I qualified as a Registered Mental Health Nurse in March 1997. My clinical practice is broad and extensive and has entailed working within NHS in-patient, day hospital and community settings which has included older adult mental health services, short-term interventions (primary care mental health), generic community mental health teams, early intervention teams (first-episode psychosis) and psychological services (CBT for psychosis). I developed a strong interest in working alongside families/carers who care for individuals with early psychosis. Between 2006-2011, I set up and delivered a psycho-educational group for families and carers of young adults with first-episode psychosis. This service improvement project was positively evaluated by key stakeholders and earned me two prestigious NHS awards. In 2012, the aforementioned project was accepted for publication in the professional journal 'Mental Health Nursing'. I joined the Faculty of Health and Social Care, and Medicine at Edge Hill University in September 2011 as a Senior Lecturer in Mental Health. My specific teaching interests include: Psycho-social interventions in mental health, dual diagnosis, substance misuse and dementia care. In 2013, I completed a Post-Graduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (PGCTLHE) (distinction) and have since registered as a Teaching Fellow with the Higher Education Academy. As part of the PGCTLHE, I conducted a small scale qualitative research study around the reporting of dyslexia in higher education learners. The findings of this study were published in the 'Journal of Further and Higher Education' in April 2015. In October 2023, I completed a PhD in Mental Health with Lancaster University. My research focused on the engagement experiences of case managers working in early intervention services. I have currently submitted in the findings of my Doctoral research for publication approval.