Professor Rachel Calam
Head, School of Psychological Sciences
Rachel Calam is Professor of Child and Family Psychology, and became Interim Head of the School of Psychological Sciences in September 2011 before becoming Head of School in March 2012. She trained in clinical psychology in Liverpool, after studying for her PhD there, and has worked at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital and at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. She has been at the University of Manchester since 1992, and for most of that time has been the programme director for the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology.
Her research is in the area of parenting and child adjustment, and she has a particular interest in the application of parenting approaches to families in special circumstances, for example families with children with chronic illnesses such as asthma, or parents with mental illness. She has a particular interest in the use of new media and technologies in engaging people with assessment and psychological therapy.
She collaborates on research on novel forms of implementation of parenting interventions including media and internet-based delivery of the Triple P Positive Parenting Program with Professor Matt Sanders, University of Queensland and leads the Parenting and Family Research Group at Manchester.
She has consulted to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime on implementing approaches to improving parenting worldwide. She is also one of a team which developed 'In My Shoes', a computer-assisted interview for vulnerable children and adults, which is used internationally.
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