Alex Hassett

I am a Professor of Applied Psychology and the Deputy Director of the Salomons Institute of Applied Psychology

I joined the Salomons Institute for Applied Psychology in 2003. I am now Professor of Applied Psychology and the Deputy Director of the Salomons Institute of Applied Psychology. In my role as Deputy Director of Salomons I manage the Clinical Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy programmes; and the PhD in Professional Practice: Psychological Perspectives. I supervise a range of PhDs and MScs focusing on the application of psychological perspectives in various fields of practice. I also supervise research on the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology Programme.

I have a PhD in Psychology, a Masters in Educational Psychology, a Masters in Research Psychology and a Post Graduate Diploma in Cognitive Therapy. My PhD focused on the application of community psychology theory within the school development context in a township context in South Africa. I am registered with the Health and Care Professionals Council and my main area of psychotherapy practice has been working with young people and their families, particularly those who have experienced trauma. For my first 10 years at Salomons I ran a large child and adolescent mental health consultancy project that offered consultancy and training to health, social care and educational settings.

I have been involved in several external evaluation projects supporting public sector organisations and charities to evaluate the work they are engaged in. I develop and delivers training to practitioners around relational approaches to working with young people who have been traumatised and neglected. My research interests focus on the mental wellbeing of young people with a particular focus on the role of foster and kinship care and identity development in care experienced young people.

I am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. My teaching focuses on research methods on the PhD programme.

Over the years I have been at Salomons I have delivered bespoke training including to a range of health, social care, education and charitable settings:

Mental Health Awareness Training
Specific mental health topics (e.g. depression, self-harm, anxiety)
Adolescence, adolescent development and adolescent brain development
Understanding trauma, brain development and behaviour
The role of supervision in supporting training and development
Relationships in the classroom
Basic counselling skills

I have been responsible for setting up several county wide training initiatives across the Southeast of England.

My PhD in Psychology focused on the application of community psychology theory as a way of evaluating a programme of school development being rolled out by the South African Government. It was one of the first theory driven evaluations of a government policy initiative in South Africa

My research interests focus on emotional well-being and mental health of children and young people. A particular focus is on attachment, trauma and being in the care of local authorities and the link with emotional well-being. This includes issues related to care leavers identity development, issues associated with being in foster care and the impact of caring for those who have suffered trauma. I am also engaged in research around supporting the children’s workforce who work with traumatised young people. I am interested in understanding the role of supervision in supporting practitioners in their roles as helpers and the role that supervision plays in supporting training and development initiatives.

Research Projects

Currently I supervise 1 fulltime PhD; 16 part-time PhDs, I MSc and 7 Doctorate in Clinical Psychology students. Below is a selection of the PhD and Doctorate in Clinical Psychology Research Projects I am currently supervising:

An exploration of the lived experience of foster carers with regards to their relationship with their child’s early history and relationships
Grandparent special guardians’ experiences caring for their grandchildren; implications on their relationships in their proximal and distal environments.
A grounded theory of how foster carers of young people accessing Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) perceive and make use of support.
The experiences of hearing parents who have had a deaf child with mental health problems.
The effects of secondary trauma and cumulative post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in police officers who work with traumatised victims within London.
Work-life balance of individuals who have suddenly been bereaved of their partners.
An exploration of meta supervision in clinical practice
Sile The role of coaching psychology in diversity and inclusion at senior level in organisations
Talent management for ethnic minority staff in the NHS
Sense of belonging as a psychological framework for Black students experiences in health and social work professional programmes in Higher Education (HE).
Academic staff/University Lecturers experience of managing preregistration health and social care students with mental health issues

A selection of previous research projects

Parent and professional: A grounded theory of the processes involved in caring for looked-after children.
Exploring how foster carers make sense of their role in relation to ‘looked-after’ children’s emotional wellbeing
How do the biological children of foster carers experience the relationship with their parents?
How care-leavers construct and make sense of their identity.
Exploring black and ethnic minority care leavers’ experiences of identity development
Modern mourning – how does Facebook facilitate continuing bonds with the deceased?
How do health visitors make sense of how they talk about difficulties with the parent-infant relationship? An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

