Miss Donna Michelle Ciarlo

I joined London South Bank University (LSBU) as a member of the teaching team in 2019 and now work as a graduate teaching assistant whilst doing my PhD part-time. I teach across BSc and MSc Psychology modules, specialising mainly in qualitative research methods. I have a BSc in Psychology and research experience stemming from research projects at LSBU and working as a Business Analyst in technology and event system management. Prior to working in academia, I worked across a wide range of sectors and organisations, including not-for-profit organisations, trade body and political parties for nearly 20 years.

Overall, my interests are broadly in mental health and have worked on two published research projects with service users living in secure mental health wards. One project looked at sexuality and relationship experiences (funded by the Wellcome Trust) and the other focussed on travelling memories and remembering and forgetting the past.
I have been working with members of the Design in Mental Health Network (DiMHN) writing evidence based booklets to guide those designing mental health spaces. My first booklet looked at design with physical, social and psychological borders and boundaries in mind, highlighting the significance of physical barriers on psychosocial aspects of staff and patients using these spaces. The latest booklet is an international review, comparing research and hospital design around the world which will be launched at the DiMH Conference in June 2022.
My current research interest and the focus of my PhD is looking at the influence of community and social spaces in mental health hospitals on emotional arousal and aspects of cognition and the phenomenological meaning for those using the spaces. I am interested in using technology such as virtual reality and wearables in research to gather a more holistic understanding to how spaces make people feel and behave. I am keen to investigate how we can enhance the psychosocially supportive elements of social spaces and to adapt the guidelines for designers, architects and hospital staff from creating to using these spaces.

Graduate Teaching Assistant
Research Assistant
Assistant Module Leader - Psychology of Mental Health and Distress

Mental Health & Distress (level 6) Qualitative Research Methods (levels 4 to 7) Quantitative Research Methods (levels 4 to 5) Social Psychology (levels 4 to 5) Introducing Psychological Approaches (levels 4 to 5) Cognitive Psychology (levels 4 to 5)