Dr Susan Wilbraham

I am Associate Professor in Environment, Health and Wellbeing at the University of Cumbria, where I teach a range of topics including environmental psychology, health psychology and wellbeing. I am a Chartered Psychologist and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. I am co-chair of our staff Disabled and Neurodivergent Network.

My research interests include environmental psychology, stress and well-being at work, disability inclusion, gender equality, and developing educational practice.

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8512-0041

Publications:

Christie, M., Elliott, D., & Wilbraham, S. (2025). Freedom, fun, friendship and freezing! Women’s perspectives of participation in open water swimming. Sport in Society, 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2025.2470158

Wilbraham, S. (2025). A Local evaluation of Furness for You: A community intervention for loneliness and social isolation in Barrow-in-Furness. UK Community Foundations. https://www.ukcommunityfoundations.org/media/wcrlp4je/25-09-2025-furness-for-you-place-based-report-kyn-fund-ukcf.pdf

Wilbraham, S., Evans, C., & Carter, J. (2025). Time to address disability inclusion for university staff. Wonkhe. Retrieved from https://wonkhe.com/blogs/time-to-address-disability-inclusion-for-university-staff/

Wilbraham, S. J., Elliott, D., & Miller, P. K. (2024). It’s just how we do it: social processes in rapid weight loss for combat sports. Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/21642850.2024.2433517

Wilbraham, S., Jones, E., Priestley, M. & Hughes, G. (2024). Student and staff wellbeing is shaped by university surroundings. Wonkhe. Retrieved from https://wonkhe.com/blogs/student-and-staff-wellbeing-is-shaped-by-university-surroundings/

Amisi, A., Bates, E. A., & Wilbraham, S. J. (2024). How Does the Curriculum Contribute to the Experiences of Belongingness in Higher Education?. Psychology Teaching Review, 30(1), 96-106. https://doi.org/10.53841/bpsptr.2024.30.1.96

Wilbraham, S.J., Jones, E., Brewster, L., Priestley, M., Broglia, E., Hughes, G., & Spanner, L. (2024). Inclusion or Isolation? Differential Student Experiences of Independent Learning and Wellbeing in Higher Education. Education Sciences, 14(3):285. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14030285

Roscoe, J., & Wilbraham, S. (2024). ‘When it goes well, it works fantastically’: motivations to train and their impact on the practice of CBT. The Cognitive Behaviour Therapist, 17(6). doi:10.1017/S1754470X24000060

Roscoe, J., Taylor, J., Harrington, R., & Wilbraham, S. (2022). CBT supervision behind closed doors: Supervisor and supervisee reflections on their expectations and use of clinical supervision. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research. 22 (4), 1056 - 1067 DOI: 10.1002/capr.12572

Priestly, M., Hall., A., Wilbraham, S. J., Mistry, V., Hughes, G. & Spanner, L. (2022). Student Perceptions and Proposals for Promoting Wellbeing Through Social Relationships at University. Journal of Further and Higher Education. 46 (9), 1243-1256, DOI: 10.1080/0309877X.2022.2061844

Brewster, L., Jones, E., Priestley, M., Wilbraham, S. J., Spanner, L. & Hughes, G. (2021). ‘Look after the staff and they would look after the students’ cultures of wellbeing and mental health in the university setting. Journal of Further and Higher Education. 46 (4), 548-56 DOI: 10.1080/0309877X.2021.1986473

Jones, E., Priestley, M., Brewster, L., Wilbraham, S. J., Hughes, G., & Spanner, L. (2020). Student wellbeing and assessment in higher education: the balancing act. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2020.1782344

Wilbraham, S. J., Qualter, P., & Roy, M. P. (2018). Emotional intelligence and cortisol responses: Can laboratory findings be replicated in classrooms and using other EI measures?. Personality and Individual Differences, 120, 58-64. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2017.08.021

Caldwell, E. F. and Wilbraham, S. J. (2018), ‘Hairdressing in space: Depiction of gender in science books for children’, Journal of Science & Popular Culture, 1.2, pp. 103–20, doi: 10.1386/jspc.1.2.103_1