Christina Buxton | University of Chester

Programme Leader, DProf Counselling and Psychotherapy Studies / DProf Psychological Trauma

Christina Buxton BSc, CertSMPC, DipPsych, MA, MPhil, PGCertHE, FHEA, C.Psychol, FBPsS, CSci, Reg MBACP Christina is a Chartered Academic Psychologist, Coaching Psychologist, Psychotherapist, and Researcher. She is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society (BPS) and a Chartered Scientist. She is a senior practitioner member of the BPS Register of Psychologists Specialising in Psychotherapy, and on the BPS Register of Applied Psychology Practice Supervisors. In addition, she is a registered Psychotherapist with the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), a member of EMDR UK and Ireland, and an accredited member of Emotional Freedom Technique international (EFTi). Christina's academic, organisational and individual work spans 30 years of working towards an enhanced understanding of concepts and interventions around the subjects of mental health, well-being and psychological trauma. During this time, Christina has led many projects and initiatives to both theoretically provide a deeper appreciation of the complexities of these subject areas, and to improve the lives of those exposed to adverse life events. Her work has been devoted to the development and dissemination of evidence-based practice and sound ethical and professional standards in these areas, and Christina has led and developed the UK’s only evidence-based trauma training programmes in higher education. Christina is a leading figure in education in this field in the UK. She has developed and promoted protocols of evidence-based practice, including developing the UK’s only competency-based framework for practitioners working with psychological trauma and best trauma informed practice in the wider psychological professions. Her work has both added value to the understanding of this field and has led to strategic and effective change in areas of practice.

A leading expert in the training and education of psychological trauma in the UK Christina has developed and led a number of unique and innovative postgraduate higher education programmes, including the UK’s first MSc in Psychological Trauma and the UK’s first and the only NICE compliant master’s qualification for trauma treatments. This work extends the knowledge base of psychology and applies it to specific and unique areas of practice. Demonstrating individual excellence in raising the profile of psychological trauma within the wider professions that come into contact with it, Christina has been key in developing and delivering innovative pedagogical approaches to training professionals in the field. Leading these unique programmes of study, Christina has aided practitioners in specifically developing themselves and improving the work of others through enhancing their knowledge and skills base in both research and practice. This work has not only positively impacted the practice of those she has trained and educated, but has enabled them to transform the lives of those that they are working with. The range of professional backgrounds that have benefited from this input are numerous including police officers, prison officers, fellow psychologists, medics, psychiatrists, therapists, paramedics, war correspondents, social workers, MOD personnel, and third sector organisations working within the care sector, and displaced individuals and refugees, to name a few. Christina currently is the programme lead for the professional doctorates in Counselling & Psychotherapy and the UK's first and only professional doctorate in Psychological Trauma. Christina has applied her passion for both research subject and method to leading and enhancing these programmes of study, and through this to contribute significantly to grow the doctoral research profile of the department. With over 40 doctoral students on these programmes, this now represents the largest collection of a doctoral research in these subject areas.

Christina's, research, training, and consultancy is in mental health and wellbeing, and trauma informed practice for individuals and organisations. During her long-standing career Christina has provided training, consultancy, coaching and interventions to a range of service providers across many different sectors including, foster care, social work, first responders, therapeutic third sector organisations and in private psychiatric hospitals and the NHS. Christina was one of the first to train organisations in being trauma informed and have led initiatives to train, inform and guide organisations that are developing trauma informed practices to meet their goals demonstrating innovation and originality in education and practice. Her trauma informed research, training and consultancy over many years has transformed and shaped organisations trauma informed practice. Through the University of Chester Christina has worked for over 10 years with a nationally recognised UK based Foster Agency who specialise in placing traumatised children in appropriate foster placements, to develop their service delivery and impact positively the lives of the staff, foster carers and young children in their care.

Christina's academic research interests include the individual's experience of PTSD and Complex Trauma, as well as a non pathologising understanding of diagnosis and assessment. Her recent research utilises a narrative psychosocial approach to better understand the wider context in which an individual's experience of trauma occurs and the meanings they draw from this. Her recent book, Discourses of Psychological Trauma, provides a critique of the medical model and offers practitioners alternative ways of thinking and responding to those suffering from the effects of adverse life events. Likewise, her recent TEDx talk also takes a critical view of the assumptions inherent in the diagnostic frameworks for PTSD. Christina's other research interests are in methodological innovation and research into individuals’ narratives of psychological trauma, and practitioner based researcher development. Christina has peer reviewed publications in both the field of psychological trauma and in innovation and creative use of methodologies, and has spoken at numerous national and international conferences on these topics. She has supervised many research projects at Undergraduate, Masters and Doctorate level in her career, including PhD and Professional Doctorate students in her methodological and subject areas of interest.