Gillian Docherty

Career Background:

My background, until recently, was as an educational psychologist both in an educational psychology team and in a social work setting. I also worked in an NHS setting as part of the Autism Spectrum Conditions Diagnostic Team which was a multi-disciplinary medical team responsible for the diagnosis of ASC in children from 3 to 18 years of age.

Prior to working as an educational psychologist, I trained as a teacher and spent some time teaching in an alternative residential provision for children and young people with behavioural and emotional difficulties. Latterly, my particular interests were in: creativity and play, early trauma and trauma-informed practice, autism spectrum disorders, therapeutic approaches (such as solution-oriented and cognitive behaviour therapy) and pedagogy.

I also have a background in dance and have been an adult recreational ballet dancer for some time.

PhD Research:

My PhD research is investigating how participating in adult recreational ballet classes impacts on wellbeing and whether this is affected by any other factors in this dance environment.

Supervision:

My research is supervised by:

• Dr Lucie Clements Senior Lecturer in Psychology
• Dr Antonina Pereira Co-Director of the Institute of Education, Health and Social Sciences
• Dr Mark Mason Deputy Vice-Chancellor