Heather Sutherland

Dr. Heather Sutherland is a Lecturer in Psychology at York St John University’s School of Education, Language and Psychology. With a research background in Media History (University of Westminster) and Docudrama Performance (University of Reading), she completed a qualitative PhD on student mental health and wellbeing through self-reflections of undergraduates. Her current work bridges lived experience of sibling suicide loss with academic research on mental health in educational institutions.

• Lecturer in Psychology since January 2024
• PhD in qualitative mental health research
• Specializes in suicide bereavement and trauma-informed pedagogy

Her research focuses on qualitative and interdisciplinary approaches to mental health in UK higher education, including academic emotion work and social media’s impact on student wellbeing. She contributes to conferences like BACP and SMaRteN, emphasizing lived experience perspectives in mental health research.

Key publications span topics from BBC light entertainment history to suicide bereavement narratives. She teaches adolescent development modules and supervises undergraduate dissertations while maintaining a personal blog on sibling suicide loss.