About
Liz Gulliford has an interdisciplinary background. She gained a Theology degree from Trinity College, Oxford and has a BSc in Psychology. She previously worked for the Psychology and Religion Research Group at the University of Cambridge, where she published work on forgiveness and other virtues, co-editing ‘Forgiveness in Context: Theology and Psychology in Creative Dialogue,’ with Fraser Watts in 2004.
The feeling of utter admiration for courageous and hopeful, forgiving and grateful people has inspired Liz to devote her research to date to the study of particular virtues (such as forgiveness and hope) and the concept of strength more broadly. She has long nurtured an interest in virtues, and recently examined their place in the positive psychology movement.
Liz studied for her doctoral thesis, an interdisciplinary evaluation of positive psychological approaches to strengths and virtues, at Queens’ College, Cambridge and is currently working on a book based on the PhD, in which she locates this growing field within historical, philosophical, theological and political contexts.
Qualifications
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PhD Theology and Religious Studies, Queens’ College, University of Cambridge - Thesis: An Interdisciplinary Evaluation and Theological Enrichment of Positive Psychology
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BSc Psychology (Hons), Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, BPS accredited
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MPhil Theology and Religious Studies, Queens’ College, University of Cambridge - Thesis: Theological and Psychological Aspects of Forgiveness
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BA (Hons), now MA, Theology, Trinity College, University of Oxford
Biography
In her previous post Liz gained a great deal of teaching and supervising experience (undergraduate and graduate), particularly in psychology of religion. She produced a number of academic articles and book chapters, ranging from the cinematic portrayal of Christ to mindful awareness and self-directed neuroplasticity in OCD. A paper she co-wrote with former colleagues on gratitude, forgiveness and hope, appearing in Volume 9 (3) of 'Mental Health, Religion and Culture' was one of the top ten most downloaded articles of the journal in 2006.
Liz has been immersed in the study of virtue and virtues for some years and has been fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to present this research publicly and at specialist and professional conferences. She welcomes the opportunity to give public lectures and was invited to be a plenary speaker at the CAPS conference on ‘The Abundant Life’ in Kansas, April 2010.
She is delighted to be back in Birmingham, having worked temporarily on a project on the social psychology of empathy and cooperation at the School of Psychology a number of years ago.
Liz believes that though we have to some extent lost an adequate vocabulary to speak of virtue (its meaning having now degraded into a rather Victorian-sounding prudishness), the fact that human hearts are warmed by stories in which virtue has guided the moral actor’s character, indicates that we have not become entirely estranged from the personal attributes (virtues) we admirable. The Jubilee Centre is in a position to offer a much-needed contribution to a renewal of understanding, both in terms of practical wisdom and of theoretical knowledge of virtue and character. Liz very much looks forward to helping to make this contribution to the School of Education, through the work of the Jubilee Centre.
Other activities
Professional Memberships
British Psychological Society (BPS)
BaCIP (British Association of Christians in Psychology)
Publications
Gulliford, L. (2007). ‘Fully human, fully divine? The cinematic portrayal of Christ’, in F. Watts (ed.), Jesus and Psychology, London, Darton, Longman and Todd.
Watts, F., Dutton, K. & Gulliford, L. (2006). Human spiritual qualities: Integrating psychology and religion, Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 9 (3), 277-289 DOI:10.1080/13694670600615524
Schwartz, J., Gulliford, E., Stier, J., & Theinemann, M. (2005). Mindful awareness and self-directed neuroplasticity: Integrating psychospiritual and biological approaches to mental health with a focus on OCD’, in S.G. Mijares, & Khalsa, G. S. (eds), The Psychospiritual Clinician's Handbook. New York, London & Oxford, Haworth Press Inc
Gulliford, L. (2004). Intrapersonal forgiveness, in Watts, F. & Gulliford, L. (eds) Forgiveness in context: Theology and psychology in creative dialogue. London & New York: T&T Clark International.
Gulliford, L. (2004). The healing of relationships, in Watts, F. & Gulliford, L. (eds) Forgiveness in context: Theology and psychology in creative dialogue. London & New York: T&T Clark International.
Watts, F. & Gulliford, L. (eds) (2004) Forgiveness in context: Theology and psychology in creative dialogue. London & New York: T&T Clark International.
Gulliford, L. (2004). Forgiveness and faith: Psychology and theology in dialogue. Ministry Today, 31, 6-15.