Dr Pauline Cusack
Senior Lecturer
Biography
Dr Cusack is a registered social worker and Senior Lecturer in Social Work division at the University of Chester. Pauline's interest in adults work, specifically safeguarding adults, has influenced her practice and research interests. Her research, knowledge exchange and impact studies focus on the impact of harm in restraint techniques used on adults, and how the narratives of adults who have experienced restraint can improve critical and professional understanding across both health and social care, and in doing so seek to improve practice across both sectors.
Teaching and Supervision
Dr Cusack teaches across all of the Social Work programmes here at the University of Chester, including the Social Work Degree Apprenticeships, the BA in Social Work and the MA in Social Work. She is currently supervising MA Social Work dissertation students within the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Society.
Research and Knowledge Exchange
Dr Cusack has undertaken knowledge exchange and impact studies nationally, focusing on the theoretical, legal and policy requirements of health workers ad social workers regarding restraint, with a particular focus on service user ‘narratives’. Social work practitioners, Safeguarding personnel, health workers and advocates are encouraged to reflect on the impact of harm and restraint. Dr Cusack has presented her work at international conferences and published her work in international peer reviewed journals. Dr Cusack considers the inherent ham in undertaking restraint from both a staff and service user perspectives. One of the principles of this research and emphasised throughout her research is that adults have human rights, therefore inhumane and degrading practice becomes a safeguarding issue, and so such practice should be avoided. Presentations • 2015 International conference- International Mental Health Law – Vienna • 2016 International Conference – Violence in Health- Dublin • 2017 International Conference- European Congress of Violence in Clinical Psychiatry- Dublin • 2018 International Conference- Mental Health conference- Cavan, Ireland • 2019 International conference – International Academy of Law and Mental Health- Rome • 2019 International Conference – European Congress of Violence in Clinical Psychiatry- Oslo Papers: • Cusack et al (2016) Restraining good practice. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry. • Cusack et al. (2018) Integrative review exploring the physical and psychological harm inherent in using restraint in mental health inpatient settings. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing. • Cusack et al. (2023) Experiencing restraint: a dialogic narrative inquiry from a service user perspective. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing