Karmen Au-Yeung – Assistant Psychologist (Research)

Karmen Au-Yeung is an Assistant Psychologist working on the PRODIGY (Prevention of Long Term Social Disability Amongst Young People with Emerging Psychological Difficulties) trial. Before working full-time, Karmen was volunteering for PRU, assisting on the COMPARE trial and also helped on the conference: Challenging the Stigma of Psychosis 2016. Karmen is enjoying her first post as an Assistant Psychologist and hopes to build on her research and clinical skills.

Karmen has also previously worked as a mental health support worker for Turning Point, working with service users at Crisis Point and in supported accommodation. She also volunteered for two years at Mind as a therapeutic assessor, working with members of the public who have varying degrees of mental health problems. She enjoyed working within community settings and developed growing interest in help-seeking behaviour and crisis intervention.

In 2014, Karmen Au-Yeung worked in Sri Lanka as a volunteer. She was based at the National Institute of Mental Health, where she greatly increased her awareness of culture and diversity in mental health. She also worked at Thidora Theatre for special needs where she facilitated group sessions of drama therapy and creative arts. During her placement, Karmen also had the opportunity to teach English to children and young adults. Working abroad was one of her most challenging experiences, however, it further inspired her to pursue a career in mental health.

Karmen completed a full-time MSc in Clinical and Health Psychology at The University Of Manchester. Throughout her studies, she became interested in psychosis and sleep research. Her research project explored ‘The Impact of Sleep Quality on Auditory False Perceptions’. Karmen also gained a BSc in Psychology at the University of Huddersfield in 2013. During her second year, she was part of a student exchange programme and studied at the State University of New York, New Paltz for a semester. Her final year dissertation looked at ‘Verbal Memory between Musicians and Non-musicians’.

Karmen also enjoys travelling, music and spending time with friends and family.