Research Interests

Lisa has a long-standing interest in mental health. Her PhD examined the introduction of the role of the Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP), the professional – usually a social worker - who undertakes assessments under the Mental Health Act. This was inspired by her work as a mental health social worker and Approved Social Worker. Her first post PhD position was on the AMHP programme at the University of Manchester. At Manchester, Professor Karen Broadhurst (then Senior Lecturer) was appointed as Lisa’s mentor. Karen had just started work on the groundbreaking Nuffield Foundation funded study Vulnerable Birth Mothers and Recurrent Care Proceedings. Inspired by the work of Karen and Claire Mason, Lisa successfully applied to join the project as a Research Associate. The project moved to Lancaster in 2015.

This project led to Lisa’s interest in the mental health of mothers living apart from their children following state-ordered removal. Her reflection from her field work, Haunted Futures, was published in the Sociological Review Monograph Stigma, edited by Professors Imogen Tyler (also of Lancaster) and Tom Slater and is her most cited work. Laurie Taylor interviewed Lisa about this work on BBC Radio 4 Thinking Allowed.

Lisa has gone on to undertake research funded by the Sociological Review into the tattoos of mothers living apart from their children, alongside mental health practitioner, Siobhan Beckwith. Lisa and Siobhan also collaborated on an ESRC IAA funded project on Letter Exchange, co-produced with the Common Threads Collective of Mothers Living Apart from their Children, based at WomenCentre, Kirklees.

This year, Lisa and Karen have begun work on a NIHR funded project called Keeping Mothers in Mind, which is focused on the mental health of mothers subject to Recurrent Care proceedings. Siobhan is the Public and Patient Involvement Lead for the project and the Common Threads Collective form the Lived Experience Advisory Panel. The other project partner is New Beginnings Foundation based in Greater Manchester; a charity developed by Dr Jadwiga Leigh which is focused on supporting families who are known to Children’s Social Care. Karen, Lisa, and Jadwiga are members of Lancaster’s Centre for Child and Family Justice Research.

More broadly, Lisa is interested in creative and visual methodologies. She is committed to co-produced research that seeks to make a difference to real world policy and practice.

Current Teaching

Lisa is the Convenor for the second year Dissertation preparation module and the third year Dissertation module. She contributes to teaching on research for the first-year module, Social Work Practice 1.

Lisa supervises BA dissertation students, and three PhD students:

Zoe Cheng

Mags Conroy

Cecily Atkinson