Summary
I work part-time as a Senior Clinical Teaching Fellow at the University on the Professional Doctorate in Forensic Psychology. I also work as a Consultant Clinical and Forensic Psychologist with offenders with identified mental health challenges.
My career has previously included working in both medium and maximum security settings for the Ministry of Justice, and also in low, medium and maximum security psychiatric establishements such as Broadmoor Hospital. Within these roles I have specialized in the assessment and treatment of sexual offenders and worked extensively with those holding a diagnosis of personality disorder and psychopathy. I have also held community roles as a consultant in a substance misuse service and also a homelessness Service, worked as an expert witness in court/parole board hearings and mental health tribunals, and worked directly with the police to develop initiatives to address local areas of identified need.
I have co-authored a book on 'Forensic Psychology: Theory, Research, Policy and Practice' which received the British Psychological Society Book Award 2018 for Textbook of the Year. I am presently working on a book on rape with the same co-authors.
I am currently conducting research alongside colleagues in the Faculty of Humanities in the area of Chemsex and have a research interest in the impact of shame in the therapeutic encounter with offenders.
Biography
I have historically held senior academic posts at other Universities, including Canterbury Christ Church Universtiy, alongside honorary posts at the University of Surrey, University of Portsmouth and Canterbury University.
I was appointed as a part-time Senior Clinical Teaching Fellow at the University of Portsmouth in 2018 where I have been invovled in developing and delivering the Professional Doctorate in Forensic Psycholgoy.
In addition to this I have approximately 35 years as a registered Clinical and Forensic Practitioner Psychologist. I have worked across all levels of secure service provision from maximum , medium, low secure services to community work, including specialist work in substance misuse and homelessness services. I have held Consultant and Lead positions for many years and have had repsonsibility for service development and provision in a range of work environments.
Research Interests
I am interested in research that is likely to positively impact on current practice in the provision of services for those with psychological and emotional challenges, often described as mental health/mental disorder, who come into contact with the criminal justice or secure psychiatric system
My current research interests include:
- Shame and violence
- The impact of shame in the therapeutic encounter with offenders
- Chemsex
- Adolescents, marginalisation, loneliness and trajectories of offending
- Excluded and marginalised adolescents accessing school farms, city farms and their impact
- Resilience in the practitioner in clincial forensic work
Teaching Responsibilities
I teach primarily on the Professional Doctorate in Forensic Psychology programme with an emphasis on clinical practice. This includes, anmongst other areas, teaching about risk assessment, assessment and intervention work. I also contribute to the MSc in Forensic Psychology programme on the Theory into Practice element of this Masters programme.
Media Availability
I am happy to answer emails from the media on my research, and am aware of the need to respond to journalists in a timely manner. Please contact me directly at yvonne.shell@port.ac.uk.