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Dr Matt Brooks PhD, MSc, BSc(Hons), SFHEA

Senior Lecturer, Research Seminar Co-Lead, Psychology Assessment Lead

Forensic Psychology lecturer with expertise and interests in posttraumatic growth and trauma

My profile

Biography

I ama Senior Lecturer in Forensic Psychology in the Department of Psychology at Manchester Metropolitan University.

I teach and supervise students across the postgraduate psychology programmes in the department, although mainly on the MSc Forensic Psychology course. I also hold leadership roles in the department, as the joint lead for the Psychology Seminar Series and the Assessments Lead.

My interests and experience broadly span the areas of clinical, health, and forensic psychology. My Ph.D. research focused on positive psychological change after traumatic and stressful life events, known as posttraumatic growth, which is my core research area. I maintain an active research profile, publishing research on posttraumatic growth, psychological trauma and stress in international journals, and undertaking a number of ongoing research projects in these areas. I am a member of the MMU Health Psychology and Communities Research Centre, the Stress, Health and Performance Cluster in the Faculty of Health and Education, and the Life Paths Research Centre in the United States. I supervise Ph.D. students in areas relating to posttraumatic growth, stress, and victimology. 

My scholarly activity extends beyond MMU. I am keen to engage with media outlets and have contributed to media articles and delivered talks at practitioner events. I have supported and/or led research and evaluations with criminal justice organisations, victim services, health providers, and local authorities, on a variety of topics including repeat victimisation, service engagement, early intervention in family violence, support for male and female victims of sexual violence, female sexual offending, and child sexual exploitation. Take a look at the Projects and Research Outputs tabs above for more information about my research.

Alongside teaching and research experience, I have former practitioner experience working as an Assistant Psychologist in a secure children’s residential setting with young boys who had engaged in harmful sexual behaviour. Additionally, I volunteered for the Lancashire Probation Service from 2012 to 2016, working with young people who had engaged in offending behaviour.

Academic and professional qualifications

  • Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (2020) - Manchester Metropolitan University - Distinction
  • PhD Psychology (2018) - University of Central Lancashire
  • MSc Forensic Psychology(2013) - University of Central Lancashire - Distinction
  • BSc (Hons) Psychology(2010) - University of Manchester - 2:1

Membership of professional associations

  • Chartered Psychologist with the British Psychological Society, and member of the Crisis, Disaster, and Trauma section
  • Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA)

Other memberships

Expert reviewer

I act as a peer reviewer for a number of international clinical, health, and forensic psychology journals, particularly in the area of psychological trauma and posttraumatic growth, and a grant reviewer for the Health and Medical Research Fund of the Hong Kong government.

Interests and expertise

For more information about my research interests and ongoing projects, click the ‘Projects’ and ‘Research Outputs’ tabs above.

Get in touch

BR 3.11 Brooks Building
Please email for an appointment.

Projects

My research interests sit at the intersection between clinical, forensic, positive psychology, and preventative intervention. My key research focus is posttraumatic growth, victimisation, and positive psychology.

Posttraumatic growth

My main research activity concerns positive psychological change that can occur following adverse events, known as posttraumatic growth (PTG). More specifically, I seek to explore how and whether PTG could be used to enhance wellbeing in people who are exposed to adversity (particularly those exposed to multiple forms of interpersonal violence, abuse and harm). 

To build the evidence-base around PTG further, my work seeks to address the following broad research questions through mixed-method approaches:

1. What are the adversity-related, psychosocial, and structural facilitators and barriers to PTG in those who experience adversity?

2. To what extent is growth reflective of positive psychological and behavioural change, an illusory coping strategy, or both?

3. How do professionals working with people exposed to adversity experience secondary and vicarious PTG? How do their own personal experiences of adversity shape PTG? 

Current projects include:

  • Posttraumatic growth over time: A mixed method investigation
  • Emotion regulation, emotion beliefs, posttraumatic growth, mental and physical health
  • Posttraumatic growth in female survivors of domestic abuse, and the interpersonal and structural facilitators and barriers to growth
  • Nature connectedness and posttraumatic growth
  • Scoping review of strengths-based protective factors that could facilitate perceived growth in survivors of collective violence

Psychological trauma and victimisation

I have a related interest in understanding the impacts of psychological trauma and victimisation more broadly. My main interest is in trauma dosage, or the consequences of exposure to multiple forms of adversity across the the lifespan. I am also interested in the antecedents of, and factors that sustain repeat victimisation.