Research Projects

A study of trauma and coping in police officers who investigate rape and child abuse in London.. Researcher(s): Mr Jim Foley. Supervisor(s): Professor Alex Hassett, Dr Emma Williams, Professor Margie Callanan. [Postgraduate Research Project]
Academic staff/University Lecturers experience of managing preregistration health and social care students with mental health issues. Researcher(s): Mrs Alison Rae. Supervisor(s): Professor Alex Hassett, Professor Margie Callanan, Dr Paul Newton. [Postgraduate Research Project]
An exploration of meta supervision in clinical practice. Researcher(s): Mrs Nicola Kelly. Supervisor(s): Professor Alex Hassett, Professor David Lane. [Postgraduate Research Project]
An investigation into workplace support for bereaved employees.. Researcher(s): Dr Leanne Flux. Supervisor(s): Professor Alex Hassett, Professor Margie Callanan. [Postgraduate Research Project]
An Investigation of the Factors Predicting Outcomes in CBT. Researcher(s): Mr Daniel Brown. Supervisor(s): Dr Fergal Jones, Professor Alex Hassett. [Postgraduate Research Project]
CAMHS Information Project: a resource kit for outcomes measurement in Kent Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. Researcher(s): Professor Alex Hassett. [Project report]
Conceptualising resilience: the beginning of the definition and understanding for Kent. HeadStart Kent, Knowledge Seminar Report. Researcher(s): Professor Alex Hassett. [Project report]
Doctoral Research Project. Researcher(s): Miss Grace Dennis. Supervisor(s): Professor Alex Hassett, Dr Dan Donoghue. [Postgraduate Research Project (past)]
Doctoral Research Project. Researcher(s): Mrs Tanya Heasley. Supervisor(s): Professor Sarah Corrie, Professor Alex Hassett, Professor David Lane. [Postgraduate Research Project]
Domains pilot: Kent County Council HeadStart Project. Case studies in promoting resilience in vulnerable children. Researcher(s): Professor Alex Hassett. [Project report]
Engagement, Disengagement and Non-Engagement with Sustainable Healthcare: An exploratory sequential design. Researcher(s): Dr Chloe Griggs. Supervisor(s): Professor Alex Hassett, Professor Margie Callanan. [Postgraduate Research Project (past)]
Evaluation of the Solihull Approach in Kent: drawing conclusions from the data. Researcher(s): Professor Alex Hassett. [Project report]
Evidence based approaches: what is happening in Kent. HeadStart Kent, Knowledge Seminar Three Report. Researcher(s): Professor Alex Hassett. [Project report]
Exploration of Online Social Support for Breastfeeding Mothers. Researcher(s): Dr Mandy Wagg. Supervisor(s): Professor Alex Hassett, Professor Margie Callanan. [Postgraduate Research Project (past)]
Explore the Dynamic Maturational Model (DMM) of Attachment and Psychopathology applicability in assessing and resolving complex cases for family courts. Researcher(s): Mr Stuart Graham. Supervisor(s): Professor Alex Hassett, Dr Amanda Carr. [Postgraduate Research Project]
For the candidate to decide, as outlined in our feedback.. Researcher(s): Ms Kristina Massey. Supervisor(s): Dr Anke Franz, Professor Alex Hassett. [Postgraduate Research Project]
Measuring outcomes: HeadStart Kent, Knowledge Seminar Two Report. Researcher(s): Professor Alex Hassett. [Project report]
Study engagement in nursing students. Researcher(s): Miss Mei Chen. Supervisor(s): Dr Fergal Jones, Professor Alex Hassett. [Postgraduate Research Project]
The lived experience of clients with High functioning Autism/Aspergers in psychotherapy.. Researcher(s): Mrs Debbie Livingston. Supervisor(s): Professor Les Lancaster, Mr Nicholas Chown, Professor Alex Hassett. [Postgraduate Research Project]
The role of coaching psychology in diversity and inclusion at senior level in organisations. Researcher(s): Mrs Sile Walsh. Supervisor(s): Professor Sarah Corrie, Professor Alex Hassett. [Postgraduate Research Project]
To develop a neuroscience-based framework that supports the understanding and prevention of workplace bullying. Researcher(s): Ms Leanne Glenys Drew-McKain. Supervisor(s): Professor Alex Hassett, Professor Margie Callanan. [Postgraduate Research Project]
TRAINING OF PARENTS AND EDUCATORS ON APPLIED BEHAVIOUR ANALYSIS (ABA), PLAY-BASED AND SPEECH-LANGUAGE INTERVENTIONS FOR STUDENTS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER (ASD). Researcher(s): Mr Daniel Quinones Melendez. Supervisor(s): Professor Alex Hassett, Professor Jan Burns. [Postgraduate Research Project]
What have we learnt? Where are we going? HeadStart Kent, Knowledge Seminar Four Report. Researcher(s): Professor Alex Hassett. [Project report]
Young people in care’s perspective on their psychological adjustment as an addition to the BERRI questionnaire. Researcher(s): Miss Amy Malone. Supervisor(s): Professor Alex Hassett, Professor Margie Callanan. [Postgraduate Research Project]

