Thesis Topics – Lancashire Doctorate in Clinical Psychology

Thesis Topics – Lancashire Doctorate in Clinical Psychology
1997 – 2000 Intake (7 trainees)
Caroline Belcher
The impact on parents of their pre-school child being accidentally burned: a
phenomenological investigation.
Jaime Craig
Social reasoning, paranoia and theory of mind in adults with Asperger’s syndrome and
paranoid psychosis.
Catherine Gartside
Social support as a mediator of the impact of crime on the mental health of older adults.
Rebecca Hughes
Negative therapist interventions and patient outcomes in psychodynamic psychotherapy.
Warren Larkin
Attributions, hallucinations, delusions and post traumatic stress disorder amongst paramedic
staff.
Ian Smith
The role of autobiographical memory in problem solving and challenging behaviour in people
with mild/moderate learning disabilities.
David Wheatcroft
Attitudes towards help-seeking, coping and mental health in farmers.
1

1998 – 2001 Intake (11 trainees)
Gerrard Burrell-Hodgson
Theory of mind and children with autism: a cross-modal deficit?
Magdalene Cox
Thought-shape fusion, obsessive-compulsive disorder and eating disorders.
Clare Firth
Women considering preventive mastectomy: a qualitative investigation of the decisionmaking
process.
James Hoy
Central coherence and children with autism: consistency of deficits across central coherence
tasks.
Rachel McCormick
Women experiencing domestic violence during pregnancy: impact on the mother and the
child.
Gill McIntee
Dissociation and self-harm in adolescent women attending A&E departments.
Andrew Moss
The role of dysfunctional attitudes and knowledge in health anxiety: the case of HIV/AIDS
education.
Victoria Pike
Physical functioning, coping and quality of life amongst adults in need of long-term
rehabilitation.
Claire Rockliffe-Fidler
Sexual functioning in women with diabetes.
Samantha Todd
Attributions, emotional reactions and willingness of offer help to a person with dementia and
challenging behaviours: comparing support staff and clinical psychologists.
Jacqueline Wilson
Testing the congruent schema/life event theory of depression in outpatients of an adult mental
health service.
2

1999 – 2002 Intake (12 trainees)
Alison Blackshaw
An investigation to determine the social and psychological characteristics of people who
frequently attend Accident & Emergency services
Nigel Colbert
A qualitative investigation into the experiences of clients and therapists engaged in
psychodynamic interpersonal therapy following an episode of deliberate self-harm
Rupa Gone
Illness representations, coping, depression and anxiety in South Asian and British people with
inflammatory arthritis
Cheryl Hutton
Children’s adjustment following parental separation: the role of interparental conflict and
children’s appraisals
Alec Laraway
Prevalence of emotional disorders in adults with Asperger syndrome and access to mental
health services
Richa Mehta
Burnout in clinical psychologists in the UK: an examination of its nature, extent and
correlates
Karen Mellor
Emotion identification, emotion word fluency and alexithymia in people with learning
disabilities
Moira Phillips
Theory of mind and concept of death in children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder
Helen Rhodes
Care staff responses to behaviour changes resulting from dementia in people with learning
disabilities
Julie Riding
Psychological functioning, coping strategies and metabolic control in adolescents with insulin
dependent diabetes mellitus
Kirsty Sherratt
Emotional and behavioural responses to music in people with dementia
Julie Walmsley
Parental attributions and responses towards challenging behaviour displayed by children and
adolescents with learning disabilities
3

2000 – 2003 Intake (13 trainees)
Susanne Albrecht
The involvement of people with learning disabilities in person-centred planning
Sara Banks
Models of illness amongst carers of people with dementia
Jo Black
The impact of a child with Asperger’s syndrome on parents
Julie Blakeley
Quality of life amongst adolescent survivors of childhood heart surgery
Caroline Browne
Attachment behaviours and parent fixation amongst adults with dementia
Louise Cumbley
Factors associated with hallucinations and delusions in children
Christina Fitzgerald
Sexuality and women with learning disabilities
Lucinda Harter
Understanding of the basic principles of CBT amongst older adults and adults with dementia
Lloyd Humphreys
Family environment and challenging behaviour in families with a young child with learning
disabilities
Joanne Johnson
Meta-cognition and rumination in depression
Elizabeth Peacock
Post-traumatic stress disorder amongst adults experiencing burns
Jacqueline Peyton
Comparing models of hypertension between older adults and professionals
Lorraine Turnbull
What skills are necessary for people with learning disabilities to engage in community leisure
activities?
4

