Dr Nicola Cogan

Principal Knowledge Exchange Fellow

Psychology

Contact

Back to staff profile

Personal statement

Nicola joined the University of Strathclyde in October 2017, following a career as a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Lead within NHS mental health services. She has over 15 years of NHS experience, specialising in the delivery of psychological support across a range of adult mental health settings. Nicola continues to hold an Honorary Consultant Clinical Psychologist post with NHS Lanarkshire. Her consultancy work has focused primarily on trauma-informed practice, particularly in relation to first responders and frontline workers.

She holds a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (D.Clin.Psy) from the University of Edinburgh, a PhD in Psychological Science and MA (Hons) in Psychology from the University of Glasgow. 

Nicola has a longstanding interest in supporting the transition from military to civilian life for veterans and their families, alongside emerging research in health behaviour change, with a specific focus on vaccine uptake. She also has a growing interest in the role of digital technologies and artificial intelligence in enhancing mental health and wellbeing interventions.

Back to staff profile

Teaching

During her time at the University of Strathclyde, Nicola held a range of teaching and academic citizenship roles across both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. She had a particular interest in teaching applied mental health and clinical practice, drawing on her extensive clinical experience to bring depth and relevance to her teaching. She employed a variety of pedagogical methods including didactic teaching, group work, role-play techniques, and the use of clinical case studies to enhance student engagement and learning.

Nicola held several leadership roles in teaching, including serving as Deputy Course Director for the MSc in Clinical Health Psychology, and as Class Leader for both the 4th Year Psychology of Mental Health and Professional Practice classes on the MSc programme. Her teaching contributions spanned a wide range of courses, including:

  • Introduction to Mental Health Difficulties (2nd Year, Psychology and Counselling)

  • Research Methods and Data Analysis (3rd Year, Psychology and Physical Activity for Health)

  • Psychology of Mental Health (4th Year, Class Leader)

  • Clinical Psychology Related to Medical Conditions (MSc in Clinical Health Psychology)

  • Professional Practice (MSc in Clinical Health Psychology, Class Leader)

She also contributed to teaching within Social Policy and Social Work, specifically on the Mental Health Officer Practitioner Course and undergraduate Social Work programmes.

In addition to her role at Strathclyde, Nicola has taught at multiple institutions, including the University of Edinburgh and University of Glasgow, where she contributed to the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (DClinPsy) programmes through academic teaching and clinical supervision.

She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA), reflecting her sustained commitment to teaching excellence and student learning.

Back to staff profile

Research Interests

Her research interests lie in the areas of mental health, psychotraumatology, wellbeing, recovery, and citizenship within applied health and social care contexts. She has a particular focus on frontline mental health, including trauma-exposed occupational groups such as first responders. Nicola is actively engaged in the development and evaluation of digital mental health interventions, with a growing interest in the application of artificial intelligence to psychotraumatology and trauma-informed care. Her methodological expertise includes psychometrics, mixed methods, and qualitative research. She is particularly committed to participatory and co-produced research approaches, and is an active member of the International Recovery and Citizenship Collective led by Yale Medical School, where she maintains strong collaborative links.

Professional Activities

21st European Symposium on Suicide and Suicidal Behaviour
Contributor
26/8/2026
The Sport & Exercise Scientist (Journal)
Peer reviewer
19/12/2025
Sentinel: Localising a digital mental health intervention for healthcare workers in Saudi Arabia
Speaker
23/10/2025
Innovations in Psychology and Mental Health
Speaker
3/10/2025
From Surviving to Thriving: Co-creating digital mental health interventions with frontline workers to address trauma and build resilience
Speaker
3/10/2025
Emergency Services Show
Participant
17/8/2025

More professional activities

Projects

£40K (100% to Strathclyde). Jan – March 2026. Interface Advanced Innovation Voucher. Title - From Prototype to Market: Preparing Sentinel for Public & Private Sector Adoption.
Kirk, Alison (Principal Investigator) Cogan, Nicola (Principal Investigator)
01-Jan-2026 - 31-Jan-2026
£94K PhD studentship as part of Strathclyde CDT inc 47K industry contribution. Project title - Using Sentinel and Wearables to Explore Physical Activity, 24-Hour Movement, and Psychophysiological Measures of Stress and Trauma in Frontline Workers.
Kirk, Alison (Principal Investigator) Cogan, Nicola (Principal Investigator)
01-Jan-2025 - 31-Jan-2029
Sentinel Trauma Mobile App
Kirk, Alison (Principal Investigator) Cogan, Nicola (Co-investigator) Roper, Marc (Co-investigator) Terzis, Sotirios (Co-investigator)
New budget, new PI (following 221084)
01-Jan-2025 - 31-Jan-2029
Insecure Employment and Suicide in Scotland
Rasmussen, Susan (Principal Investigator) Russell, Kirsten (Co-investigator) Cogan, Nicola (Co-investigator) Heap, Daniel (Research Co-investigator)
The aim of the project is to more fully understand the link between employment and financial instability and experiences of suicidal thinking and behaviour for people living in Scotland. In line with the tender, and as a result of adopting a mixed methods approach to the project we are proposing to focus our research questions on exploring what the links are between employment and

financial instability and, importantly, why these links exist. More specifically we wish to explore the following questions:

· What are the experiences of employment and financial instability in Scotland, and do those experiences link to suicidal thinking and behaviours?

· What are the temporal dynamics of the experiences of suicidal thinking and behaviours for individuals living in Scotland who experience employment and financial instability?

· Can we use the risk and protective variables specified by a key theory of suicidal thinking and behaviour to understand how employment and financial instability is linked to suicidal thinking and behaviours?
01-Jan-2023
Mental Health Futures Collaborative
Cogan, Nicola (Principal Investigator) Parra Rodriguez, Mario (Principal Investigator) Fleming, Leanne (Principal Investigator) Quinn, Neil (Principal Investigator) Tse, Dwight (Principal Investigator) Knifton, Lee (Principal Investigator) McCann, Lisa (Principal Investigator) Maguire, Roma (Principal Investigator) Smith, Matthew (Principal Investigator) Graham, Christopher Darryl (Principal Investigator) Grealy, Madeleine (Principal Investigator) Stephen, Susan (Principal Investigator) Weir, Natalie Mcfadyen (Principal Investigator) Donnachie, Craig (Principal Investigator) Cameron, Julie (Principal Investigator) Kane, Tony (Co-investigator) Lakey, Trevor (Academic) Donovan, Kevin (Fellow)
This Engage with Strathclyde event is aimed at all those with an interest in mental health including people with lived experience, NHS and social care personnel and staff, occupational health and human resource management staff, student support services, university student and staff, academics, private and public sector and other personnel interested in mental health research and knowledge exchange.


12-Jan-2023 - 12-Jan-2023
Mental Health Futures Collaborative: partners in research and knowledge exchange
Cogan, Nicola (Principal Investigator)
The main aims and objectives of MHFC are to:

1) Launch and raise awareness of the Mental Health Futures Collaborative
2) Develop strategic partnerships with key stakeholders including NHS and Social Care Agencies, Voluntary Organisations, Universities, People with Lived experience
3) Identify co-created mental health research and KE priorities with key stakeholders
4) Explore potential funding streams for collaborative partnership working
12-Jan-2023 - 12-Jan-2023

More projects

Back to staff profile

Contact

Dr Nicola Cogan
Principal Knowledge Exchange Fellow
Psychology

Email: nicola.cogan@strath.ac.uk
Tel: Unlisted