Who am I?

Senior Lecturer in Psychology

Principal Lecturer for employability

Academic and professional qualifications

Since graduating with a first class honours degree in Psychology at the University of Huddersfield in 2002, I have worked on numerous research projects within the field of Social and Applied Health Psychology.

I am a fully qualified teacher with a PGCE awarded in 2005. In 2007 I joined the Division of Psychology at the University of Bradford and obtained my PhD, which was funded by the NHS and aimed to investigate the delivery of a coercive treatment program for offenders with alcohol misuse problems. I am currently publishing in the area of substance misuse treatment and behaviour change and I am  particularly interested in the relational aspect of treatment encounters.

I have gained extensive experience in quantitative and qualitative research methods but have a particular interest in qualitative research methodology. I also have a particular interest in narrative psychology and dialogical psychology.

Research activity:

I am currently lead qualitative researcher for a Big Lottery
funded project that aims to explore the experiences of end of life care for
substance misusers.

In collaboration with Dr Liz Walters at
the University of Bradford we are currently exploring hospital admissions in relation to
alcohol misuse in the elderly.

In collaboration with local treament services I am workig with Paul Cornwall to understand narratives of behaviour change in realtion to substance misuse and in particular long term recovery from substance misuse.

I researching and writing in the area of:

• Coercive treatment and behaviour change

• Understanding the relational aspect of behaviour change

• Stories of long-term recovery from substance misuse

• Individual narratives of community treatment

Other academic service (administration and management)

Cluster Lead for the Psychology Health and wellbeing research group

Member of the Substance and Addicted Behaviours (SUAB) research group

Why study Exploring and understanding substance misuse, treatment and behaviour change ?

I currently supervise a range of PhD students (6 in total) who each have unique and interesting research projects ranging from forensic research regarding staff-prisoner relationships to health researh surrounding men's health and cancer. Each project is qualitatively driven and draws on critical social psychology in order to understand in depth, people's experiences. These projects are challenging but have the ability to bring about new and complex ideas around relational aspects of behaviour that have impactful outcomes.

Research expertise

My research involves taking a pragmatic approach in order to understand the complex nature of treatment and addiction and consequently has experience in both qualitative and quantitative research methods. I am currently involved in further research with West Yorkshire Probation Service which aims to explore the efficacy of coercive alcohol treatment involving the exploration of reoffending rates for those who received treatment.

My research interests are based within the field of social and health psychology. I have a specific interest in substance misuse and community treatment, particularly alcohol misuse, and how treatment programs have the potential to bring about positive behaviour change. Recently I conducted a research project aimed to explore the delivery of a treatment program for offenders with alcohol misuse problems. I have gained extensive experience in quantitative and qualitative research methodsbut have a particular interest in qualitative research methodology. More specifically I have explored the value of qualitative observational methods in providing unique insights into the interaction that occurs during treatment encounters. I am currently writing in the area of:

• Coercive treatment and behaviour change
• Understanding the relational aspect of behaviour change
• Reoffending rates as 'outcome' data for treatment efficacy

I have also worked on a wide range of funded projects related to applied health and well-being including:

• Drug Testing and Treatment Orders for offenders in West Yorkshire
• Community nursing and palliative care
• Emancipatory research involving disabled people in the Bradford community
• Understanding work-life balance and well being
• Mothers' experiences of the 'Birth Centre'

Publications

• Journal articles

  J. Ashby, C. Horrocks (2013). Coercive treatment for alcohol misuse: An interactive and relational analysis. British Journal of Community Justice. 10(3), pp.23-39.

  J. Ashby, C. Horrocks, N. Kelly (2011). Delivering the Alcohol Treatment Requirement: Assessing the outcomes and impact of coercive treatment for alcohol misuse. Probation Journal. 58(1), pp.52-67.

  N. King, J. Melvin, J. Ashby, J. Firth (2010). Community palliative care: role perception. Br J Community Nurs. 15(2), pp.91-98.

• Conferences

  J. Ashby, C. Horrocks (2010). Behaviour change: Offering a contextual account of 'coercive' treatment for alcohol misuse. In: PSYCHOLOGY & HEALTH. pp.149-149.

• Reports

  JL. Ashby, P. Wilkinson ‘It’s good that you are listening to our views because we’ve all got them’ The voice of disabled people: An evaluation of service provision in the Bradford Metropolitan District’. , Bradford Meropolitan District Council.

  JL. Ashby, C. Horrocks, D. Redfern, G. Marks ‘Working practices, work-life balance and well-being: investigating employees’ experiences of the Compressed Hours Pilot Scheme’. , Bradford University.

  JL. Ashby, C. Horrocks, N. Kelly (2009). ‘Delivering the Alcohol Treatment Requirement in Wakefield: Phase Two’. : http://hdl.handle.net/10454/3957, NHS.

• Other

  S. galvani, J. tetley, C. haigh, L. webb, J. ashby, et al. G. witham, M. peacock, S. wright, L. templeton, F. duncan. (2016). Hear me now: Family experiences of end of life care for people using alcohol and drugs.

Prizes and awards

Research reviewing:

Member of the editorial board for the Journal of Forensic Practice

 
Reviewed for: Journal of Addiction and Prevention