2001 – 2004 Intake (17 trainees)
Lucy Attenborough
Changing Young People’s attitudes toward people with mental health problems: Evaluation of
an educational Approach
Amy Burns
Family and Marital Adaptation Following Traumatic Brain Injury
Erica Clayton
The experiences and identity issues of men with intellectual disabilities who sexually offend
against women
Cindy Davies
The impact of a booster session following behavioural parent training
Saffron Dickinson
Repetitive thought as a predictor of treatment outcome in individuals who misuse alcohol
Dickson Katharine
Body site specificity of self-injurious behaviour in children with severe intellectual disability
Ailyn Garley
A Case Series to Pilot Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Female Urinary Incontinence
Kate Green
An Investigation of Transgenerational Parenting Constructs and their relationship to
childhood behaviour difficulties
Pauline Hall
Postnatal negative cognitions: A review of current understanding and development of a selfreport
scale
Lindsey Hampson
Parental Attributions, Responses, and expectancy towards Behaviours of children with a
diagnosis of Asperger’s syndrome
Catherine Marshall
Breast Reconstruction: Its impact on patients’ and Partner’ Sexual functioning
Stephen Mullin
Does Executive Functioning predict behaviour change in offenders following the enhances
thinking skills programme?
Paul Russell
Carer responses to Challenging Behaviour: The role of optimism
Jennifer Seamans
Experiences of pregnancy for women with eating disorders: A qualitative investigation
Paul Skirrow
The prevalence and correlates of burnout amongst direct care workers of adults with
intellectual disabilities
5

Sara Williamson
Self-esteem and psychological adjustment in adolescents with Asperger syndrome
Jonathan Willis
An Investigation into the association Between Physical activity and dimensions of
psychological Well-being among Children with an intellectual disability.
6

2002 – 2005 Intake
Yasmeen Akram-Saleem
A study to investigate empathy amongst adult offenders and non-offenders with mild
intellectual disabilities
Jennifer Atkinson
A study to investigate the emotional and behavioural adjustment of Asylum seeker, refugee
and British Children attending a Primary School in the United Kingdom
Clare Calvert
An exploration of the relationships between trauma and delusional ideation in secure services
Rachel Crossley
Experiments of antipsychotic medication for people with Learning Disabilities
Ruth Fowlie
Social inclusion, citizenship and people with intellectual disabilities
Ruth Fox
A study of the relationship between Childhood Trauma and Symptom profiles of Bipolar
disorder
Tamsin Fryer
The experience of being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis: an interpretive phenomenological
analysis
Angela Goddard Walsh
An exploration of clinical psychologists’ experiences of informed consent in psychodynamic
therapy
Joanna Hearne
Experiences of the child protection system for women with alcohol problems
Leanne Holcroft
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after stroke
Catherine Houseman
Anger beliefs and behaviour; an investigation of associations with hypomania in a nonclinical
sample
Linsay Kirk
A phenomenological study to explore the impact on children of parental brain injury
Tania Mann
Problem-solving confidence, rumination and depression
Ruth McIver
Illness representations and psychological adjustment in people with end-stage renal disease on
dialysis
Karen Shimmon
An investigation of Inhibitory control in hard to manage preschoolers and the effects of
‘Executive Skills’ training
7

Jenny Shuttleworth
Factors affecting the correspondence between teacher- and
-Davies child self-reports of anxiety and depression
Rachel Stretton
An exploratory investigation into sex-related communications by parents of an adolescent
with intellectual disabilities
Louise Talbot
Psychological outcome in people with Parkinson's Disease and their spouses: the effect of
motor fluctuations
Lorraine Tatum
ADHD: diagnosis, medication and self-identity in adolescents. An interpretative
phenomenological analysis
Claire Wilde
Relationships between parenting styles and metacognitive beliefs about rumination in
depression
8

