Zeast Kamal
Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London
Research interests: Zeast’s research interests are centred around the psychological wellbeing of police officers, particularly in relation to trauma exposure and its subsequent impact. She is keenly focused on how the constant exposure to traumatic events, such as those encountered in child abuse and exploitation cases, affects police officers’ mental health, including the prevalence of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Complex PTSD, compassion fatigue, and burnout. Additionally, Zeast is interested in exploring the systemic impact of trauma within police organisations and the role of protective factors in mitigating these adverse effects.
Contribution to CSEL: Zeast is a Trainee Clinical Psychologist on the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at Royal Holloway. As part of her doctoral thesis, Zeast is working with Professor Amina Memon and Dr Zoe Given-Wilson on a research project that investigates the emotional impact on police officers working in the domain of child abuse and exploitation. Building on previous data collected during the COVID-19 pandemic, which indicated high levels of burnout and secondary traumatic stress in this workforce, Zeast aims to conduct further exploration and data collection to identify risk and protective factors among officers exposed to explicit graphic material and those directly interacting with traumatised children. The goal is to contribute to the evidence base for effective trauma-informed interventions within the police force.
Isabella Da Re
PhD student in the Department of Law and Criminology, Royal Holloway, University of London
Research Interests: Isabella’s broader research interests are in the remits of Violence Against Women (VAW), domestic violence and sexual violence in conflict, particularly from a feminist perspective. Her current research focuses on the conceptualisation of ‘female suffering’ in International Human Rights Law (IHRL), which aims to provide an interpretative framework broadening the current androcentric nature of IHRL by integrating female realities, feelings, and experiences of suffering.
Contribution to CSEL: Isabella is a PhD student in the Department of Law and Criminology at Royal Holloway, University of London. She is working with Professor Jill Marshall and plans to engage with members of CSEL on interdisciplinary research, especially in the fields of Violence Against Women, and participate in the centre’s seminars and projects.
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Emma Bailey
Doctorate in Clinical Psychology Graduate, Royal Holloway, University of London.
Research interests: Emma’s research interests are primarily in the remits of trauma, particularly within asylum-seeker and refugee populations. She is interested in how Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder may impact an asylum-seeker’s claim and the mechanisms underlying this, including the role of deceptive cues. Additionally, she is interested in the development of trauma-informed approaches and is currently writing up a small-scale service evaluation on the use of such approaches in an acute inpatient setting. She hopes to incorporate research on trauma-informed approaches within the field of law in her systematic review as part of her doctoral thesis.
Contribution to CSEL: Emma completed her doctorate in clinical psychology at Royal Holloway, University of London. As part of her doctoral thesis, she worked with Professor Amina Memon and Dr Zoe Given-Wilson investigating how behaviours associated with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, expectations and emotions might impact credibility judgements in a mock asylum-seeker interview. Emma is working on publishing her results.
Gaia Giampietro
PhD student in the Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London
Research interests: Gaia’s broader research interests lie in eyewitness testimony and identification. As a direct continuation of her MSc Forensic Psychology dissertation, her current research explores the impact of altered face distinctiveness on eyewitness performance during forensic lineups, striving to improve accuracy of eyewitness identification in real-world forensic contexts. In the future, Gaia would moreover like to be involved in research within the area of deception detection.
Contribution to CSEL: Gaia is a PhD student in the department of Psychology at Royal Holloway, University of London. Gaia is eager to collaborate with CSEL members, particularly in inter-disciplinary research concerning judgement of accuracy and credibility in forensic contexts. She moreover looks forward to get involved in organising and helping promote the work of CSEL.