Thursday 26 September 2013

An introduction to Yaél Ilan-Clarke

I am a researcher working in the Centre for Abuse and Trauma Studies (CATS) which is a new research centre at Middlesex combining Psychology and Criminology areas of interest. As a group, we are engaged in research, training and application to practice on issues of trauma and abuse, spanning events occurring both in everyday lives and on digital platforms.

I have been involved in a diverse array of projects since beginning working with the research group in 2008, with a focus on understanding issues of attachment throughout the lifespan and the measurement of abuse. My own background is Health Psychology (MSc at UCL) and I try to apply the skills and expertise derived from that field to the various projects in CATS.

Currently I am leading on an evaluation of an innovative hospital-based youth violence intervention at St. Thomas’ A&E department. It is an exciting and challenging opportunity to apply theoretical principles to such a ‘real-life’ project, something which rarely runs smoothly. However, the positive results from the first 3 years are encouraging and motivate me to continue to refine our methods of measurement and increase our understanding of conducting research in complex environments such as this. With it being an ‘action research’ project, we work both inductively and deductively, which makes for very dynamic and interesting work. We use both qualitative and quantitative measures, which give us a more in-depth understanding of the true meaning of the effects of the work being done. Ultimately it’s good to be part of a project working to improve outcomes for young people experiencing violence.

I am also interested in various other topics, particularly within health psychology, and would welcome an opportunity to collaborate on work in that field, particularly reproductive health psychology of which I am aware there is much expertise in this department.


Being a member of CATS I am based in the Williams Building G001. As I work part time I am best contactable through email Y.Ilan-Clarke@mdx.ac.uk or phone #16606. I welcome any opportunity for discussion, collaboration or generally just forming connections with fellow psychologists.

Yaél Ilan-Clarke

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