Jo Augustus

Biography

Jo is a BABCP and BACP accredited Cognitive Behaviour Therapist with over twenty years’ experience of working in the NHS and private sector, mental health services. During this time, Jo has worked in inpatient, outpatient, and community-based settings. Jo is a mindfulness-based stress reduction and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy teacher, as well as an eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing therapist. Jo is passionate about advancing the evidence base of third wave therapies in the treatment of mental health difficulties.

Prior to joining Cumbria University in 2023, Jo began her career in Higher Education in 2015. During this time, she has worked as a module leader, course leader and quality teaching and learning lead. She actively seeks to empower colleagues in teaching and learning methodologies, to promote inclusive approaches and enhance student experience. In particular, Jo works with a broad range of stakeholders including senior management to align the use of digital technologies with strategic aims. Jo has regularly chaired approval and reapproval boards, with a clear focus on student experience.

Jo gained her Senior Fellowship with Advance HEA in 2019, the basis of which is her commitment to teaching, learning and student experience, through supporting staff to support students. She is passionate about providing accessible learning opportunities, promoting academic enquiry and the advancement of knowledge. Widening participation is a central function and aligned to her values specific to social inclusion.

With her family, Jo is a keen sea kayaker especially on the calm waters of the Isle of Wight, and an outdoor enthusiast, enjoying walking, cycling and jogging. She also enjoys writing poetry and painting with acrylics.

Qualifications and memberships

2021	The EMDR Academy	EMDR	EMDR Part 1 & 2
2021	Bangor University	Mindfulness	Mindfulness teacher training pathway (portfolio route)
2017	The University of Worcester	Teaching and Learning in HE	Post Graduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning (HE)
2010	University of Wales	Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)	Masters of the Arts in Therapeutic Counselling
2005	The Open University	Psychology	Bachelor of Science (Honours) Psychology
2001	University of Glamorgan	Computer Science	Masters of Science in Specialised Computer Science

 

Senior Fellowship Advance HEA (SFHEA)  British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)  British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP)

Academic and research interests

I am the lead author for two key mental health textbooks and my research focuses on attitudes towards mental health and wellbeing within different settings, including healthcare and academia. My research interests include;

• Veteran and active military service personnel attitudes towards mental health
• Student and academic wellbeing
• Social inclusion within education  
• Third wave therapies
• Thrauma informed approaches in the workplace 
• Attitudes towards moral injury
• Mental health literacy

Research supervision

I am available to provide research supervision at both undergraduate and masters degree level.

Publications

Augustus, J., Goodall, D. and Williams, B. (2023) Does the role of Personal Academic Tutor have an impact on staff wellbeing?" Research in Post-Compulsory Education. 8 (4). DOI:10.1080/13596748.2023.2253656

Misca, G., Augustus, J., Russell, J. and Walker, J. (2023) Meaning(s) of transition(s) from military to civilian life at the intersection with mental health: implications for clinical settings. Frontiers in Psychology. 14.

Augustus, J., Patrick, Y.W. and P. Gardner (2022) An introduction to mental health in paramedic science. Open University Press, Maidenhead, UK.

Augustus, J. (2021) The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women working in higher education. Frontiers in Education, 6.

Augustus, J., Williams, B. and Goodall, D. (2019) Using transactional analysis to examine the role of personal academic tutor and its impact on wellbeing? In: University of Worcester Learning and Teaching Conference: Learning in Partnership, 12-13 June 2019, Worcester, UK. (Unpublished).

Augustus, J., Bold, J. and Williams, B. (2019) An introduction to mental health. SAGE Publications, London, UK. 

Augustus, J. (2017) The impact of the personal academic tutor role. In: University of Worcester Learning and Teaching Conference: Beyond Boundaries, 15-16 June 2017, Worcester, UK. (Unpublished).  

Recent external roles

Chief External Examiner and External Examiner at Coventry University Group

Special advisor with the Care Quality Commission 

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