Dr David Jones publishes in a special edition of the Journal of Psychosocial Studies Images: Dr David Jones own photo; Image of Journal by permission of Journal of Psychosocial Studies The Loneliness Pandemic? A Special Edition of the Journal of Psychosocial Studies https://bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/view/journals/jps/jps-overview.xml?tab_body=latest-issue By David W Jones Olivia Sagan approached me a while ago, in my role as Co-Editor of the Journal of Psychosocial Studies, with an idea for an article on ‘loneliness’.  I was immediately struck by what an important psychosocia ..read more

Photo credit: Professor Darren Langdridge/Oxford University Press Professor Darren Langdridge of The Open University’s Psychology and Counselling School has recently published a fascinating new book on sexual politics. Read more on the Open Psychology Research Centre’s News page. Langdridge, D. (2024). Sexual citizenship and social change: a dialectical approach to narratives of tradition and critique. New York: Oxford University Press ..read more

Photo Credit: Kesi Mahendran and Timer feature. On the 13th and 14th February 2024, the members of work package six (WP6),  Public Dialogue & Narratives – Psychological Drivers, met at the Open University’s Walton Hall Campus in Milton Keynes, UK. The two-day gathering promised to be an engaging period of collaboration and dissemination. The members of work package six came together the evening prior to the two-day gathering to enjoy a meal and catch-up. Even the UK’s grey slate sky and inhospitable rain could not diminish our spirits as we welcomed colleagues from both Panteion a ..read more

On 5 December 2024, Dr David Jones of The OU’s Psychology & Counselling School, held a fascinating online talk with students, on the subject of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). This talk ties in with his critical exploration in a Special Edition of The Journal of Psychosocial Studies You can watch the video of his talk via the OPRC News Webpages. Look out for more ColLab talks in the future. What is the ColLab? Find out more ..read more

Photo credit: Pexels The new qualification The new R86 BSc (Hons) Counselling course will offer both a full training pathway for students who want to become a counsellor, as well as the opportunity for current practitioners to acquire new advanced counsellor competencies as part of an undergraduate degree. Developed in partnership with accredited awarding bodies, the new degree has been designed to allow graduates to claim advanced competency level according to the ‘Scope of practice and education for counselling and psychotherapy’ (SCoPEd) framework. This new competency framework has been de ..read more

Photo credit: The OU 2023 saw the launch of the second module, D811 Critically exploring psychology 2, from The OU MSc Psychology (Conversion). The first part, D810 Critically exploring psychology 1, was launched in 2022.   At the beginning of December, all students on the qualification were invited to the second of three research days on The Open University campus in Milton Keynes. This was a hybrid event, so those not able to travel to Milton Keynes were able to join online. Students attended morning sessions run by tutors, on their respective modules. They then all came together for a ..read more

Photo credit: The Open University We asked Professor Eleni Andreouli about her journey to Professorship and The Open University. ‘One could say that my journey in psychology has followed a well-treaded path. But this would not capture my experience. When I started studying psychology in my hometown, Athens, in Greece, I absolutely believed that I was going to be a clinical psychologist and that I would explore people’s (and my own) deeper, unconscious desires and fears. I very quickly realised that this was not going to happen, not least because clinical psychology is much richer and more var ..read more

Photo credit: The Open University We are seeking two post-doctoral research associates for a project on trust in forensic science evidence in the criminal justice system, to work in the OU’s School of Psychology & Counselling for one year starting 1 March 2024. They would join a team of seven researchers on a novel, interdisciplinary project to identify key touchpoints and influences where trust (and distrust) in forensic science arises amongst marginalised users of the Criminal Justice System. The result of the project will be the development of a tool to mitigate this distrust. By ..read more

Recently promoted to Professor Lara Frumkin, Head of Discipline of Psychology & Counselling at The Open University will be leading the project and working with investigators Heather Flowe, University of Birmingham, Maria Maclennan, University of Edinburgh, Niamh NicDaeid, University of Dundee, Vincent Hughes, University of York, Emmanuel Nsiah Amoako, University of the West of England, Emma Johnston, De Montfort University. For more detail follow the link to the OPRC Website News Tab ..read more

I’m Nina, and I’m a doctoral research student in Psychology here at the Open University. As a researcher, I’m interested in how psychological concepts are negotiated through language, culture, and history. My research background includes studying the history of ‘borderline personality disorder’ using Foucauldian historiography and discourse analysis, and some pedagogical research on student subjectivity in higher education using Lacanian theory. In 2022 I was awarded funding from the Grand Union Doctoral Training Partnership to commence my doctoral studies at the OU. My PhD research project l ..read more