Sarah Parry

Sarah Parry is a Senior Clinical Lecturer at the University of Manchester's Division of Psychology & Mental Health, where she serves as the Academic Director for the Clinical Psychology Doctorate (ClinPsyD), an NHS England commissioned training programme. She is also a Consultant Clinical Academic/Psychologist and Strategic Research Lead for the Young People's Mental Health Research Centre at Pennine Care NHS Trust, where she conducts the majority of her research. Additionally, she is a Senior Fellow of Advance HE and serves on the committee of the Faculty for Children, Young People, and their Families within the British Psychological Society.

Dr. Parry's research focuses on children and young people's mental health, with particular expertise in qualitative methods and participatory approaches. Her work centers on enhancing mental health services for children, young people, families and caregivers, with a focus on tackling health inequalities and developing preventative brief psychological interventions. She has secured over £5.5 million in funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research for multiple clinical research projects including The ChUSE Trial, The Care Responders Study, The NEST Study, My Voice Matters in Research, and The ECHOES Study.

Her research spans several key areas including mental health interventions for children and young people, hearing voices experiences, dissociative identity disorder, multiplicity spectrum experiences, and work-related stress among practitioners in children's homes. She employs qualitative methods and community engagement approaches to ensure research is inclusive and accessible to underrepresented groups. Dr. Parry is particularly interested in co-production with young people and families to develop more responsive mental health services.

Dr. Parry's extensive publication record demonstrates a strong focus on understanding lived experiences of mental health challenges, developing interventions for young people experiencing psychosis spectrum symptoms, and improving mental health services through co-production with service users. Her work frequently addresses health inequalities and aims to develop accessible, preventative psychological interventions that can be implemented in real-world settings.

• May Davidson Award 2024

As Academic Director for the ClinPsyD programme, Dr. Parry supervises ClinPsyD trainees in their research projects. She has secured substantial funding for her research, totaling over £5.5 million, primarily from the National Institute for Health and Care Research. Her current projects include several major studies addressing critical gaps in children and young people's mental health services, with a focus on feasibility, acceptability, and implementation of novel interventions.

Dr. Parry leads the Young People's Mental Health Research Centre at Pennine Care NHS Trust, where she serves as Strategic Research Lead. She is actively involved in developing trauma-informed care approaches and co-produced research that centers the voices of young people and families in mental health service development. Her work with the Centre focuses on enhancing mental health services with children, young people, families and the people who care for them, particularly through developing preventative brief psychological interventions.