Ailish graduated with a BSc in Psychology at the University of Leeds in 2014 and an MSc in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Loughborough University in 2019. She worked in a custodial setting within the field of forensic psychology from 2014-2017. Between 2017-2018, Ailish worked as a Research Associate at the University of Birmingham where she undertook two projects commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency and International Olympic Committee.
Currently, Ailish is conducting a part-time PhD exploring irrational beliefs and dysfunctional behaviours in sport which is supervised by Dr Jamie Barker, Dr Carolyn Plateau and Dr Martin Turner. She is working towards gaining Associate Fellow status of the Higher Education Academy through her undergraduate teaching commitments. In addition to her Postgraduate University Teacher role, Ailish works as a National Trainer for UK Anti-Doping and carries out consultancy work with athletes and teams.
Ailish’s PhD seeks to explore the links between irrational beliefs and dysfunctional behaviours in sport which impact athlete well-being. The research also aims to develop and test a Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy informed intervention and explore how this impacts athlete wellbeing over time.
Featured publications
- Kavussanu, M., Hurst, P., Yukhymenko-Lescroart, M., Galanis, E., King, A., Hatzigeorgiadis, A., & Ring, C. (2020). A moral intervention reduces doping likelihood in UK and Greek athletes: Evidence from a cluster randomized control trial. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsep.2019-0313
- Kavussanu, M., Hurst, P., Barkoukis, V., Skoufa, L., King, A., & Ring, C. (2018) Preventing doping in sport: the VIRTUES project. In: Division of Sport and Exercise Psychology Annual Conference 2018, 3-4 December, Belfast, Northern Ireland. (Unpublished)
- Brown, C., Frowd, C., Portch, E., Nunn, H., & King, A. (May 2012). Applied issues in Facial Composite Construction: The effects of verbal recall, post-encoding delay and encoding conditions on the quality of facial composites. Oral Presentation at the Fifth International Investigative Interviewing Conference, Toronto, Canada