Dr Helen Hart
| Biography | Dr Helen Hart holds the formal qualifications of BSc (Honours) Applied Psychology with Criminal Justice, MSc Psychology and Criminology and a Doctorate in Forensic Psychology. She became an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society in 2005 and Chartered Scientist in 2006. She is a Registered Practitioner Forensic Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council. She is registered on the British Psychological Society’s Directory of Expert Witnesses, a Senior Practitioner on the Register of Psychologists Specialising in Psychotherapy and registered as an Accredited Supervisor for the professional practice of psychology. She has full memberships of the British Psychological Society (specifically within the Division of Forensic Psychology) and the Science Council. Until July 2012, she held a 3-year position on the Board of Assessors for the British Psychological Society regarding their Diploma in Forensic Psychology (Stage Two – Supervised Practice) and was appointed as the Lead Assessor for the British Psychological Society’s Diploma in Forensic Psychology for Core Role One (Psychological Assessments and Intervention). This role was to ensure and assess competence in psychometric test selection, psychological assessments and intervention to meet assessed needs; Dr Hart moderated over 250 such portfolios and is now Registrar and Chief Supervisor for the Qualification in Forensic Psychology for the British Psychological Society and a Senior Board Member of the Forensic Psychology Qualifications Board. She is appointed as Programme Lead for the MSc in Forensic Psychology at the University of Salford. Her specialism is in the assessment and treatment of high-risk sexual and violent offenders, and she was one of the founding members of the national penile plethysmograph (PPG) User Forum (latterly the Forensic Assessment of Sexual Arousal Forum), which developed national policy and informed clinical practice of the use of the PPG with sex offenders. She is trained and experienced in a number of structured forensic risk assessments, including but not restricted to PCL-R [psychopathy], HCR-20 [violence], SVR-20 [sexual offending], SARA [domestic violence] and she has experience attending Parole Board Hearings for Life Sentence Prisoners, Multi Agency Public Protection Panels, Professionals Meetings, Family Court and giving oral and written evidence. As part of her duties for HM Prison Service, she was responsible for assessing complex personality traits in prisoners and making referrals to the Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder Units (DSPD) when necessary. She is experienced in assessing/working with low IQ clients (using WASI and WAIS assessments) and delivering cognitive-behavioural therapy, both in groups and on an individual basis. She has received specific training from Bond Solon Legal Training Company regarding giving expert witness evidence both orally and in written reports. CPD training has included ADHD management, Narcissistic Injury, Working with Narcissistic Parents, Therapy for Trauma and Working with Borderline Personality Disorder. Trauma is a key area of Dr Hart's practice, and her professional doctoral research looked at collective trauma following the Manchester Arena Bomb. She has presented findings from this research to international audiences at relevant conferences. Until March 2011, Dr Hart was working for HM Prison Service Headquarters Public Protection Unit, involved in the assessment / management of complex and very high-risk sexual and violent offenders, some of whom had learning disability and neurodiversity. She worked for HM Prison Service as a Psychologist for twelve years (1999 – 2011) in conditions of maximum and medium security and she held appointments as the Head of Psychology and Programmes at a High Security Prison in the North-West as well as Head of Offending Behaviour Programmes at another High Security Prison in Yorkshire. Dr Hart currently works in full-time private practice, providing assessments, supervision, mediation, therapy and consultancy services. She has been completing reports for the Family Courts since 2008 and has assessed over 450 clients, both male and female, aged from 17 yrs. She is often instructed in cases of non-accidental injury, general, sexual and domestic violence and concerns regarding dangerous and complex personality traits and personality disorders. She offers therapy to address a range of psychological and behavioural matters including personality difficulties, narcissism, ADHD, depression, anxiety, anger, addiction, trauma and offending. |
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| Research Interests | ADHD Sexual Offending Violent Offending Personality difficulties, particularly psychopathy and narcissism Trauma Social Identity |
| Teaching and Learning | Programme Lead on the MSc Forensic Psychology at the University of Salford Senior Lecturer and Module Lead in Psychological Assessments and Interventions Lectures on the MSc Coercive Control at the University of Salford in the areas of Child Sexual Exploitation |