I have developed and delivered training to practitioners in the areas of young people’s emotional wellbeing and mental health and relational approaches to working with young people. This training has a particular focus on working with young people who have been traumatised and neglected.

I have also worked as a consultant to the health, social care, education and charitable sector. Below is a list of externally funded projects:

Knowledge Exchange Projects, My Role and Income

Project	Role	Income
1. CAMHS Training and Development Project 2003 to 2006	I made the annual funding bids and was Project Lead.	£360,000
2. CAMHS Practice Improvement Project 2007 to 2013	I made the funding bid and was Project Lead.	£550,000
3. CAMHS Review Kent and Medway	I made the funding bid and was Project Lead and managed a consultant and a research assistant working on the project.	£150,000
4. CAMHS Information Project	I made the funding bid and was Project Lead and managed a research assistant working on the project.	£100,000
5. CAMHS Medway CAMHS Risk of Harm Assessments 2010	I made the funding bid and was Project Lead and managed a consultant working on the project.	£10,000
6. CAMHS Review Isle of Wight	I made the funding bid and was Project Lead.	£20,000
7. Everybody’s Business Pilot and Evaluation	I made the funding bid and was Project Lead.	£30,000
8. Solihull Approach in Kent (2006 to 2013)	I made the funding bid and was Project Lead.	£250,000
9. Solihull Approach Isle of Wight: (2010 to 2015)	I made the funding bid and was Project Lead.	£20,000
10. Solihull Approach Republic of Ireland (2018 to 2019)	I was approached by the Health Service Executive and provide the training	£13,000
11. Connexions Mental Health Training (2005 to 2008)	This was a joint bid and delivery with Professor Margie Callanan.	£50,000
12. Kent Integrated Adolescent Support Service (KIASS) (2013 to 2014)	I was approached by the Head of KIASS to bid for the provision of training which I designed and delivered.	£20,000
13. HeadStart Kent (2015 to 2016)	I was approached by KCC to put in a bid. I collaborated with Dr Mark Kerr University of Kent on delivery	£40,000
14. Dartford Area Consortium of Schools (DASCo) (2013 to 2016).	I bid for the work and was the person designing and delivering the training	£20,000
15. Family Liaison Officer (FLO) Training	I was approached by the FLO director and delivered the training	£15,000
16. Health Visitor Transition training	I bid for the work and was the person designing and delivering the training	£17,000
17. Emotional Well-being and Resilience in Schools (2015 to ongoing)	I bid for the work and was the person designing and delivering the training	£15,000
18. Evaluation of CSIP input to KMPT (CAMHS) 2009	I was approached by CSIP to evaluate their input to CAMHS Services across Kent.	£10,000
19. Essex Social Care Academy (2014 to 2020)	I have written the bids, designed and delivered the training	£80,000
20. Drive Forward (2016 to 2020)	I was approached to design and deliver the training	£9000
21. Brandon Centre (2022 – 2024)	Working alongside Tamara Leeuwerik to evaluate their BWell Programme	£5000
22 Dartford Grammar School for Boys (2022 – 2023)	Staff wellbeing training	£2750
Total		1,756,750

Total Income from Knowledge Exchange, Enterprise and Research Grants: £ 1,756,750 (2003 to present)

Partnerships

I worked alongside the Child and Adolescent Mental Support Service to develop mental health awareness training for frontline staff. This included a pilot project rolling out this training to staff in Kent.

