TaShA .

TaShA’s academic interest focuses on mental ill-health, trauma, and distress, with a particular emphasis on disordered and emotional eating. As an underrepresented and minoritised, person of colour, they bring both personal insight and academic expertise to mental health research. They hold a Postgraduate Degree in Mental Health Psychology, awarded with distinction, and is currently undertaking a funded PhD at Loughborough University within the Department of Criminology, Sociology & Social Policy, School of Social Sciences and Humanities.

Their doctoral research explores the intersections of Eating Disorders and Disordered Eating, particularly Anorexia Nervosa, Autism, and Restrictive Eating Disorders in minority ethnic communities, using intersectional and culturally responsive research approach. With long-term expertise in severe and enduring mental illness, they are personally driven by a commitment to trauma-informed care, equity, and culturally sensitive models of support. They are passionate about improving access to eating disorder treatment across childhood and adulthood, particularly for autistic and neurodivergent individuals who experience masking and diagnostic overshadowing. In addition to their PhD, they serve as a Lived Experience Co-Investigator and Co-Applicant on national mental health studies, ensuring survivor and service user perspectives are meaningfully embedded in research design and policy development. Their academic practice foregrounds intersectionality, diversity, and the inclusion of marginalised voices within mental health scholarship and systems change.

Outside academia, they actively champion the lived experience and survivor movement. They co-lead the Adult Mental Health Network at NHS England, embedding lived experience within practitioner training and national guidance; serve as a Trustee for the National Survivor User Network (NSUN); and lecture on postgraduate programmes in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Severe Mental Health Problems.

Their work: both academic and advocacy, reflects a commitment to reimagining mental health systems through compassion, inclusion, and lived experience expertise.

PGR Supervisors: Professor P Saukko: (P.Saukko@lboro.ac.uk) Primary lead Supervisor - Research and Innovation Director (Criminology, Sociology & Social Policy), Professor of Social Science and Medicine and Dr A Cortvriend: (A.Cortvriend@lboro.ac.uk) Secondary lead Supervisor - Lecturer in Criminology.

Exploring the lived experiences of ethnic minorities with eating disorders and disordered eating, this research examines how cultural, social, and systemic factors influence perspectives on food, body image, spirituality, religion, and access to support.

The study addresses a gap in existing literature where limited attention to ethnicity has hindered the development of culturally informed care. The research investigates how eating disorder experiences are shaped by the interplay between different cultural and social contexts and the dominant culture. It identifies specific cultural and systemic barriers affecting eating disorder care for British ethnic minorities.

The study amplifies marginalised voices and highlights barriers to care often overlooked in mainstream research. The findings aim to inform researchers, policymakers, healthcare professionals, and community organisations.

This work seeks to foster the creation of culturally appropriate eating disorder interventions and support systems that are responsive to the needs of ethnic minority communities.

SUBMITTED PUBLICATIONS:

1) Foye, U., Kakar, S., Musial, A., Jewell, T., Griffiths, J., Kan, C., McNamara, N., Breen, G., Olive, R., Suratwala, T. and Sidhu, A., 2025. It’s the perfect storm’: Why are people with eating disorders at risk of suicide? A qualitative study. BMC Med 23, 481 (2025). The DOI is: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-025-04326-1 Click to view research publication: ‘It’s the perfect storm’: why are people with eating disorders at risk of suicide? A qualitative study | BMC Medicine | Full Text

2) Nimbley, E., Maloney, E., Gillespie-Smith, K., Sharpe, H., Buchan, K., Suratwala, T., … Kettley, S. (2024). Conducting ethical, co-produced research with autistic individuals with an eating disorder: best practice guidelines. Eating Disorders, 1–11. The DOI is: https://doi.org/10.1080/10640266.2024.2441540 Click to view research publication: Conducting ethical, co-produced research with autistic individuals with an eating disorder: best practice guidelines

3) Bradley, S., Moore, F., Duffy, F., Clark, L., Suratwala, T., Knightsmith, P., & Gillespie-Smith, K. (2024). Camouflaging, not sensory processing or autistic identity, predicts eating disorder symptoms in autistic adults. Autism. The DOI is: https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613241245749 Click to view research publication: Camouflaging and Identity, not Sensory Processing, predicts Eating Disorder Symptoms in Autism

4) McNaught, E., Treasure, J., & Griffiths, J. (2024). Eating Disorders: The Basics (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003342762 [Written a Lived Experience Chapter as a Co-Author].

5) Suratwala, T, (submitted January 2024). Relationship between Eating Disorder (Anorexia Nervosa) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Journal of Eating Disorders. The DOI is: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4014453/v1 Click to view research publication: Relationship between Eating Disorder (Anorexia Nervosa) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). | Research Square

6) Suratwala, T, (submitted January 2024). Feelings of ‘Stigma, Shame, and Guilt’: A Qualitative Thematic Inductive Analysis Synthesis Exploring The Lived Experiences of Eating Disorders. Mental Health Review Journal. The DOI is: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3944022/v1 Click to view research publication: Feelings of ‘Stigma, Shame, and Guilt’: An Inductive Thematic Analysis Exploring The Lived Experiences of Eating Disorders. | Research Square

7) Suratwala, T, (submitted March 2024). Living With “Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder": A Qualitative Phenomenological Thematic Inductive Analysis on Individuals’ Phenomena Through the Lens of Online Blogging. Journal of Eating Disorders. The DOI is: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3944210/v1 Click to view research publication: Living With “Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder": A Qualitative Phenomenological Thematic Inductive Analysis on Individuals’ Phenomena Through the Lens of Online Blogging. | Research Square