2003 – 2006 Intake
Elizabeth Billington
Does hopefulness predict good adjustment to chronic renal failure and consequent dialysis?
Aileen Burnett
An investigation into self-harm in primary school aged children
James Carr
The impact of pre-morbid personality on challenging behaviour in dementia
Lisa Gallimore
Young children’s beliefs and attitudes towards mental health
Amanda Gill
Development and primary validation of the Thought Control Questionnaire (TCQ) for
adolescents
Hannah Goring
Measures of depressive rumination and of underlying metacognitive beliefs: A factor analytic
study
Lynne Heyes
Investigating the relationship between presence of negative thoughts and control strategies in
postnatally depressed and non-postnatally depressed mothers after childbirth
Rebecca Humphreys
The effect of individual differences upon response styles to low mood
Rasha Khiami
Relationships between perfectionism, perseverative negative thinking and affect
Paula Killean
How do nursing staff, working in a secure forensic setting, talk about their responses to
patients’ challenging behaviours: A qualitative study
Fiona Lattimer
The impact of child-centred play taught in behavioural parent training on the development of
children’s language skills
Suzanne Lee
The psychological impact of a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease
Rachael McNulty
The experience of obesity: a qualitative study
Kavita Misra
The ruminative response scale: a cross-cultural factor analysis and gender comparison
Kirsty Pratt
An investigation of the psychosocial characteristics of individuals requesting cosmetic
surgery on the NHS
Clare Punshon
9

Emotional reactions to receiving a diagnosis of Asperger’s syndrome
Sandra Renga
Harnessing hope to promote positive reappraisal coping and post-traumatic growth
Laura Shotton
The role of appraisal and coping in post-acquired brain injury adjustment; A qualitative
investigation
Becky Simm
An understanding of self harm in primary school children
Stephanie Sneider
Trauma Experiences of adolescents with psychosis
Caroline Williamson
Caregivers’ experiences of caring for a spouse with Parkinson’s Disease and psychotic
symptoms
Jacqui Wood
Adapting the Illness Perception Questionnaire for mothers of children with Autism and
Down’s Syndrome
Anwen Woodcock
Does rumination run in families?
Anna Warm
The role of attachment experiences and emotional regulation in deliberate self-harm
10

2004 – 2007 Intake
Hayley Bailey
Distress and the self-care practices of trainee clinical psychologists.
Dominic Basson
An investigation into the role of worry and rumination in deliberate self harm.
Elizabeth Bray
A qualitative study of postnatal resilience in fathers and mothers and what services
can do to help.
Claire Beale
Mothers’ experiences of raising a child with autism.
Anna Caudwell
Differential coping with disease-related stressors and its effects on psychological
outcomes and quality of life in people with Parkinson’s Disease and their spouses.
David Dawson
The implicit relational procedure: assessing the implicit beliefs of sexual offenders.
Jennifer Deakin
An exploratory study to identify obstacles and enablers to communication about
erectile dysfunction following cardiac trauma.
Johan Elliott
The relationship between magical thinking, thought-shape fusion and symptoms
associated with eating difficulties in a non-clinical population.
Ashley Fallon
Forensic inpatient sexuality: a qualitative investigation of the nursing perspective.
Joanna Farrington
A study investigating the relationship between parental conflict, self-concept and the
roles children play in bullying situations.
Louise Ferguson
The effects of training on the ability of adults with a learning disability to give
informed consent to medication
Nicholas Gore
Theory of mind and perspective-taking ability amongst people with intellectual
disabilities.
Joanne Gorry
Conceptualisations of risk within female sex work: a literature review.
Chris Groom
Online game playing, lifestyle factors and general health in men aged 18-40
11

