Emmeline Joyce – Assistant Psychologist (Research)

Emmeline Joyce is an assistant psychologist/research assistant on the Bipolar At Risk Trial (BART). BART is a pilot randomised controlled trial of cognitive behavioural therapy vs treatment as usual, for young adults at risk of developing bipolar disorder. Emmeline works with young people experiencing difficulties with mood swings, and is passionate about being able to offer as much support as she can to the young people she meets in the course of her job. The things Emmeline likes best about her job are being out and about meeting young people to complete psychological assessments, and meeting different teams to learn about what they do and promote BART.

Emmeline studied a B.Sc. in Psychology at The University of Manchester, graduating in 2014 with 1st class honours. She then stayed on at the University of Manchester to study a Master’s degree in Clinical and Health Psychology, graduating in 2015 with a Distinction. Emmeline enjoyed gaining insight into lots of interesting areas throughout her Master’s, such as psychological treatments for mental health problems; the relationship between mental and physical health; and strategies for promoting public health.

Alongside her University studies, Emmeline Joyce enjoyed gaining experience volunteering in psychological research. From 2012-2014 she worked as an honorary research assistant on a randomised controlled trial running at PRU: Think Effectively About Mood Swings (TEAMS). TEAMS was a pilot RCT of cognitive behavioural therapy vs treatment as usual for adults with bipolar disorders. Emmeline’s main role on the trial was carrying out semi-structured interviews with participants who received therapy within the trial, to explore their views and experiences of the therapy. She was also involved with carrying out other tasks, such as entering participant assessment data and attending participant assessments. Emmeline was keen to continue her work on the TEAMS trial, so for her Master’s dissertation she conducted a thematic analysis of the interviews she had completed with TEAMS therapy participants (she is currently editing her dissertation to be hopefully published). Emmeline really enjoyed meeting the TEAMS participants to learn about their experiences of therapy, and carrying out qualitative research that prioritised service users’ views in evaluating a psychological therapy.

Towards the end of her Master’s degree, Emmeline began volunteering as an assistant clinical psychologist at PRU, supporting the trial therapists with tasks including creating resources for clients and preparing materials for therapy sessions. After she finished her Master’s, She began working as a support worker in a supported living project for adults with learning disabilities, run by Turning Point. She really liked getting to know the residents and supporting them with activities, such as cooking, shopping and attending community groups.

Within the next few years, Emmeline would like to apply for Clinical Psychology Training. The experience and knowledge she gained over the last four years has made her passionate about working with people experiencing difficulties to support them and help them make positive differences to their lives.

In her spare time, Emmeline likes to read to relax – some of her favourite authors are Mark Haddon and Zadie Smith. She loves dogs due to having them for most of her childhood and would love to adopt lots of rescue dogs in the next few years! Emmeline is a vegetarian and when she has the time, she enjoys spending hours looking up recipes and cooking. She also loves exploring different cities and countries whenever she can.