School of Psychology

Supporting the Criminal Justice System

Around one in six people are victimised by stalking in their lifetime, with 45% being linked to Intimate Partner Abuse.  Yet, despite Stalking being identified as a key risk factor in the homicide timeline, several reported cases have shown that stalking is not identified or being responded to appropriately.

Funded by the Home Office, led by West Midlands Police, and in collaboration with HMPPS Psychology Services,  Forensic Psychology Consultants Ltd, Black Country Womens Aid, and academics from Leeds Trinity University, the University of Derby, and Leicester University, the focus of the project is to understand how risk is assessed in stalking cases and the effectiveness of the Early Awareness Stalking Intervention (EASI).

The aim of EASI is to deliver a rehabilitative treatment for people who have engaged in stalking behaviours or are at risk of doing so in the future.  It also aims to improve victim/survivor safety. The evaluation, led by Professor Karin Spenser, will help answer the following questions – does EASI work to reduce reoffending and/or increase victim safety? How does it work? Under what conditions? For whom does it work?

Psychology Week

Psychology Week takes place in November. Last year's week featured guest speakers, workshops and a Careers and Volunteering Fair. Our keynote speakers included:

• Professor Steve Peters (Consultant Psychiatrist and author of best-selling self-help book ‘The Chimp Paradox’)
• Professor Brendan Gough (Critical Social Psychologist and Director of Research at Leeds Beckett University),
• Associate Professor Helen Hughes (Director of the University of Leeds Business School’s Behaviour Lab)
• Andy’s Man Club.

Supporting Tinnitus UK

Tinnitus is the perception of sound in the absence of sound, so-called ‘ringing in the ears’. 1-in-8 adults have tinnitus, equating to approximately seven million adults in the UK. It is more common in the elderly and those exposed to loud noises at work (e.g. factory workers, the military, and musicians). Two percent of the adult population state that tinnitus has significantly reduced their quality of life, and it has strong comorbidities with clinical depression, clinical anxiety, concentration difficulties, poor sleep quality, and insomnia. In addition, up to 1-in-30 children have tinnitus – that’s one in every classroom.

Funded by a Global Connections Bridging Grant from the Australian Academy of Technology & Engineering, researchers from Leeds Trinity University have helped to enhance and validate the smartphone app MindEar (previously Tinnitus), helping MindEar to win Hearing Technology Innovator Awards in 2022 and 2024.

Dr James Jackson is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Tinnitus UK and is leading work on online interventions for tinnitus, patient experience, and prevalence of tinnitus post-COVID. He runs training workshops for tinnitus helpline volunteers, audiologists and other healthcare professionals who seek to provide a better service for tinnitus patients.