David Harper profile picture

Professor David Harper

Professor of Clinical Psychology

Professor

Professor of Clinical Psychology, Mental Health and Social Change

Department of Psychology & Human Development , School of Childhood and Social Care

David Harper is a clinical psychologist who worked in mental health services in the North West for nearly a decade before moving to UEL in 2000.  Since 2014 he has been one of the two Directors of UEL's clinical psychology programme.  His co-authored and co-edited book Psychology Mental Health & Distress won one of the two 2014 BPS book prizes.

Qualifications

  • PhD (Manchester Metropolitan University, 1999)
  • M Clin Psychol (University of Liverpool, 1991)
  • BA (Hons) Psychology (University of Liverpool, 1987)

Areas Of Interest

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  • Critical qualitative research (e.g. Discourse Analysis) in mental health, particularly concerning professional discourse about concepts (e.g. psychosis and paranoid delusions) and interventions (e.g., medication, ECT and mental health legislation).
  • Social inequality - both how it is explained and its influence on mental health.
  • Discrimination against those experiencing mental distress – both exploring its effects and examining interventions which aim to challenge it.
  • Psychological therapies which try to avoid pathologising users of mental health services.
  • Critiquing the use of psychological knowledge in national security-related interrogation.
  • Examining public perceptions of surveillance and dataveillance technologies.
  • Transforming how mental distress is conceptualised, understood and taught.
  • Developing more progressive approaches to public mental health.
  • Advancing knowledge of the impact of social inequalities on mental health and other social problems.
  • Changing how unusual beliefs and experiences (including those attracting psychosis diagnoses) are conceptualised and understood.
  • Qualitative mental health research methods from a more critical perspective.
  • The discourse of paranoia and surveillance in contemporary culture.
  • Critiquing the use of psychological knowledge in national security-related interrogation.
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David Harper profile picture

OVERVIEW

Professor David Harper is co-director of UEL's Professional Doctorate in Clinical Psychology.  He moved to UEL in 2000 after working for a decade as a clinical psychologist in NHS mental health services in the North West of the UK.

He has been programme director (academic) of the DClinPsych programme since 2014.  His co-authored and co-edited book Psychology Mental Health & Distress was awarded the 2014 BPS book prize.  He was a co-author of the BPS (2018) Power Threat Meaning Framework and is interested in developing a more progressive approach to mental distress and public mental health.  He supervises PhD and Professional Doctorate trainees on topics related to his research interests. 

CURRENT RESEARCH

David's research interests are in critical approaches to mental health, particularly in relation to psychosis, and also in discourses of surveillance in contemporary culture.

He is a member of the editorial boards of Psychology & Psychotherapy: Theory, Research & Practice, the Annual Review of Critical Psychology and Subjectivity.

David is a member of UEL's Mental Health and Social Change Research Group.

  • Over 5,500 citations (h-index 34; i10 index 70)
  • 48 peer-reviewed articles
  • 39 book chapters
  • 71 wider access publications 
  • Contributor to ten reports published by the British Psychological Society
  • Co-authored two books (one of which won the 2014 British Psychological Society Book award whilst the other has been translated into Greek and Chinese)
  • Co-edited one book
  • Supervised over 70 professional doctorates and one PhD to successful completion 

Most recent research areas:

  • The Power Threat Meaning Framework
  • Public Mental Health
  • History of CBT for psychosis
  • Subjective experience of paranoia
  • Unconventional belief communities in the general population
  • Conspiracy beliefs
  • Mental health prejudice, discrimination and epistemic injustice

MEDIA WORK

David has written for the Guardian and The Conversation and has been interviewed by Time Magazine, Newsweek, the New Statesman, The Guardian, BBC News 24, BBC Newsnight Scotland, BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 1 and BBC News online.

 

Magazine articles

Newspaper articles

  • Harper, D. & Peacock-Brennan, S. (2016). How to avoid a punch-up with the in-laws. i Newspaper, 23 December, 24-25.
  • Harper, D. (2012, 22 February). The sad truth about the Action for Happiness movement, The Guardian, p. 35.
  • Parker, I., & Harper, D. (2008, January 25). Other lives: Terence McLaughlin [Obituary]. The Guardian, p. 42.

TEACHING

  • Personal & Professional Development Tutor

Prof Doc Clinical Psychology

The Prof Doc in Clinical Psychology provides a training programme with academic teaching and clinical work placements based mainly in the NHS.

Study Prof Doc Clinical Psychology

MODULES

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  •  BSc (Hons) Psychology - Careers in clinical psychology; Psychology, Individuals & Society
  • PY8201:  Convening C1 (Ethics & epistemology:  foundations) and teaches sessions on discrimination, the history of clinical psychology and mental health, diagnosis, medicalisation, and the Power Threat Meaning Framework.  Teaching a C2 session on community psychology.  Convening C6 (Psychosis and severe and enduring presentations) teaching sessions on the Mental Health Act and on unusual beliefs.
  • PY8203:  Teaching sessions on transtheoretical approaches, discourse analysis and poverty and social class.
  • PY8205:  Teaching sessions on working with the media and on prevention and promotion.
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Publications

Browse past publications by year.

Full publications list

Visit the research repository to view a full list of publications

Research repository