Dr Helena King

I am a wellbeing researcher and senior lecturer in management and health, chairing the triple-accredited MBA dissertation module 'Leaders of Change'.   Prior to my academic tenureship I coordinated cross-faculty, multidisciplinary research portfolios on policing, citizenship, and governance, and held management roles at third sector organisations providing palliative care, HIV and homelessness support.  

Research interests

I am interested in the relationships between external socio-spatial settings and internal experiences of mental and physical health. I explore health as a process of reformation, and health making practices as expressions of human potential. My work considers what enables or hinders this process, and the roles that organisation plays in supporting transformation.

My PhD in environmental psychology, postdoctoral fellowship, and UKRI-funded knowledge transfer internship all explored the health and wellbeing benefits of engaging with nature, and factors that shape our interactions with place. 

Recent projects have explored healthing processes in challenging biopsychosocial contexts, such as the needs of emergency responders and people living with HIV. I am currently working on projects focused on health-related stigma in employment contexts, meaningful work, and coaching psychology approaches.

I am a member of the Research into Employment and Equitable Futures research centre, and the Psychology of Health and Wellbeing research network.

Teaching interests

I am a Chartered Association of Business Schools certified management and business educator (CMBE), a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA), and hold a Post-Graduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP).  

Current teaching:

• B875 MBA project: leaders of change (MA Business Administration)

Past teaching:

• B894 Dissertation (HRM) (MSc Human Resource Management)
• BXY130 Professional practice (BA (Hons) Management Practice)
• K240/3 Mental health and society (BA (Hons) Health and Social Care)
• K314 Approaches to mental health (BA (Hons) Social Work; BSc (Hon) Public Health & Wellbeing)
• BXY132 Concepts and theories in policing (BSc (Hons) Professional Policing Practice)