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Profile

Biography

I am excited to have joined the University of York as an Associate Lecturer within the Department of Psychology. I am a member of the MSc in Development, Disorders and Clinical Practice (DDCP) team.

As a Practitioner Psychologist, I am a chartered Clinical Psychologist, ClinPsyD. Outside of the university I am employed as a Senior Clinical Psychologist, Clinical Lead and Deputy Chair of Research at The Retreat York, within the Adult Psychotherapy and ASD & ADHD services. In addition, I am due to complete a PhD with the Institute of Mental Health, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, in 2019, researching the emotional experiences of people with dementia. I thoroughly enjoy both academic and clinical approaches to working with people with neurodevelopmental disorders.

Prior to professional qualification, I obtained a First Class degree in Psychology from the University of York, BSc Hons.

My current research interests include how emotion is experienced and communicated by adults with ASD (without intellectual impairment) and how healthcare professionals can act to meet their needs for emotional support. Methods of interest include ethnographic and qualitative approaches, including corpus-based and freesliting methods

Career

• Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (ClinPsyD), University of Hull, UK, 2013
• Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology (BSc Hons) 1st Class Degree, University of York, UK, 2009

Research

Overview

I hold the role of supervisor for a number of empirical projects for students completing the MSc in Development, Disorders and Clinical Practice (DDCP). Current research interests include how emotion is experienced and communicated by adults with ASD (without intellectual impairment) and how healthcare professionals can act to meet their needs for emotional support. For example, how do adults with ASD define anxiety and depression? Methods of interest include ethnographic and qualitative approaches, including corpus-based and freesliting methods.

Please get in touch if you think we share research interests, I would love to do more.

Publications

Selected publications

• Petty, S., Dening, T., Griffiths, A., & Coleston, D. M.  (2019). The importance of personal and professional experience for hospital staff in person-centred dementia care: a cross-sectional qualitative interview study using freelisting within a UK hospital ward. BMJ Open. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-025655
• Petty, S., Dening, T., Coleston, D.M., & Griffiths, A. (2019).  Dementia: beyond disorders of mood. Aging & Mental Health, 23(5), 525-528. doi:10.1080/13607863.2018.1430742
• Petty, S., Dening, T., Griffiths, A., & Coleston, D. M. (2018). Meeting the emotional needs of hospital patients with dementia: a freelisting study with ward staff. The Gerontologist. doi: 10.1093/geront/gny151
• Petty, S., Harvey, K., Griffiths, A., Coleston, D.M., & Dening, T. (2018). Emotional distress with dementia: a systematic review using corpus-based analysis and meta-ethnography. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 33(5), 679-687. doi.org/10.1002/gps.4870

Teaching

Postgraduate

As a member of the MSc in Development, Disorders and Clinical Practice (DDCP) team, I teach on the topics of neurodevelopmental disorders, mental health, assessment, treatment and clinical skills.

External activities