Diana Harcourt

Diana Harcourt is a Professor of Appearance & Health Psychology at the Centre for Appearance Research (CAR) within the University of the West of England, Bristol. She served as Director/Co-Director of CAR from September 2003 to February 2023. Her research focuses on the psychosocial impact of visible differences, including those caused by cancer, burn injuries, and military conflict, with an emphasis on developing and evaluating interventions for individuals facing appearance-altering treatments.

• Collaborations: Breast Cancer Now, VTCT Foundation, The Scar Free Foundation, Oregon University, Queen Mary University of London
• Key Expertise: Visible difference (disfigurement), cancer-related appearance changes, burn injury psychosocial support, military conflict appearance impacts

Research & Teaching: She co-leads a VTCT Foundation-funded program on appearance research, developed the PEGASUS intervention for appearance-altering surgery expectations, and contributed to burn-specific patient-reported outcome measures (CAR Burns Scales). She supervises PhD and Professional Doctorate Health Psychology students and is a chartered Health Psychologist (HCPC accredited).