Personal Chair
- About
-
- Email Address
- kate.smith@abdn.ac.uk
- Telephone Number
- +44 (0)1224 272290
- Office Address
- School/Department
- School of Education
Biography
I am an academic and practitioner in pluralistic approaches to counselling and psychotherapy. I am currently the Head of Department for Counselling, Well-being, and Educational Psychology.
Having initially undertaken a degree in the natural sciences, and post-graduate research in comparative psychology, I trained as a therapist in the early 2000s, and obtained a teaching and research post first at St Andrews University and then at Abertay University in Dundee. I joined the University of Aberdeen as a Professor in mental health in 2023.
My PhD focussed on the impact of depression on autobiographical memory and the life-story structures. More recently my research has focussed on using a pluralistic approach to the application of therapy to different client groups, training for practitioners in mental health, and the process and outcome of pluralistic therapy.
Qualifications
- PhD Psychology2016 - University of St Andrews
- PGCert Higher Education Teaching2014 - Abertay University
- BSc Psychology2010 - Open University
- PGDip Counselling2009 - Abertay University
- PGCert Counselling Skills2007 - Abertay University
- MA Natural Sciences2003 - University of Cambridge
Latest Publications
Pluralistic Therapy: Responses to Frequently Asked Questions
Routledge. 292 pagesBooks and Reports: Books- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003305736
Video counselling and psychotherapy:: A critical commentary on the evidence base
Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 92-97Contributions to Journals: Review articlesEquipping students to be resourceful practitioners in community settings:: a realist analysis
European Journal of Psychotherapy & Counselling , vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 496-525Contributions to Journals: ArticlesA Pluralistic Perspective on Research in Psychotherapy: Harnessing Passion, Difference and Dialogue to Promote Justice and Relevance
Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 12, 742676Contributions to Journals: ArticlesThe Pluralistic Therapy Primer: A Concise Introduction
PCCS BooksBooks and Reports: Books
- Research
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Research Areas
Accepting PhDs
I am currently accepting PhDs in Psychology, Education.
Please get in touch if you would like to discuss your research ideas further.
Education
Accepting PhDsResearch Specialisms
- Mental Health Nursing
- Psychology
- Psychotherapy
- Health Psychology
Our research specialisms are based on the Higher Education Classification of Subjects (HECoS) which is HESA open data, published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
Current Research
I have an oversight role at the Bounds counselling clinic at the University of Aberdeen, and in partnership with the TRACCS group (TRaCCs – Training and Research Clinic Consortium) I am involved in a number of projects looking at the application of counselling and psychotherapy, in particular process and outcomes in therapy:
- Outcomes of therapy in relation to therapist and client demographics in
- Impact of process and outcome measures on therapy processes
- Client experiences of online therapy
I am also researching the application and effectiveness of pluralistic therapy, and the role of schools counselling.
Supervision
My current supervision areas are: Psychology.
Moulds, D (2014-2021) PhD Talk Your Way to Happiness: an exploration of the reciprocal relationship between emotion and communication
Murphie, M-C (2019-2023) PhD: Processes and Outcomes of Pluralistic Therapy
Adogu, T (2019-2023) PhD: Female survivors of Boko Harem abduction in Nigeria
Mcnally, N (2021-2024) PhD: Creative writing in therapy, fitting the method to the Client
Karagianni, A (2020-2024) PhD: Evidence based practice in therapy for childhood sexual abuse
Supervisees
- MISS LEAH ATHANASSOPOULOS
Funding and Grants
Start/End Dates
Title / brief details of Project
Project funding
Funding Body
May 2019 -Dec 2019
Validating non-verbal indicators of emotion and rapport during communication
£99,753
DASA
May 2017 - May 2018
Group-work and Abertay Attributes
£6000
ATLEF 5
Apr 2016 – Dec 2016
How inclusive is Abertay’s online learning environment?
£1990
ATLEF 3
Jun 2016 – Oct 2016
Counselling for young people with Diabetes
£4830
BACP
Oct 2014 – Apr 2015
Counselling for Diabetes
£4850
R-LINCS
- Teaching
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Teaching Responsibilities
I teach on the MSc and undergraduate Counselling programmes as well as inputting in to the Education programmes within the School
- Publications
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Page 1 of 2 Results 1 to 10 of 12
Pluralistic Therapy: Responses to Frequently Asked Questions
Routledge. 292 pagesBooks and Reports: Books- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003305736
Video counselling and psychotherapy:: A critical commentary on the evidence base
Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 92-97Contributions to Journals: Review articlesEquipping students to be resourceful practitioners in community settings:: a realist analysis
European Journal of Psychotherapy & Counselling , vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 496-525Contributions to Journals: ArticlesA Pluralistic Perspective on Research in Psychotherapy: Harnessing Passion, Difference and Dialogue to Promote Justice and Relevance
Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 12, 742676Contributions to Journals: ArticlesThe Pluralistic Therapy Primer: A Concise Introduction
PCCS BooksBooks and Reports: BooksNursing and midwifery students' encounters with poor clinical practice: a systematic review
Journal of Advanced Nursing, vol. 23, pp. 67-75Contributions to Journals: Review articlesTraining in pluralistic counselling and psychotherapy
The Handbook of Pluralistic Counselling and Psychotherapy. Cooper, M., Dryden, W. (eds.). Sage PublicationsChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersLearning from Triads:: training undergraduates in counselling skills
Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 123-131Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/capr.12056
Accounting for Actions and Omissions: A discourse analysis of student nurse accounts of responding to instances of poor care
Journal of Advanced Nursing, vol. 72, no. 5, pp. 1054-1064Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.12893
Helping clients with health issues
Handbook of Pluralistic Counselling and Psychotherapy. Cooper, M., Dryden, W. (eds.). Sage PublicationsChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters