SEPTEMBER 2024

Here at LIFT (Lactation, Infant Feeding and Translational Research, headed up by Professor Amy Brown) in Swansea University’s Department of Public Health we’re coming towards the tail end of our research into whether infant formula should be available in UK food banks for families in crisis. We’re currently working on several papers, initially a rapid review and two immediate papers presenting our findings (both qualitative and quantitative), but we have an absolute wealth of data and we may well want to produce further articles.

For my doctoral research, I am now situated in the School of Psychology Nutrition Lab (run by Professor Hayley Young, who is also my second supervisor). I’m just beginning a scoping review looking at the field of nutrition and psychological wellbeing in people living with food insecurity. I’ll be kicking off the primary research this autumn, a small-scale mixed methods study examining the impact of including more fresh fruit and vegetables in food parcels distributed by a local food bank. My lead supervisor Dr Alecia Cousins has already undertaken some preliminary work at the food bank and I’ll be visiting in October and getting to know staff and users before administering a questionnaire and undertaking interviews. Exciting!

APRIL 2025

The most recent paper from our digital technologies and digital exclusion project with Swansea University’s criminology team and the third sector organisation Include has appeared in The Prison Journal.

MARCH 2025

My latest article coauthored with Dr Gemma Morgan and Professor Faye Taxman reports back on how (and indeed, whether) people in contact with the criminal justice system make use of digital technologies can be read in Health and Justice this month.

DECEMBER 2024

Pleased to see the DEVICES model which I developed in print in The Howard Journal of Crime and Justice. I enjoyed working on this as co-production is important to me.

OCTOBER 2024

The latest paper from the RECO study, which was a realist evidence synthesis of services for people with co-occurring mental health and drug and alcohol problems, has just been published in Health Technology Assessments.

JULY 2024

Our first paper from our digital interventions with people in contact with the criminal justice system is out today in

MARCH 2024

Excited to have published my first ever podcast! It’s what I hope will be the first episode of a series looking at aspects of the diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. I’m delighted to say that I got the opportunity to interview experienced campaigner Sue Sibbald (@bpdffs) after sharing activist spaces for a decade. Check it out on Spotify !

January 2024

A paper I collaborated on has been published in BMC Primary Care. It looks at prescribing and deprescribing practice in medication which can lead to dependency or withdrawal (including antidepressants, opiates and benzodiazepines. You can read the article here.

November 2023

My new blog for The Mental Elf is up! This time I evaluate a paper which reviewed the literature on the lived experience of depression. Crucially, the study team was inclusive of people with lived experience and took a “bottom up” approach. Though the article had some weaknesses it had many strengths and I whole-heartedly recommend that you read the entire piece along with my blog https://www.nationalelfservice.net/mental-health/depression/capturing-lived-experience-depression/

Many mental health service users, professionals and charities were very disappointed when the draft Mental Health Bill 2022 was quietly omitted from the King’s Speech last week. I’ve written about the Bill, why it matters, and what we can do next on Medium https://medium.com/p/f89122502988

My Medium post for 6th November is up! It’s a companion piece to last week’s post, this time I focus on how to find a private therapist that’s a good fit for you. Please do share the post with anyone who’s considering starting this process https://medium.com/@charlottewalker07/therapy-you-need-it-now-how-do-you-get-it-487811b6c5b3

October 2023

I am pleased to tell you that I am now a member of the Association of Women in Psychology. Looking forward to joining the debates!

My Monday Medium post for 30th October is a guide to finding a therapist through the NHS. It’s not an easy process, but hopefully these tips will be of help to those starting the journey.

I’ve just published a post on Medium all about how to start telling your mental health story. It’s practical guide for people with lived experience who feel ready to share their personal journey, with tips on blogging, media volunteering, and getting involved with research. If you work with mental health service users who might be interested in opportunities like this, please consider sharing this post.

I continue to sit on the Trial Management Group for MoreRESPECT, a randomised controlled trial of a sexual health intervention for people living with severe mental illness. Positive news from October’s meeting – intervention sites are being readied to deliver the sexual health toolkit through local mental health trusts in the north of England and London so we are very close to the active phase of the trial.

I’m excited to have been selected as a postgraduate researcher mentor for University of Surrey’s Reverse Mentoring for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (ReMEDI) scheme. This will give me the opportunity to develop my mentee’s awareness of disability and LGBTQIA+ issues in academia. I’m looking forward to being trained for the scheme in early November 2023.