Sarah Holden
Subjective experiences of transgenerational parenting effects: a qualitative analysis.
Amy Hothersall
Illness beliefs, coping and psychological outcome in people with chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease.
Matthew Kemsley
User involvement in personality disorder literature: methodological, clinical and
theoretical considerations.
Jane Lawton
The use of alcohol in a chronic pain population: physical and psychosocial factors.
Rachael Line
Understanding intimacy and its effects on wellbeing for a sample of older women: a
grounded theory approach.
Shirley Lockeridge
The experience of carers of people with young onset dementia
Andrew McLean
Psychological well-being and perceptions of stigma in people with a disability.
Laura Pickering
The role of attachment in paranoia and hallucinations.
Joanne Singleton
Shame in adults: exploring the relationships between shame, attachment, the family
system and psychological outcome.
12

2005 – 2008 Intake
Jane Bewley
Does alexithymia mediate the relationship between obligatory exercise and eating
pathology in adult female exercisers?
Claire Blackburn
Client Attachment to Services, Satisfaction with Services and their Predictors
Naomi Brown
Retrospective Accounts of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Eating Disorders: Which
Aspects were Most Useful
Clare Dixon
A Qualitative Exploration into Young Children’s Perspectives and Understandings of
Emotional Difficulties in Other Children
Jennifer Elvish
Clinical and Demographic Predictors of Poor Insight In Individuals with Obsessions
and Compulsions
Sara Evans
Stroke, Psychological Outcomes and the Self-Regulatory Model
Stephen Field
Subjective Experiences of Personal Relationships throughout the Course of
Schizophrenia: Low Secure Service-Users’ Perspectives
Lee Fitzpatrick
A Qualitative Analysis of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in Parkinson’s
Disease
Sonia Guirguis
Burnout and Ways of Coping Among Workers in Young Offender Services
Kathryn Heaton
Men with intellectual disabilities who display sexually abusive behaviour
Gemma Horridge
BurnEd: Exploring the Factors Influencing a Burn-Injured Child’s Return to
Education.
Clare Jefferson
The pregnancy and health care experiences of women who became mothers when
they were teenagers
Kelly McCarthy-Sweeney
The Impact of Adolescent Self-Harm on Parental Well-Being
13

Louise McKenzie
An examination of the factors that affect activities of daily living skills in individuals
who have undergone coronary artery bypass graft surgery
Chantel Morland
An Investigation of the Factors Associated with Body Dissatisfaction in Adult Men
Louise Phin
Paradox and conflict: An exploration of personal accounts of self-harm and self-injury
Jonathan Rust
Evaluation of a School-Based Intervention Addressing Children’s Appraisals of
Interparental Conflict
Rachel Scullion
Exploring Bereavement and Spirituality in Adults with Intellectual Disabilities
Emma Simpson
The experiences of administrative staff working in Child and Adolescent Mental
Health: A grounded theory study
Alison Thorpe
Patients’ Experiences of Psychiatric Intensive Care: A Wellbeing Perspective
David Todd
A phenomenological analysis of delusions in people with Parkinson’s Disease
Jane Toner
Asking about Childhood Trauma: The Experiences of Psychological Therapists in
Early Intervention Services
Sharon Twigg
Facial difference: Psychosocial implications for individuals and relevant others
Stephen Weatherhead
Muslim Views on Mental Health and Psychology
14

2006 – 2009 Intake
Rachel Chin
A qualitative exploration of first time fathers’ experiences of becoming a father
Keely Clarke
Do shame, self-criticism and/or depression mediate the relationship between negative
early life experiences and later problems with eating?
Beatrice Cox
How does having Asperger Syndrome affect parenting experience?
Fiona Eccles
Perceptions of cause and control in people with Parkinson’s Disease
Kathryn Evans
Support staff’s experiences of relationship formation and development in secure
services
Kara Garforth
Service users’ perceptions of change following treatment in democratic therapeutic
communities
Katie Hatton
The experience of guilt, shame and entrapment in carers of people with dementia and
the relationship of these variables to psychological outcome
Katie Jackson
Understanding young offenders’ experiences of drinking alcohol: An Interpretative
Phenomenological Analysis
Jenny King
Dementia and long-term care experiences from a relative’s perspective
Amy Mawson
A qualitative exploration of voice hearing within an interpersonal context
Victoria Molyneaux
The caring relationship: reflections on terminology and the concept of ‘couplehood’
compulsions in people with dementia
Rachel Orr
A qualitative study exploring people’s responses to their partners’ and spouses’
obsessions and compulsions
Hannah Osborne
A psychosocial model of parent fixation in people with dementia: the role of
personality and attachment
Amie Smith
15

