Dr Sarah-Jane Fenton-Chinchilla BSc(Hons); PGCert; PGCert ; MPhil; PhD

• 2019-2020 PGCert, Higher Education, University of Birmingham 
• 2012 – 2016 PhD, University of Birmingham (awarded December 2016) & University of Melbourne (awarded August 2017)
• 2015 PGCert Advanced Research Methods and Skills, University of Birmingham (Excellent)
• 2009-2011 PGCert, Psychodynamic Approaches to Working with Adolescents, Tavistock & Portman Clinic (Distinction)
• 2005-2007 MPhil, Comparative Social Policy, University of Oxford
• 2001-2004 BSc (Hons), Geography, University of Exeter (1st)

Dr Sarah-Jane Fenton-Chinchilla is an Associate-Professor in Mental Health Policy at the Institute for Mental Health (IMH) and the Health Services Management Centre. Having previously worked in the Voluntary and Community sector (VCFSE), Sarah-Jane completed her Doctoral Research in 2016, graduating with a dual award degree from the University of Birmingham (2016) and the University of Melbourne (2017). This research explored mental health policy and service delivery for adolescents and young people aged 16-25 years of age. 

Sarah-Jane rejoined the University of Birmingham in 2018 from the University of Warwick where she had been working on an NIHR-funded study (EURIPIDES). Her current and recent research portfolio focuses on children and young people and working age adults and includes realist evaluation and synthesis, health policy and health service evaluation studies.

Sarah-Jane has taught across a range of modules in the Institute for Mental Health, the Department of Social Policy Sociology and Criminology, the Department of Social Work and Social Care and the Health Services Management Centre at the University of Birmingham. Sarah-Jane teaches at both Undergraduate and Postgraduate level. Sarah-Jane developed and co-lead the Masters in Mental Health at the University of Birmingham. Sarah-Jane currently co-leads the 3^rd year undergraduate module – Mental Health and Society and the Masters module Emergency Preparedness, Response and Resilience.

Sarah-Jane is interested in supervising PhDs in the following areas:

- Mental health policy and practice
- Youth mental health
- Live experience of health/mental health and illness
- Health and social care systems to support mental health
- Co-production and co-design in mental health research and service delivery
- Qualitative research, particularly realist methodologies

Please do feel free to get in contact, with a research proposal and CV, if you are interested in working with Sarah-Jane on your PhD research.

PhD title

Mental health service delivery for adolescents and young people: a comparative study between Australia and the UK

Sarah-Jane has particular expertise in youth, adolescence, mental health, health policy, realist and qualitative research.  

Current and recent projects include:

• Mapping and realist evaluation of Lived Experience Recovery Organisations as part of the drug and alcohol treatment and recovery System in England (LEROS). Co-applicant. Funder: NIHR. 2026-2029 
• PATHS to prevention: A co-designed Physical Activity pathway to support the Transition from inpatient to community mental Health Settings, Co-applicant. Funder: NIHR. 2026-2027. 
• Exploring what works and why: A Rapid Realist Review of voluntary sector service delivery for suicide prevention, Co-applicant. Funder: NIHR. 2026
• ATTUNE: the role and the contribution of the voluntAry secTor to the prevenTion of sUicide among youNg pEople, Co-applicant. Funder: NIHR. 2025-2026.  
• Evaluating the implementation of the Transformation Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision Green Paper, Co-applicant. Funder: NIHR. 2023 – 2026. 
• Mapping Mental Health Resources for Young People Living in a Conflict Context at The Colombian Pacific Region, Co-applicant. Funder: ESRC. 2021-2024. 
• Evaluating the Use of Patient Experience Data to Improve the Quality of Inpatient Mental Health Care (EURIPIDES), Research Fellow .Funder: NIHR. 2015-2018.