Division of Health Psychology Annual Conference 2024

Keynote - Professor Angel Marie Chater, Institute for Sport and Physical Activity Research, University of Bedfordshire and Centre for Behaviour Change, University College London

Angel is the Director of the Institute for Sport and Physical Activity Research at the University of Bedfordshire, and the Co-Director of the NIHR-funded Policy Research Unit in Behavioural and Social Sciences where she leads the hubs at both Bedfordshire and UCL Centre for Behaviour Change. Her career has spanned over 20 years of research, teaching, training, and practice focusing on the interplay between health psychology and public health.
She has co-authored over 180 peer-reviewed publications and secured over £10 million in research income, extending pragmatic science to understand and intervene with factors that influence behaviours that impact on health, illness and the health care system. Her work spans multiple populations (children, adults, health professionals, policy makers), behaviours (physical activity, eating behaviour, medication use, health care communication), experiences (death, food insecurity), and health outcomes (obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, anxiety, depression), often with a focus on those who are vulnerable, under-heard or under-served. The connecting thread of Angel's work is the application of behavioural science to optimise physical health and psychological wellbeing through the use of behaviour change intervention methodologies. Angel has represented the discipline as UK National Delegate for the European Health Psychology Society from 2011-2018 and was the Chair of the BPS Division of Health Psychology from 2019-2021, leading the committee and a BPS COVID-19 Taskforce in Behavioural Science and Disease Prevention during the pandemic. She is passionate about widening opportunities for training and career pathways in health psychology, and is a co-founder of the Health Psychology Exchange and Health Psychology in Public Health Network, now known as the Behavioural Science and Public Health Network.

Marie and Derek Johnston are Emeritus Professors of Health Psychology at the University of Aberdeen, and among the founders of the discipline of Health Psychology in the UK.  In an exclusive event, which will kick off DHP 2024 and last approximately 1 hour, this is your opportunity to ask them anything you've ever wanted to know about the history and future of Health Psychology, or any questions about their research. The event will be chaired by Jo Hart, Professor of Health Professional Education at the University of Manchester and Chris Armitage, Professor of Health Psychology at the University of Manchester.

Derek Johnson

Derek Johnson is an Emeritus Professor of Psychology at the University of Aberdeen and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His primary research interests are stress, including occupational stress, fatigue, psychological and behaviour aspects of cardiovascular diease, and understanding and increasing activity in various groups. He uses a range of methods including ambulatory physiological measurement, real time diary studies (ecological momentary assessment) and n-of-1 methods. He has published over 170 articles.

Marie Johnston

Marie Johnston is a Registered Health and Clinical Psychologist, and Professor Emeritus of Health Psychology at the University of Aberdeen.

She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the Academy of Medical Sciences, the Academy of Learned Societies for the Social Sciences the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and Honorary Fellow of the British Psychological Society, European Health Psychology Society and the Health Psychology and Public Health Network.

She conducts research on behaviour change in health and healthcare contexts and on disability (theory, measurement and intervention).

In 1986, she became the first chair of the Health Psychology section of the BPS and in 1992, the second president of the European Health Psychology Society. She has served on numerous BPS committees and in 1994 gained the BPS President's Award.

Her previous posts were at the University of St Andrews, London University (Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine) and Oxford University, having completed her BSc at the University of Aberdeen and PhD at the University of Hull.

For further details on the speaker please see here :https://www.abdn.ac.uk/iahs/research/health-psychology/profiles/m.johnston

Please email your questions to Emily Arden-Close, Conference Lead, at [email protected] by 10^th May 2024.  You will need to ask your question as part of the session.

Keynote - Professor Vivien Swanson, University of Stirling

Health Psychologist; C Psychol, MSc Course Director Scottish Diabetes Group Psychology Working Group member - 2007 to date Member, Psychology Advisory Group to Chief Medical Officer, Scotland. March 2004 to 2006. Health Education Board for Scotland : Breastfeeding Education in Schools : Member of Special Working Group Committee. October 2001 - 2003. Member of NHS Health Scotland Breastfeeding Expert Group, October 2003 to 2006. Health Psychology Chair – British Psychological Society, Division of Health Psychology – Scotland. Feb. 2010 to date Secretary – British Psychological Society, Division of Health Psychology – Scotland. Feb. 2004 to 2007 Founder member of BPS Division of Health Psychology Scottish Committee. Feb. 2003 Division of Health Psychology, Exam Board. Member 2004 – date Stage 2 Examiner 2008 Division of Health Psychology, Training Committee. Member, 2004 - date Review Panel : Validation of MSc Course, Liverpool John Moore's University, 2005 Member, Psychology Advisory Group to Chief Medical Officer, Scotland. 2004-6

Infant Feeding

Health Education Board for Scotland : Breastfeeding Education in Schools : Member of Special Working Group Committee. October 2001 - date. Founder member Scottish Infant Feeding Research Network. April 2002 to date. Fife PC NHS Trust : Breastfeeding in Schools Project Committee. June 2002 to date. Member of NHS Health Scotland Breastfeeding Expert Group, October 2003 to date

Diabetes

Member of Scottish Diabetes Group Psychology Working Group – 2007 – date Member Diabetes Education Action Group 2008 to date SIGN Guideline Group – Diabetes Lifestyle September 2008 - 2009

University of Stirling

Mental Health Panel University of Stirling: November 2000 – October 2003 Education Design Committee Psychology, June 2003 to date. Stress at Work : University Working Group, University of Stirling. Jan 2004 to date

For further details on the speaker please see here: https://www.stir.ac.uk/people/256425

Invited Talk: Adrian Whittington, National Clinical Lead for Psychological Professions at NHS England

Adrian is the National Clinical Lead for the Psychological Professions at NHS England. In this role, Adrian provides professional leadership and advice across the national NHS teams aimed at maximising the impact of the psychological professions for the public and delivering the ambitions of the NHS Long Term Plan.

He is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist. He is passionate about making the NHS more psychological, including increasing access to evidence-based psychological interventions and therapies.

Adrian also co-chairs the Psychological Professions Network England Board. Adrian is a clinical specialist in psychological therapy for post-traumatic stress Disorder.

He has written and co-edited books on anxiety, cognitive behavioural therapy, and clinical psychology.

For further details on the speaker please see here: https://www.england.nhs.uk/author/dr-adrian-whittington/