I am an alumunus of the Madras School of Social Work and after qualifying in 1983 joined Bishop Heber College, Trichy, India as a Lecturer in Social Work. Further down the line I was promoted as Reader and was Head of the Social Work Department. After a teaching career in India that spanned 24 years I moved to the UK in 2007 to teach at Plymouth University. Since then I have taught in both England and Scotland and moved to Edge Hill from Strathclyde University in 2019

My Teaching Profile: My three decades of teaching in Social Work related areas has led me to engage with a range of subjects both at the Graduate and Masters levels. My strong points in a nutshell, are teaching Psychology and Sociology related subjects such as Human Growth & Personality Development, Contemporary Social Problems, Mental Health, Substance Misuse, Methods of Social Work (working with Individuals and Families, Crisis Intervention, Group Work) and Research Methodology besides Values and Ethics in Social Work Practice.

Quantitative research: in areas relating to mental health, substance misuse, informal caregiving, family life dynamics (adjustment, communication, violence), Quality of life research, Social Work Practitioners and Student experience. Proficient in the use of SPSS.

My academic specialism in ‘Medical & Psychiatric Social Work’, from the start of my career gave me an inclination to research mental health issues particularly as they impact on family dynamics. My interests lie predominantly in the areas of substance misuse, mental illness, quality of life, care giving, suicide and HIV, though I am not hesitant to explore other areas as well. I am also interested in issues relating to the academic experience of social work students as they progress through their career and career related issues facing social work practitioners. Where possible I would like to give these studies a cross-cultural/national dimension. My publications evidence my interest in alcohol misuse in particular and its impact on family dynamics such as adjustment, conflict and communication as they impact on the spouse and children.

Research collaborations: 

I have strong research collaborations with partners in India where data collection is currently on. One recently completed study was in collaboration with the Thanjavur Medical College which looked at primary caregivers of persons with schizophrenia in terms of aspects such as burden, resilience, coping and quality of life. Two publications have resulted from this project.  I have also recently established contact with ERIS (European Research Institute for Social Work) based in Ostrava and the collaboration is in its infancy.