I use attachment theory and behavioural science to understand how to help people to have more positive relationships with others. I also examine how digital technologies can be used to support well-being.

I completed my PhD on family attachment relationships at the University of East Anglia in 2008, under the supervision of Dr Judi Walsh. I was then awarded an ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowship, to work at the University of Bristol under the mentorship of Prof Angela Rowe. During this time I co-founded the UK Attachment Network https://www.ukattachmentnetwork.co.uk/. I spent a year as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Bath (2009-10), working on a Randomised Controlled Trial of group-based CBT to prevent adolescent depression. I then worked for an online CBT company (2010-2012), designing and evaluating digital mental health and well-being programs, and exploring the interface between relationships science and psychological therapies. I joined the University of Sheffield as a Lecturer in Psychology (2013-2020), where I continued to research close relationships, mental health, and technologies for well-being, and supervise PhD students. I joined Sheffield Hallam University as a Senior Research Fellow in the Centre for Behavioural Science and Applied Psychology in 2020, became Associate Professor in 2022, and then became Professor of Applied Social Psychology in 2023. I continue to research behavioural and relationship science and supervise PhD students in these areas.