I have worked in partnership with the Solihull Approach (University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust) in rolling out the Solihull Approach across Kent and Medway and the Isle of Wight.

It’s why you get up in the morning’. A Straussian grounded theory study of coping in police officers who investigate rape and child abuse Foley, J., Hassett, Alex, Williams, Emma, (19 Jan 2024): SAGE Publications. [Journal article]
‘Holding onto trauma?’ The prevalence and predictors of PTSD, anxiety, and depression in police officers working with victims of child abuse, rape, and sexual exploitation Foley, J., Jones, F., Hassett, A., Williams, E., (15 Jun 2023): SAGE. [Journal article]
Exploring online social support groups, part 2 Hassett, A., Wagg, A., Callanan, M., (01 Feb 2022): Springer. [Journal article]
Foster caring as ‘professional parenting’: A grounded theory of the relationships between parent and professional in long-term foster care Hassett, A., Hollett, M., Lumsden, V., (13 Dec 2022): SAGE. [Journal article]
Health visitors' experiences talking about difficulties with the parent–infant relationship Kouvaras, Stef, Hassett, Alex, Lumsden, Virginia, (02 Jul 2022, 02 Jul 2022): Mark Allen Group. [Journal article]
"He's still There": How Facebook facilitates continuing bonds with the deceased Akinyemi, C., Hassett, Alex, (14 Oct 2021): SAGE. [Journal article]
‘Getting on with the job’: A systematised literature review of secondary trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in policing within the United Kingdom (UK) Foley, J., Hassett, Alex, Williams, Emma, (10 Feb 2021): SAGE Publications. [Journal article]
Clinical supervision in CBT training: what do participants view as effective? Kelly, N., Hassett, A., (14 Sep 2021): Cambridge University Press. [Journal article]
Exploring online breastfeeding support groups, part 1 of 2: Finding a community of like-minded people helps a mother to reach her breastfeeding goals Hassett, A., Wagg, A., Callanan, M., (01 Nov 2021): Springer. [Journal article]
More than meets the eye: How black and minority ethnic care-leavers construct and make sense of their identity Lensvelt, I., Hassett, A, Colbridge, A, (27 Jan 2021): MDPI. [Journal article]
“It’s more than milk, it’s mental health”: A case of online human milk sharing Wagg, A., Hassett, Alex, Callanan, Margie, (04 Jan 2022, 01 Jan 2022): BMC. [Journal article]
Grieving in the workplace: How do grieving employees perceive their experience of workplace support from management? Flux, L., Hassett, A., Callanan, M., (02 Jul 2020, 27 Jul 2020): Taylor & Francis. [Journal article]
Trauma recovery core capabilities for the children’s workforce in the United Kingdom: A Q-methodology study Hassett, A., Strohmaier, S., (24 Oct 2020): Taylor & Francis. [Journal article]
“They needed the attention more than I did”: How do the birth children of foster carers experience the relationship with their parents? Hassett, A., Adams, E., Lumsden, V., Children and Young People's Mental Health and Wellbeing: Communities, families, resilience and resistance. [Conference or workshop item]
‘Who am I?’ How female care-leavers construct and make sense of their identity. Hassett, A., Colbridge, A., Children and Young People's Mental Health and Wellbeing: Communities, families, resilience and resistance. [Conference paper]
How employers respond to employees who return to the workplace after experiencing the death of a loved one? A review of the literature Flux, L., Hassett, A., Callanan, M., (04 Apr 2019): Taylor & Francis. [Journal article]
Online social support group use by breastfeeding mothers: a content analysis Wagg, A., Callanan, M., Hassett, A., (09 Mar 2019): Elsevier. [Journal article]
Service user involvement in cognitive behavioural therapy training; an interpretive phenomenological analysis Garwood, P., Hassett, A., (2019): Emerald. [Journal article]
Supervision on the frontline Guindi, A., Hassett, A., Callanan, M., (07 Nov 2019): Redactive Media Group. [Journal article]
“They needed the attention more than I did”: how do the birth children of foster carers experience the relationship with their parents? Adams, E., Hassett, A., Lumsden, V., (16 Jul 2018): SAGE. [Journal article]
Parental involvement: a grounded theory of the role of parents in adolescent help seeking for mental health problems Green, C., Hassett, A., Zundel, T., (17 Oct 2018). [Journal article]
