Personal statement
I have been a lecturer in the School of Social Work and Social Policy at the University of Strathclyde since December 2014. Before coming to the university, I worked for 10 years as a professional social worker in the statutory and voluntary sectors, both in Scotland and the USA. These experiences underpin my current teaching and research and promoting and developing social work practice is a key priority.
I am the course lead for the BA(hons) in Social Work, teaching on this programme and the Masters in Social Work. I am actively engaged in a number of inter-disciplinary research projects and knowledge exchange activities with specific interests in: death, dying, loss and bereavement; public health approaches to palliative care (including compassionate communities); children and young people; participatory research methods; and practice development. I welcome opportunities to work collaboratively.
I am a registered social worker with the Scottish Social Services Council and a member of the Association of Palliative Care Social Workers and Primary Palliative Care Research Group at the University of Edinburgh. I have a PhD in Social Work from the University of Edinburgh and am a member of the Higher Education Academy.
Teaching
My teaching spans three broad fields: social work, bereavement and loss and research skills. I teach across both of the qualifying social work programmes: the BA(Hons) in Social Work and the Masters of Social Work. I also contribute teaching on bereavement and loss in other settings, academic and practice, to a variety of disciplines.
Research interests
My research mainly focuses on bereavement, loss and end-of-life care with a particular emphasis on developing the resilience of communities to better cope with, and support, related experiences. I have a particular interest in the experiences of marginalised groups, including children and young people and people involved in the criminal justice system. I have experience of action research and am committed to participatory research methods that have impact across practice and policy as well as within academia.
I welcome proposals from Undergraduate, Masters or potential PhD students with related research interests.
I currently supervie the following doctoral students:
David Duncan - Experiences of Bereavement: Using creative methods with children and young people to share, explore and express (with Dr Anna Robinson)
Keyla Correa-Montenagro - The politics of a Good Death (with Professor Ian Greener)
Sallyanne Mercer - Death and dying in prison: deconstructing disenfranchised dying (with Dr Beth Weaver)
Emma Young - Supporting successful parenting: exploring professional responses to women in and leaving care who are pregnant or parenting (with Dr Chris Jones)
Tia Simanovic - Bereavement and imprisonment: an exploration of the experience of grief and loss prior to and during custody (with Dr Beth Weaver).
Laura del Carpio - Examining the impact of suicide on adolescent survivors (with Dr Susan Rasmussen)
Professional activities
- Palliative Care and Social Practice (Journal)
- Editorial board member
- 10/2019
- External Examiner
- External Examiner
- 9/2019
- Interview for Teacher Magazine, Australia (Supporting Students Experiencing Bereavement)
- Interviewee
- 20/8/2019
- The Role of Social Work in End of Life Planning
- Speaker
- 5/9/2018
- Everyday Compassion: Supportive responses to dying and bereavement by schools, neighbourhoods and workplaces
- Speaker
- 25/4/2018
- The role of social work in developing community capacity around end-of-life and bereavement experiences: a case for wider involvement
- Speaker
- 20/4/2018
More professional activities
Projects
- Community engagement and development practices by specialist palliative care services
- Cohen, Joachim (Principal Investigator) De Vleminck, Aline (Co-investigator) Lindqvist, Olav (Co-investigator) Paul, Sally (Co-investigator) Sallnow, Libby (Co-investigator) Tishelman, Carol (Co-investigator)
- 09-Jan-2018
- Examining the Impact of Suicide on Adolescent Survivors (Student - Laura del Carpio)
- Rasmussen, Susan (Principal Investigator) Paul, Sally (Co-investigator)
- Examining the Impact of Suicide on Adolescent Survivors (Student - Laura del Carpio)
- 01-Jan-2016 - 31-Jan-2021
- Trauma, Bereavement and Loss Services at HMP Polmont YOI: My Life With Others
- Vaswani, Nina (Principal Investigator) Paul, Sally (Co-investigator)
- 31-Jan-2015 - 30-Jan-2016
More projects
Address
Social Work and Social Policy
Lord Hope Building
Lord Hope Building
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