Jennifer Newton

I currently co-ordinate post-graduate taught programmes across the Department of Applied Social Sciences. We now (2007-8) have 22 Masters programmes (https://intranet.londonmet.ac.uk/prog-plan/postgrad-line/structures/) covering three broad areas: health and social care, social policy and research, and media and information. My own areas of research and teaching relate to mental health and to community care, and along with Simon Brewer, I lead the new programme in Mental Health and Wellbeing (https://intranet.londonmet.ac.uk/prog-plan/postgrad-line/structures/mental-health-and-wellbeing-ma-2007.cfm) . This programme is a good illustration of our post-graduate strategy, which aims to meet the needs of people in related employment studying part-time to enhance specific areas of skill and knowledge, as well as the interests of full-time home and international students. Hence we offer a range of short courses available for professional development needs, for which students who opt to take linked assignments can gain M level credit to build toward a PG Cert or full Masters.

I started my own research career exploring communication difficulties of children with learning disabilities at the Hester Adrian Research Centre, then evaluating FE benefits for teenagers with learning disability for the (then named) Greater London Association for the Disabled, and for my own Ph.D. I spent 7 years at National MIND, for whom I wrote Preventing Mental Illness, (Routledge 1988), Preventing Mental Illness in Practice (Routledge 1992), and Prevention of Depression and Anxiety: the role of the primary care team (HMS0, 1992). Health promotion in primary care was also my role at the Health Education Authority for 3 years before I moved to the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health to evaluate the implementation of care management and the CPA by community mental health teams in 4 parts of the country, published by the SCMH as ‘Care Management: is it working?’. p>

Hence I now teach social work students about care planning, and other post-graduate students about the management of community care services, and about mental health and wellbeing. Since joining the university I have completed several research commissions, including evaluations of home care, residential care, women’s views of Special Hospital services, and person-centred practice in community mental health services. Outside the University I am a trustee of Westminster MIND, member of the Prevention Section of the World Psychiatric Association, and until recently, chaired the Operations Committee for Mosaic Homes.