The research team

I’m the Lead Researcher on the Create for Confidence project. I am interested in working out what can increase risk for poor mental health, and how we can target these risk factors to prevent and treat mental health issues. In my spare time, I enjoy being creative, exploring nature, and spending time with friends and my cat!

Naomi Warne’s profile

I’m a Research Associate on the Create for Confidence project. I am also a registered children’s nurse and I’m really interested in finding out about how we can support the wellbeing of children, young people and their families. Outside of work, I love singing and playing the piano, being by the sea, and spending time with my friends and family.

Executive Administrator

I’m Amber – an administrator at the University of Bristol. My day-to-day job involves bringing order to the everyday chaos, however outside of the office, I’m a passionate traveller who you’ll always find jumping on a plane at any given moment. A keen writer, and lover of books and somebody who loves anything creative.

I’m a freelance researcher working on Create for Confidence, keen to explore and evaluate research interventions around children and young people’s mental health and especially interested in creative, participatory methods. Outside of work, I love running whilst chatting with friends, beach days and walks in the woods with my family.

Nikki

I founded Butterfly Creative Therapy in 2000 and since then I, alongside the other therapists at Butterfly, have successfully delivered a service to a multitude of schools and families across the Bristol region.  We use art, play and traditional talking methods to enable children and young people to express, understand and heal from difficult life experiences and to address their mental health issues. Outside of therapy, I can often be found exploring the woods and seeking adventures in nature with my 3 children.

Nikki McAuslan’s profile

Teaching Art has given me firsthand insight into the benefits of being able to express yourself creatively. I am interested in improving the wellbeing of children and young people so that they develop strategies to better manage their emotions and maintain good mental health.

Attending Zumba classes, walking my dog and working on my allotment are key to my own health and fitness. I also volunteer every Sunday at Junior Parkrun and I am a Run Director helping to organise the event for the children.

I contribute to the Create for Confidence project from my clinical and academic perspectives on young people’s mental health. I am delighted to be part of a team developing ways to use arts and creativity to prevent mental illness. Outside work, I love reading fiction, walking, and spending time with my family.

Helen Bould’s profile

In my role as PPIE facilitator I co-run Bristol’s Gen-R Young People’s Advisory group (YPAG). The YPAG brings together young people between the ages of 10-22 to advise researchers, helping to ensure their work remains relevant and important to the young people their research includes/is aimed at. Outside of work I love to get messy painting, printmaking and bookbinding, or heading out to the cinema to get lost in films.

Lucy Condon’s profile

My research is mostly focused on how we can create environments that are more supportive of people’s health, particularly young people’s mental health. I am an advisor on the Create for Confidence project. When I am not at work I play the flute in an orchestra and enjoy getting outside to run or walk my dog.

Judi Kidger’s profile

I am a health psychologist and qualitative researcher with an interest in developing, optimising and evaluating interventions for public health. In my spare time, I enjoy long walks in the countryside with my dog, and taking care of my horses.

Sarah Denford’s profile

I am a mixed methods researcher with ten years of experience conducting and leading behaviour change research. My research aims to provide a greater understanding of how health interventions impact health inequalities for people with chronic conditions and to find novel and sustainable ways to intervene with this population. In my spare time, I like to be by, on, or in the water and get out supping or kitesurfing when I can.

Sophie Turnbull’s profile

I study the origins and development of depression and anxiety in young people. I am interested in identifying causal risk and protective factors that can be targeted as part of interventions to prevent and treat depression and anxiety in young people. I am also interested in the relationship between school and mental health, and in transition points such as the transition to secondary school and between adolescence and adult life.

Fran Rice’s profile