Rachel is currently the Dean of the Faculty of Education & Health Sciences and the Director of the Health Research Institute. She is also a mem
ber of the Centre for Social Issues Research which is a multi-disciplinary group that conducts research that addresses contemporary social issues relevant to health and wellbeing and shapes public policy.
Rachel is a psychologist and her research examines the psychological processes that help people to be mentally healthy, and how those processes are different in people with states like depression and anxiety. A particular interest is human learning, the processes underlying agency and how people learn about their personal control over their lives and environment. This is interesting because psychologically healthy people tend to feel 'in control' of their lives and environment, whereas depression, anxiety and other psychopathologies are often associated with a sense of helpless and lack of control. In addition, Rachel is interested in how this knowledge can support people in being mentally healthy in their everyday lives, in accessing effective psychological treatment when it is needed and in making effective use of technology to translate this knowledge into practice.
Projects
- The Feelings of Control Project
- Culture, control and wellbeing
- Time perception and Depressed Mood
- Depression, Serotonin and Learning
- Technology enhanced research and intervention