Social work research to be showcased at conference

Students and staff from our professional doctorate in Social Work and Social Care will be sharing their research at a national conference later this month.

Three Social Work and Social Care doctoral students and a senior lecturer will present their work at this year’s Association for Psychosocial Studies Conference, taking place on 12 and 13 June 2026 at St Mary’s University, Twickenham.

The conference, themed Trust, Mistrust and Community, brings together clinicians, practitioners and academics from across the UK and the world to explore some of the most pressing psychological, social and cultural issues facing communities today.

Representing Tavistock Education and Training, students and staff will contribute to discussions spanning criminal justice, anti-racist practice, climate anxiety, ecological thinking, artificial intelligence and loneliness, highlighting the breadth of research and critical thinking across the programme.

Dr Anna Harvey, Senior Lecturer on our professional doctorate in Social Work and Social Care, said: “The presentations demonstrate how students and staff are engaging with contemporary social issues and contributing to national and international conversations that extend beyond the consulting room and into communities, public services and policy.”

Social Work and Social Care doctoral student Oshéa P Johnson will facilitate a session titled Force as Care: Fear, Control and Distress in the UK’s Criminal Justice Pipeline.

Drawing on the first year of her doctoral studies and professional experience within youth justice, criminal justice and forensic mental health services, Oshéa will examine how coercive practices can become institutionally reframed as forms of care, safeguarding and behavioural management.

“The working session will involve an immersive soundscape, discussion and reflective engagement around relational practice, distress, control and systemic responses to vulnerability within the criminal justice pipeline”, said Oshéa.

Social Work and Social Care doctoral student Antonia Ogundayisi will present her paper, Trust, Complexity, and Anti-Racism in Children’s Services: Black Feminist Ways of Knowing in Uncertain Systems.

The paper explores how children’s services can move beyond defensive approaches and towards more equitable, responsive and imaginative forms of care by valuing diverse ways of knowing and being.

Antonia argues that embracing complexity through a Black feminist lens enables practitioners to confront uncertainty, cultivate reflexivity and reimagine trust as an ethical, political and relational practice.

Dr Anna Harvey will present two sessions at the conference. Her paper, Ecological States of Mind – Trusting in the End of the World, explores psychological responses to the climate crisis and considers how new ways of thinking can help people engage with environmental challenges without falling into the trap of despair and futility.

Dr Harvey will also present alongside Social Work and Social Care doctoral student Lisa O’Herir on research exploring AI chatbots and loneliness. The work was developed by Professor Jill Bennett, Noreen Giffney, Lynn Froggett and Gail Kenning, who work collectively for the Big Anxiety art and mental health project at The University of New South Wales.

In addition, Social Work and Social Care doctoral student Tavanya Bowes will be supporting the event as a conference volunteer.

The strong representation from our professional doctorate in Social Work and Social Care reflects the programme’s commitment to critical enquiry, social justice and the exploration of contemporary issues affecting individuals, communities and society.