Mrs Claire A Harris

Professional biography

I am a Registered Mental Health Nurse and Lecturer in Mental Health Nursing with a BA (Hons) Philosophy, DipHE RNMH, PGDip (Health and Social Care Educator) and MA in Education by Negotiated Learning (Distinction). 

I have 30 years of clinical, teaching and research experience in mental health practice. My clinical experiences have been within acute adult psychiatric admissions wards, intensive recovery services for people with severe mental illness, and within a specialist veterans psychological trauma treatment service.

I moved into Higher Education as a Senior Lecturer (Mental Health) in 2009, spent 10 years working within traditional university teaching /research roles before joining the OU in Jan 2020 as a Staff Tutor,  moving to the central academic team in Jan 2022. 

I have previously been co-lead (teaching and quality) for a vibrant service user and carer group within HE, clinical supervisor for a campus University student mental health team, a school governor in a large and diverse high school, a strengths-based coach, and I continue to work as a clinical supervisor.

Since joining the OU I have drawn on my experience both as a mental health practitioner and nurse educator to author on modules in nursing, HSC, ACP and social work:

• KYN326-9 (Nursing)
• K123 (Social Work/Social Care)
• K243 (Health and Social Care/Open)
• KXY807 (Advanced Clinical Practice)
• KXY234 (Nursing Associate)

Current work:

• OpenLearn commisson with colleague in LAL (Advice giving and linguistic strategies in Health and Social Care)
• Nursing curriculum review - tuition and assessment strategy and enhanced maintenance for all modules
• Academic Conduct Officer
• Credit Transfer Panel member
• Module team member- K*211 & K*326-9 (level 2 and level 3 nursing practice modules)
• Several research and scholarship projects ongoing in HWSC

Research interests

Liminality, professional socialisation, transition and threshold concepts in  nurse education.

Interprofessional learning and working in health and social care

Psychological trauma and the evidence base for psychotherapy

Grief and recovery

Supporting staff working with loss, death and dying

Language and linguistics in healthcare

Relational Care

Member of Open Thanatology Research Group

Member of Mental Health Nurse Academics UK (MHNAUK)

Teaching interests

Psychological therapies

Trauma and recovery

Loss and grief

Communication skills, therapeutic relationships

Complex mental health 

Interprofessional learning

Leadership and clinical decision making

Clinical supervision

Impact and engagement

Publications

Evans C A & Kevern P (2015) Liminality in preregistration mental health nurse education: A review of the literature, Nurse Education in Practice, Volume 15, Issue 1, Pages 1-6

Harris C A (2021) “Finding Comfort and Truth in Une Mort Tres Douce” in Narratives of Covid: Loss, Dying, Death and Grief during Covid 19, edited by Erica Borgstrom and Sharon Mallon 

Harris C A and Murcott W (2023) A disorder- or just me? Life with Bipolar, Open Learn

Borgstrom, E., Harris, C. A., Kerry, J., and Mallon. S. (2023) Bereavement during employment in Higher Education (UK): 2023 Survey Report. Milton Keynes: The Open University.

Borgstrom, E., Harris, C. A., Kerry, J., and Mallon. S. (2023) Compassion and care: staff experiences of death, the role of bereavement policies in higher education , Open Learn

Rienties B, Calo F, Corcoran S, Chandler K, FitzGerald E, Haslam D, Harris C.A,  Perryman L, Sargent J, Suttle M.D, Wahga A. (2023) How and with whom do educators learn in an online professional development microcredential, Social Sciences & Humanities Open, Vol 8, Issue 1.

Borgstrom E, Harris C A, Samuels A, Van Vliet L (2024)
"Making connections in end-of-life conversations: essential tips for professionals/Creu cysylltiadau mewn sgyrsiau diwedd oes: awgrymiadau hanfodol i weithwyr proffesiynol", Open Learn

De Felice R & Harris C A  (2025) "A linguistic toolkit for health and social care", OpenLearn

Reviewer

Academic Journals:

Death Studies

Mortality

Academic Consultant 

BBC Ideas "What is Therapy?"

BBC Connect- The Evolution of Therapy