Dr Carly Perry

MSc, PhD

Pronouns: She/her
  • Lecturer in Psychology

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Carly Perry

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Carly graduated with a BA in Psychology from American University in Washington D.C. (2018) before completing her MSc in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Loughborough University (2019). She then began a full-time PhD programme at the University of Central Lancashire in 2020 where her research focused on mental health and professional women footballers in England. In 2024, following the completion of her PhD, Carly worked as a postdoctoral research fellow at Nottingham Trent University on a project funded by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and in collaboration with the UK Sports Institute (UKSI). This project evaluated UKSI’s mental health strategy, and the services both at the organisational and sport level provided to elite and Olympic athletes. In 2025, Carly returned to Loughborough University’s School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences as a Lecturer in Psychology.

Throughout her studies, Carly played football at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I level (NCAA DI) in the United States at American University. During her PhD, Carly also worked as a mental performance coach supporting dozens of elite athletes nationally and internationally. For two seasons, Carly worked with Loughborough University’s Men’s Football team in the same role.

Carly’s research interests are focused on mental health and elite athletes, and her work primarily involves women athletes and professional women footballers. She is particularly interested in understanding the experiences of those competing in elite sport and exploring the personal, societal and systematic challenges they encounter, as well as how they navigate these challenges in their highly competitive and rapidly changing professional landscape. Carly is passionate about understanding how sporting systems can better support the mental health of elite athletes. Her research employs both quantitative and qualitative methods. Carly’s expertise includes the following: qualitative research, mental health, elite athletes, women athletes, professional women’s football, disordered eating, and injury.

Carly’s research has been recognised nationally and internationally by various professional bodies through numerous awards. Most recently, her work was awarded 2025 Doctoral Dissertation of the Year from the Association of Applied Sport Psychology (AASP). Carly has received global media attention for her research and has featured on BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour, BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, and BBC Sports Deck. Her research has also featured in national news outlets, including The Times, The Guardian, and the BBC, and she has spoken at several international conferences, including the World Congress on Science and Football in 2023 in the Netherlands.

Carly has been involved in a number of working groups and taskforces, including FIFPRO’s first-ever Mental Health Taskforce and the WSL Football’s Mental Health and Well-Being Taskforce. She frequently peer-reviews for leading journals in her field, and is an active member in a number of professional working groups such as the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP). Carly also supports elite athletes with mental performance coaching. She has worked with a variety of elite athletes and teams at the NCAA DI level in the US and with professional football clubs in the UK. She previously supported Loughborough Men’s Football Team across two seasons, supporting them to a BUCS championship in 2022 and the quarter final of the FA Vase for the first time in the University’s history.  

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