About
Dr Emma Palmer-Cooper is a Lecturer in Psychology within the Centre for Innovation in Mental Health. My research primarily focuses on metacognition in relation to anomalous experiences, neurocognition, and psychopathology.
I am also interested in Public Engagement, with a particular focus on involving patients and the public in the design of psychological and healthcare research.
I am a Chartered Psychologist with the British Psychological Society, and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
I received my BSc in Psychology from Cardiff University and a Masters by Research (MRes) in Cognitive Neuropsychology from the University of Birmingham. I received my PhD in Psychosis Studies from King's College London's Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience. I was previously a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Oxford's Department of Psychiatry with Prof Belinda Lennox, working on Autoimmunity in Psychosis.
Research
Research groups
Research interests
- Metacognition in Psychosis and other serious mental health conditions
- Creativity and Wellbeing
- AI and Digital Mental Health
- Student Mental Health
Current research
My research centres on developing accessible mental health support based on clinical research and theory, using online and lab-based methods. Recently, I’ve focused on creating responsible AI-driven interventions and understanding people’s attitudes and oppinions towards AI in mental health care.
Key areas of my work are:
Thought Processes and mental health: We use a mixture of meta-analyses and experimental research methods to understand metacognition, self-reflection, thoughts about the world in relation to psychosis, bipolar, student and general population wellbeing. Our team are also using this knowledge to develop developing online apps to support wellbeing and mental health.
Exploring Mental health, Population Wellbeing, and Resilience - EMPOWER:
We have a special focus on investigating student and young adult mental health, stress and resilience. We also build in public engagement, communicating our findings to relevant public and community groups.
We investigate the role of different lifestyle factors, personal environments, psychological processes and habits on mental health and psychological wellbeing in the general population and clinical groups. Current projects also focus on the role of creative activities, such as engaging with music and craft across countries and cultures.
Research projects
Active projects
Completed projects
Publications
Teaching
Postgradute: I am Director of the MSc Foundations of Clinical Psychology, and Lead PSYC6173 - Professional Skills for MSc Clinical Psychology.
Undergraduate: I lead PSYC1021 'The Psychology of Mental Health' module, which focusses on how Psychologists study mental health and how this research is used in clinical practice. I also lead PSYC2027 'Current Issues in Clinical Psychology', which focusses on different psychological disorders and their treatment.
Supervision: I supervise PhD, DClin and DEd students in their Doctoral Thesis work, as well as MSc and UG Dissertations.
External roles and responsibilities
Biography
Dr Emma Palmer-Cooper is a Lecturer in Psychology within the Centre for Innovation in Mental Health. My research primarily focuses on thought processes in mental health and how these relate to behaviour and resilience. I am interested in Psychosis, Bipolar and Younger Adult mental health, with a current focus on university student wellbeing. I am also interested in links between creativity and wellbeing. More recently I have investigated the efficacy of digital interventions to develop accessible, sustainable, inclusive interventions and resources to support mental health and wellbeing.
My overarching goal is to develop interventions that complement psychological therapy, or act as a bridge between waiting lists, and accessing person-to-person psychological support.
My work always involves Public Engagement within the research cycle, with a particular focus on involving patients and the public in identifying priorities and designing psychological and healthcare research.
Prizes
- Welcome Trust/British Psychological Society Funded I’m a Scientist: Get Me Out of Here – Psychologist of the Week (2022)
- SUSU Best Pastoral Support Winner - Faculty (2024)
- Faculty of Environment and Life Sciences Dean’s Award for Public Engagement (2020)