Catherine Chalmers

Catherine Chalmers serves as a Lecturer in Art Psychotherapy within the Occupational Therapy & Arts Therapies Division at Queen Margaret University (QMU), a position she assumed in 2021 while maintaining concurrent clinical practice in NHS adult community mental health services. With over twenty years of frontline experience across third-sector mental health services, specialist trauma psychology units, and dementia care settings, she bridges academic theory with real-world therapeutic application.

Her educational pathway includes:

• Textile Design studies at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, Dundee and Birmingham Institute of Art and Design (now Birmingham City University)
• Art Therapy qualification with Distinction from Queen Margaret University (2001)

Chalmers' research centers on integrating Mentalization-Based Therapy (MBT) frameworks within art psychotherapy for adults with relational and complex trauma. She investigates how artistic processes enhance mentalization—the capacity to comprehend self and others' mental states—and examines art therapy's efficacy in addressing somatic manifestations of psychological distress including dissociation and confusion. Her work emphasizes the intrinsic relationship between material engagement and cognitive-emotional processing in therapeutic contexts.

As Professional Practice Tutor for QMU's MSc Art Psychotherapy program, she oversees clinical placements and co-ordinates Practice-Based Learning modules. Her professional affiliations include the British Association of Art Therapists, Health and Care Professions Council, and MBT Scotland, where she pursues advanced clinical training through partnerships with the Anna Freud Centre.