Following deaths of two clients through suicide during my own training in social work and then as a therapist, I began my interest in research and practice-based evidence to inform ways of working effectively with such risk for helping professionals. My first research study explored the experiences of counsellors who work with clients at risk of suicide. This then led to further studies, which considered how risk is taught on counsellor and psychotherapy training programmes in the UK, ways in which suicide is talked about in the therapeutic relationship, and in the development of a one-day training programme for trainee and qualified counsellors and psychotherapists to help them develop dialogic-based strategies for talking to clients about risk in a way embedded in the helping relationship.

I have undertaken several service evaluations, including of a suicide crisis intervention service and, latterly, a suicide bereavement service. I have been involved in service evaluation using routine outcome measures in practice and am currently involved in the Research Group for the Pluralistic Practice Network. I am particularly interested in pluralistic approaches to research, and how research can be effectively co-produced with those involved in research through collaborative engagement in both research design and the interpretation of outcome and impact.

I am currently involved in a study looking at definitions of 'therapeutic coaching', as they are used in the UK - in collaboration with a professional association - to help inform future practice, theory and research in coaching when delivered by a therapy trained practitioner.