The use of computer mediated communication in providing patient support: a review of the research literature Wagg, A., Callanan, M., Hassett, A., (16 Mar 2018, Jun 2018): Elsevier. [Journal article]
What do we know about the impact of stress on foster carers and contributing factors? Adams, E., Hassett, A., Lumsden, V., (11 Dec 2018): SAGE. [Journal article]
Youth offending teams: a grounded theory of the barriers and facilitators to young people seeking help from mental health services Hassett, A., Lane, C., (04 Apr 2018): Global Journals. [Journal article]
‘Who am I?’ How female care-leavers construct and make sense of their identity Colbridge, A., Hassett, A., Sisley, E., (01 Jan 2017): SAGE. [Journal article]
‘Who am I?’ How female care-leavers construct and make sense of their identity Hassett, A., Colbridge, A., 17th International European Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Congress 2017. [Conference paper]
Experiences of engaging with mental health services in 16- to 18-year-olds: an interpretative phenomenological analysis Jones, S., Hassett, A., Sclare, I., (07 Jul 2017): SAGE. [Journal article]
Experiences of engaging with mental health services in 16-18 year olds: An interpretative phenomenological analysis Hassett, A., Jones, S., 17th International European Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Congress 2017. [Conference paper]
Exploring how parents make sense of change in parent-child psychotherapy Kenny, M., Hassett, A., Pae, L., (06 Mar 2017): Taylor & Francis. [Journal article]
PhD in professional practice: psychological perspectives Hassett, A., 3rd International Conference on Developments in Doctoral Education and Training. [Conference paper]
Young men’s experiences of accessing and receiving help from child and adolescent mental health services following self-harm Hassett, A., Isbister, C., (03 Dec 2017): SAGE. [Journal article]
Brain development and impact of trauma and stress on children Hassett, A., SEPT Nursing Conference 2016. [Conference paper]
Experiences of engaging in mental health services in 16-18 year olds: an interpretative phenomenological analysis Jones, S., Hassett, A., Sclare, I., Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services Conference. [Conference paper]
Exploring how parents make sense of change in parent-child psychotherapy Kenny, M., Hassett, A., Pae, L., CAMHS Conference. [Conference paper]
Understanding your pupil’s behaviour: a pilot study from two primary schools in Kent Hassett, A., Appleton, R.. [Research report]
Exploring the impact of the Solihull Approach Understanding Your Pupils Behaviour on a range of teacher variables and on their perceptions of their work with young people Hassett, A., 4th European Conference on Child and Adolescent Mental Health in Educational Settings. [Conference paper]
The Solihull approach: understanding your pupils' behaviour: a pilot study in four primary schools Hassett, A., Institute of Recovery from Childhood Trauma Best Practice Forum. [Conference paper]
Young men’s experiences of accessing and receiving help from child and adolescent mental health services following self-harm Hassett, A., Isbister, C., Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services Conference. [Conference paper]
A preliminary report exploring the need for and development of a coherent Personal and Social Education curriculum Maynard, T., Moss, J., Bowie, R. A., Christie, S., Bainbridge, A., Barnes, J., Blamires, M., Hassett, A., Powell, S., Robinson, S., Canterbury Christ Church University. [Report]
Solihull Approach training in Solihull and Kent- working together to implement The Solihull Approach through a cascade model Hassett, A., Rheeston, M., Community Practioner and Health Visitor Association Conference. [Conference poster]
The importance of measuring outcomes related to looked after young people’s emotional wellbeing and mental health Hassett, A., Neal, A., Narrowing the Gap for Looked After Children. Virtual School Kent Multi-Agency Conference. [Conference paper]
Supporting public health practitioners to support the emotional well-being of young people Hassett, A., Community Practitioners' and Health Visitors' Association Annual Conference. [Conference paper]

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Salomons Institute for Applied Psychology

Professor Alex Hassett

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