Dr Zoe Stephenson MSc, PhD

Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education

PhD (Birmingham), ‘Treatment of offenders: The delivery and sequencing of interventions’

M.Sc. Forensic Psychology (Gloucestershire)

B.Sc. (Hons) Psychology with Sociological Studies (Gloucestershire)

Dr Stephenson completed her PhD at the University of Birmingham in 2015, funded by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), and went on to work as a Teaching Fellow before becoming an Assistant Professor and later becoming an Associate Professor. Zoe has conducted research in collaboration with the MoJ and has published widely with Forensic Psychology Doctorate Trainees on a broad range of topics. She also leads pedagogic research focused on enhancing student learning and performance.

Dr Stephenson leads the Systematic Literature Review and Psychological Theories and Understanding of Crime modules on the Forensic Psychology Practice Doctorate (ForenPsyD) programme. She also contributes to teaching on qualitative research methods and provides academic supervision for Forensic Doctorate and CPD trainees.

Dr Stephenson is currently supervising a PhD student exploring empathy in individuals with convictions for violent and sexual offences, and another PhD student investigating the experiences of women with prior sexual offence convictions and the victims of female-perpetrated sexual offending.

She also supervises six doctoral trainees on a wide range of topics within the field of forensic psychology.

Primary forensic research interests:

• Rehabilitation
• The process of behavioural change
• Desistance from crime
• Risk factors for offending
• Alternatives to manualised interventions
• Gang crime
• Religion and desistance from crime
• Female offending
• Crime fiction

Primary pedagogic research interests:

• Reliability and quality of the viva voce exam
• Facilitators of oral assessment performance
• Expert by experience involvement in teaching

Secondary forensic research interests:

• Harmful sexual behaviour (HSB)
• Resilience
• Prison hostage negotiation
• Undercover police work
• Transgender individuals with convictions
• Risk assessment and formulation