Attachment patterns, supervisory style and the supervisory working alliance
Katie Splevins
Theories of posttraumatic growth: vicarious and cross-cultural aspects
Lesley Taylor
Listening to people with Learning Disabilities about their identity and experiences of
therapy
Jan Warnes
‘Rebuilding after the Storm’: Stories of Young Motherhood
Louise Woods
Multiple Sclerosis and the experience of self
16

2007 – 2010 Intake
Elizabeth Allsop
The construction of the coparenting relationship: A qualitative enquiry
Melanie Booth
The self regulation model and psychological outcomes of people with primary brain
tumours
Elizabeth Chamberlain
Stories of adoption: A narrative analysis
Suzi Curtis
Aspects and stories of helpful therapy and its outcomes: A narrative enquiry
Mary Delaney
Perceptions of cause and control of impulse control disorders in people with
Parkinson’s Disease
Amy Fisher
Partners of alcohol-dependent adults: intervention effectiveness, predictors of
enabling behaviours and gathering data by-proxy
Tessa Franken
A qualitative exploration into adolescents’ understanding of emotional difficulties in
female peers
Karen Green
Couples’ participation in dementia research and partners’ perspectives on their
relationship in young onset dementia
Rebecca Jones
An investigation of vicarious posttraumatic growth
Catherine Keen
A qualitative exploration of sensing presence of deceased following bereavement
Rachel Lever
Religiosity: Effects on client and clinician
Christina Mason
A narrative exploration of the experiences of clinical psychologists following client
suicide
Lindsay McMahon
The experience of fibromyalgia: A narrative inquiry
Zoe Nowell
The subjective experience of personhood in dementia care settings
17

Cathy Parker
A qualitative investigation of the experience of coping and recovery from stroke at a
young age
Aneela Pilkington
Psychological well-being and barriers to accessing psychological services within
South Asian and Muslim populations
Helena Rose
Using a participatory approach to explore how young people understand the concept
of social inclusion
Ian Rushton
Developing an early therapeutic alliance with the transferred client
Sangeetha Senthinathan
A qualitative exploration of the role of identity in older people experiencing chronic
pain
Rachel Skippon
Exploring and supporting stories of resilience in parenthood
Greg Taylor
A qualitative investigation into non-clinical voice hearing: What factors may protect
against distress?
18

2008 – 2011 Intake
Deb Anderson
Making sense of intimacy and sexual health for people with exstrophy-epispadias
complex conditions
Natalie Arran
Illness perceptions, coping styles and psychological distress in adults with
Huntington’s disease
Suzey Breckon
Listening to the voices of intellectually disabled offenders: Qualitative enquiry in
secure services
Ruth Clayton
The journey through early intervention services: A narrative analysis
Catherine Cooper
Stories of ongoing transition: An exploration of becoming and being retired
Deanna Donnellan
The interpersonal impact of trauma: Couples’ experiences and current approaches to
treatment
Rebecca Dunn
The relationship between trauma and psychosis
Jana Fusekova
Mechanisms of change: A qualitative investigation into the emergence of exits in
Cognitive Analytic Therapy
Ayse Gurpinar-Morgan
The process of seeking asylum in the United Kingdom
Victoria Lee
Older people’s experiences of residential care
Claire Matchwick
The perceptions of cause and control in people with Alzheimer’s disease
Kriten Mistry
Exploring the psychological experiences of people living with a diagnosis of motor
neurone disease
Charlotte Morris
Emotion and self-harm
Kathryn Pemberton
Self-conscious emotions and eating disorders
19

Jodie Quigg
An exploration into the active ingredients within therapeutic practice: A metasynthesis
of the therapeutic alliance and a grounded theory of the mechanisms of
change
Karen Seal
Family experiences of the cancer journey
Nicola Spence
Improving the effectiveness of supervision: A clinical psychology perspective
Emily Suter
Obesity: An emotion focused understanding and the role of clinical psychology
20