معرفی
Michelle Lefevre is a Professor of Social Work at the University of Sussex, affiliated with the School of Education and Social Work and the Department of Social Work and Social Care. She serves as Director of the Centre for Innovation and Research in Childhood and Youth (CIRCY). Her career spans academic leadership, including roles as Head of Department and Editor-in-Chief of Child and Family Social Work. Prior to academia, she practiced as a social worker and arts psychotherapist, specializing in child forensic interviews, sex offender treatment, and family court assessments.
Education:
- Doctor of Social Work (DSW), University of Sussex
- MA Integrative Arts Psychotherapy
- MA Social Work
- Certificates in Therapeutic Arts, PostQualifying Social Work, and Approved Practice Teaching
Research Interests: Dr. Lefevre focuses on innovative approaches to safeguarding youth from extra-familial harms (e.g., criminal exploitation, digital coercion), contextual safeguarding frameworks, and relational methodologies. She prioritizes participatory and narrative research methods to center youth voices in policy and practice.
Key Contributions: Her work includes evaluating Contextual Safeguarding implementations in Hackney, leading the ESRC-funded Innovate Project, and co-authoring seminal texts like Safeguarding Young People Beyond the Family Home. Recent studies address pandemic-era service adaptations and the role of mobile technology in domestic abuse.
Awards:
- National Teaching Fellowship (2015)
- BASW/Kay McDougall Prize (2017) for groundbreaking work on trust-building in child sexual exploitation cases
Grants & Advising: She leads multiple ESRC-funded grants exploring innovation in children’s social care and empathy in practice. Supervises PhD/DSW students on topics like safeguarding policies, coercive control, and interdisciplinary child welfare approaches.
Labs/Teams: Co-directs the Innovate Project, collaborates with the Centre for Innovation and Research in Childhood and Youth (CIRCY), and advises BASW’s 80/20 relationship-based practice campaign.
