at this stage is safe, feasible and effective.
Former PhD students and projects
- Carolina Campodonico – trauma in people who experience psychosis
- Safa Kemal Kaptan – online group parenting intervention for refugees and asylum seekers
- Rebecca White – influence of romantic relationships on mental wellbeing for people who experience psychosis
Carolina Campodonico
Carolina is now a Lecturer at UCLan. Carolina’s PhD aimed to understand how trauma can affect mental health in people who experience psychosis. Her project investigated which protective factors are associated with less post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex PTSD, and more post-traumatic growth.
Eighty-five participants completed a series of questionnaires, and a sub-group took part in interviews. Both studies investigated participants’ understanding of the relationship between past traumatic experiences and their current mental health.
Email: ccampodonico@uclan.ac.uk
Safa Kemal Kaptan
Safa is now a Lecturer in his home country, Turkey. Safa’s PhD focused on developing an online group parenting intervention with an integrated mental health component for parent refugees and asylum seekers with young children.
The project evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of delivering the intervention to forcibly displaced families that are resident in the UK.
Email: safa.kaptan@manchester.ac.uk
Rebecca White
Rebecca is now a Lecturer at the University of Manchester. Rebecca’s PhD aimed to explore how romantic relationships influence the mental wellbeing of those who experience psychosis and if or how mental health services should provide support in this area of people’s lives.
Email: rebecca.white@manchester.ac.uk
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