Louise O'Connor

Dr. Louise O'Connor is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Law and Criminology at Royal Holloway, University of London. She holds a PhD from the University of Bristol and has 14 years of social work practice experience in London. Her research focuses on professional practice dynamics, particularly intersubjective emotions in social work, decision-making, and organizational influences. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a registered social worker. Her teaching expertise spans social work theory, research methods, and practice pedagogy.

Education: PhD (University of Bristol), MSc Social Work Studies (London School of Economics), BSocSc (Hons) Social Science (University College Dublin), and additional qualifications in teaching and counselling.

Research Interests: Emotion practices in social work, decision-making in child welfare, professional identity development, and social work education. Recent work explores gendered emotion discourses in 'macho' social work cultures and community-based learning models.

Key Awards: 2022 ESWRA Outstanding Publication Award for European Social Work Research.

Grants/Projects: PI on projects like 'Humanising systems: using arts practices to create change in social work' (2024–present) and 'Professional practice and vicarious trauma: using EMDR' (2024–present). Previously led a £15,700 teaching partnership project (2021–2023).

Labs/Teams: Collaborates with researchers on trauma-informed practice, pedagogical innovation, and organizational culture studies.