Thursday 17 November 2016

Research Seminar: Prof Ellen Townsend (University of Nottingham)

*** Everyone Welcome! No need to book in advance ***

Date: Thursday 1st December
Time: 12:00-13:00
Room: Town Hall Committee Room 2

Professor Ellen Townsend (University of Nottingham)

Temporal Dynamics Underpinning Patterns of Clinical, Psychological and Social Factors in Adolescent Self-Harm

Abstract: Self-harm is a significant clinical issue in adolescence and is strongly linked to death by suicide.  There is little research on the dynamic interplay of key factors in the months, weeks, days and hours leading to self-harm which is a significant gap in current knowledge.  In this talk I will present data from studies in which we have taken a sequential approach in order to determine the key transitions in factors leading to self-harm.  We have developed the Card Sort Task for Self-Harm (CaTS) to investigate the patterns of thoughts, feelings, events and behaviours leading to self-harm. Young people (aged 13-21 years) with recent repeated self-harm completed the CaTS to describe their first ever/most recent self-harm episode. Lag sequential analysis determined significant transitions in factors leading to self-harm. A significant sequential structure to the card sequences produced was observed demonstrating similarities and important differences in antecedents to first and most recent self-harm. Life-events were distal in the self-harm pathway and more heterogeneous. Of significant clinical concern was that the wish to die and hopelessness emerged as important antecedents in the most recent episode. First ever self-harm was associated with feeling better afterward, but this disappeared for the most recent episode. A crucial finding here is that the factors most proximal to self-harm (negative emotions and cognitions, impulsivity and access to means) are modifiable with existing clinical interventions.  

Biography:  Professor Townsend is a Professor in the School of Psychology at the University of Nottingham and PI leading the Self-Harm Research Group (SHRG).  The group researches psychological factors associated with self-harm and suicidality, and interventions that promote recovery, especially in young people using a range of techniques including sequence analysis, the Card Sort Task for Self-Harm (CaTS), experiments, questionnaires, epidemiology, interviews and systematic reviews.  This work has been funded by the NHS, NIHR and the ESRC.  The work has influenced policy – earlier versions of their systematic review of interventions for self-harm were included in the 2011 NICE Guidance on the Longer Term Management of Self-Harm.

Professor Townsend also led a national Clinical Research Group on self-harm funded by the Mental Health Research Network (NIHR) and is a Fellow of the Institute of Mental Health.  She is a collaborator on the Multicentre Study of Self-Harm in England and is co-leading the development of INTERACT - a new research initiative for participatory research and public engagement working with colleagues from across the university.  She is PI on a Wellcome Trust People Award supporting the development of the CafĂ© Connect model of public engagement.  They were finalists in the UoN Knowledge Exchange and Impact Awards 2016 for this work.

She is PI on a project investigating self-harm in looked-after young people funded by the Department of Health Policy Research Programme.  She is a Fellow of the International Academy of Suicide Research and a member of the BPS Expert Panel on the Psychology of Suicidal Behaviour.  She was a participant in the Nottingham Research Leaders Programme 2015-16.  She has recently been awarded a Miegunyah Distinguished Visiting Fellowship at the University of Melbourne, Australia which will take place in April 2017.

In 2016 a publication co-authored with Dr Katie Glazebrook received the Institute of Mental Health ‘Best Overall Publication Award - Glazebrook K, Townsend E, Sayal K (2015). The role of attachment style in predicting repetition of adolescent self-harm: a longitudinal study. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior. DOI: 10.1111/sltb.12159.




Monday 14 November 2016

Wine reception at the House of Commons



Toni Bifulco and Richard Barry attended a wine reception at the House of Commons on 11th October to promote the 'Securing Change' initiative, an intervention with parents who have had multiple children removed by child protection services, with an aim to break this cycle of problem parenting. This innovative service has been developed by St Michael's Fellowship in which the CATS team and Middlesex are invited to have a research evaluation role. The reception was opened by Chuka Amunna  MP for Streatham (where the charity is based) who described his support for the venture and the importance of this work to the borough. Following a video shown of parents who had been helped by St Michaels, Sue Pettigrew (CEO) outlined the need for ‘Securing Change’ and the aims of the project. Toni Bifulco talked briefly about the existing partnership with St Michaels led by Richard and aided by Lisa Kagan and Sarah Edwards, around evidence-based assessment and evaluation and the commitment to help improve outcomes for the families.

https://www.stmichaelsfellowship.org.uk/securing-change

Friday 4 November 2016

Research Seminar: Dr Jackie Gray (Middlesex University)

*** Everyone Welcome! No need to book in advance ***

Date: Thursday 17th November
Time: 14:00-15:00
Room: Town Hall Committee Room 2

Dr Jackie Gray (Middlesex University)

Internet Trolling: Does the Context Matter?

Abstract: Internet trolling is a relatively modern phenomenon, and the term is used to encompass a variety of behaviours that on consideration appear to differ in some key characteristics. This presentation will discuss the findings from some preliminary research examining the perception of different types of trolling, and also consider some factors that may influence these perceptions. The first study discussed addresses the development of a scale that assesses beliefs about the motivations for trolling of different types, and appropriate responses to these behaviours. The second and third studies reported then focus on factors that may influence the perception of troll behaviour: in terms of priming values related to the importance of the freedom of speech and also in relation to the nature of the target of the trolling. The discussion will also encompass research currently being developed that will seek to use proximity analysis to examine online interactions, to provide further evidence regarding whether the context in which trolling occurs does indeed matter.

Dr Jackie Gray is an Associate Professor in Forensic Psychology at Middlesex University, and is the Programme Leader for the MSc Forensic Psychology. She has extensive experience of publishing research using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Her main research interests focus on internet trolling and also the treatment of crime victims by the Criminal Justice System, with a particular focus on sexual violence. An overarching theme to all of her research is related to the operation of justice, and examining how both public and authorities respond to criminal and antisocial behaviour.
 

Wednesday 2 November 2016

Jung-Lacan Dialogues



We are pleased to inform you of the 5th symposium organised by the Jung/Lacan Research Network

 Date: Saturday, 12 November 
 Time: between 2 and 4 pm
Venue: Middlesex University, London 

The theme of this meeting is Psychosis. The discussants are Alistair Black and Trevor Jameson. They will elaborate on the Jung’s and Lacan’s theories of psychosis and their implications for clinical practice.

Is there any commonality in the conceptualisation of psychosis in the work of Jung and of Lacan? And what are the specifics of the differences in the way psychosis is thought about between these two important schools?
Further details and registration are available here:






Demonstrating Outcomes in Criminal Justice: The Justice Data Lab synthesis of findings.

Professor Joanna Adler and Dr Mark Coulson provide an overview of their recent report on the Justice Data Lab concerning offenders’ rates of recidivism following various methods of intervention.

You can find the full overview here on MDX minds

Centre for Psychoanalysis Presents Psychoanalysis and Liberation III




Psychoanalysis and Liberation III 


 19th November 2016 2-4pm

Venue: The Executive Boardroom - C219,

College Building, Middlesex University,

Hendon, London

 Twitter #MDXpsych16

 This symposium organised by the Psychoanalysis and Liberation Research Network continues our on-going discussion of ways in which the practice and theory of psychoanalysis can contribute to human liberation today.

 Tomasz Fortuna will discuss 'Tension at the border – A question of freedom in creativity and falsehood.'

Please register through the Staff Development Portal or click on the link below to attend:


Thank you

On Behalf of the RKTO Team

If you have questions about this Event
Please contact
Nicola Skinner 0208 411 4752