Previous projects in this area have included an EU-funded study into repeat victimisation and service use, early intervention in domestic violence, and evaluations of support provided by third sector organisations to male and female survivors of sexual violence.

Trauma within the criminal justice system: Wellbeing of jurors

I am currently working on a BA-funded grant into juror wellbeing with Dr. Hannah Fawcett. We are examining the impact of  presenting different forms of skeletal evidence in the courtroom upon jurors. In addition, we are also exploring the role of cumulative stress in juror duty from prior trauma exposure and the stress experienced as being a member of a jury, with the aim to enhance pre- and post-trial support for jurors in England and Wales. In November 2023, we presented findings from the juror wellbeing project in the House of Lords in Westminster, hosted by Baroness Berridge, attended by key stakeholders. We continue to develop this area of research into the wellbeing of jurors.

Positive psychology

I am generally interested in the role that positive psychology can play to promote wellbeing and healthy functioning in the face of adversity.

Teaching

Postgraduate courses

My teaching takes place on the postgraduate programmes in Psychology.

MSc Forensic Psychology programme:

  • Theory & Practice in Forensic Psychology (Unit Lead)

 MSc Psychological Wellbeing in Clinical Practice and MSc Forensic Psychology:

  • Dissertation (Dissertation Supervisor)

MSc Childhood Development and Wellbeing in Practice,  MSc Psychological Wellbeing in Clinical Practice, MSc Forensic Psychology and MSc Health Psychology:

  • Research Principles and Methods (Quantitative Lead)

Supervision

PhD supervision

He is also member of three supervisory teams:

  • Craig Howes (PhD student, Manchester Metropolitan University, 2020-present). First Supervisor with Dr Martin Turner as Principal Supervisor. Project titled: Exploring self-regulation in runners to examine whether dysfunctional beliefs mediate the relationships between athletic identity and physical and psychological wellbeing.
  • Kayumba Chiwele (PhD student, Manchester Metropolitan University). Principal Supervisor, with Dr Kim Heyes as First Supervisor. Project titled: A Community-Based Intervention to Tackle Domestic Violence and Improve Mental Health in Young Underprivileged Women in a Peri-Urban Community of Misisi in Lusaka, Zambia.         

Former doctoral students:

  • Lauren Haythornthwaite (Clinical Doctorate student, University of Liverpool, 2018-2023). External Supervisor with Dr Gundi Kiemle (Institute of Population Health, University of Liverpool) and Rob Balfour (CEO, Survivors West Yorkshire). Project titled: Posttraumatic growth among female survivors of domestic violence: Interpersonal and structural facilitators and barriers. Completed.

I am happy to be contacted for PhD supervision in the following areas:

  • Psychological trauma and/or stress 
  • Posttraumatic growth
  • Victimology

MSc dissertation supervision

I actively encourage my dissertation students to publish their work. To date, I have supervised over 50 postgraduate dissertations.

Research outputs

Career history

2022 - present

Senior Lecturer, Manchester Metropolitan University

2019 - 2022

Lecturer, Manchester Metropolitan University

2013 - 2019

Researcher, University of Central Lancashire

2013 - 2017

Assistant Psychologist, Coastal Child and Adult Therapeutic Services

2012 - 2016

Volunteer, Lancashire Probation Service

Press and media

Brooks, M. & Fawcett, H. (February 2024). Jurors need help – gruelling criminal cases can leave them with lasting trauma. The Conversation.

Rosseinsky, K. (July 2023). “I’ve been deeply lonely at crucial life moments”: can you be too independent? Stylist Magazine.

  • I contributed to the above article by discussing whether ‘hyper-independence’ is a valid concept, and the links between trauma exposure and self-reliance.

Robson, D. (March 2022). The complicated truth of post-traumatic growth. BBC Worklife.

  • In the above article, I discussed the academic debate around the validity of positive psychological change after trauma, known as posttraumatic growth.