Role
Dr Danai Serfioti is a Senior Lecturer (Occupational Psychology), a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA), a certified psychometric test user (Level A and B) registered with the British Psychological Society and a Chartered Psychologist (CPsychol).
Danai is also the Course Leader for the innovative "MSc in Mental Health, Trauma, and Psychological Wellbeing" dual degree pilot project. This new course is dedicated to supporting those affected by the trauma of war and promoting mental health recovery. It represents a collaborative effort between NTU and Lviv Polytechnic National University (LPNU) in Ukraine. For further details, please visit https://www.ntu.ac.uk/study-and-courses/academic-schools/social-sciences/psychology/msc-mental-health,-trauma-and-psychological-wellbeing
She teaches on both the undergraduate and postgraduate psychology courses at NTU. Some of the modules include:
- Research in Organisations (Module Leader 2022-2024)
- Understanding Organisations (Module Leader 2023-2024)
- Work & Wellbeing
- Learning Training & Development
- Research Methods
- Professional Practice in Psychology
- Developing Academic skills in Psychology
Danai also provides supervision to undergraduate and postgraduate students on their research projects. She is currently on supervision teams for four PhD students.
Career overview
Danai holds a BSc in Psychology and an MSc in Occupational Psychology. She received her PhD in Applied Clinical Psychology from the University of Nottingham, where her research centred on the military-civilian transition of British veterans with physical and psychological trauma, as well as their spouses.
Since embarking on her academic career in 2016, Danai first joined The University of Nottingham as a Teaching Fellow in Occupational Psychology during her doctoral studies. She later joined The King's Centre for Military Health Research (KCMHR) at King’s College London as a Research Associate, investigating the socioeconomic adjustments of British veterans and developing new therapeutic approaches for those suffering from moral injuries. In her teaching role, Danai has contributed to a variety of modules within BSc Psychology and MSc Mental Health programmes. At the University of Derby, as a Lecturer in Psychology, she spearheaded modules in Psychopathology and Research Methods.
Bringing over 15 years of experience in working with vulnerable groups, Danai's professional tenure spans the NHS, charitable sectors, and educational institutions in the UK. Her role as an Assistant Psychologist in the NHS involved collaborating with Clinical Psychologists to administer a 12-week holistic treatment programme for chronic pain patients. In the educational sector, she has supported and taught children and adolescents as a Learning Mentor in mainstream schools and as a Level 2 Teaching Assistant in Special Educational Needs (SEN) schools. Her commitment to social welfare is further exemplified by her collaborations with UK charities focused on supporting women who have experienced domestic violence.
Research areas
Danai is using qualitative and narrative approaches aiming to capture authentic human experiences. Her areas of interest include life transitions and identity, experiences of any type of abuse/violence and their impact on self and identity, psychological trauma (war and non-war-related) and moral injury.
Danai has completed training in Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET), a short-term treatment for trauma that is effective for both adults and children. She is equipped to utilise these skills and knowledge in her future research projects, enhancing her contributions to the field of trauma and psychological wellbeing.
External activity
Associate Editor in the International Journal of Workplace Health Management and a committee member of the East Midlands BPS branch (The British Psychological Society)
Visiting Professor - MSc Mental Health, Trauma & Psychological Wellbeing: Lviv Polytechnic National University
Sponsors and collaborators
King’s College London - The King's Centre for Military Health Research (KCMHR)
The University of Nottingham
Publications
Williamson, V., Murphy, D., Bonson, A., Aldridge, V., Serfioti, D., & Greenberg, N. (2023). Restore and Rebuild (R&R)–a feasibility pilot study of a co-designed intervention for moral injury-related mental health difficulties. European journal of psychotraumatology, 14(2), 2256204.
Serfioti, D., Murphy, D., Greenberg, N., & Williamson, V. (2023). Professionals’ perspectives on relevant approaches to psychological care in moral injury: A qualitative study. Journal of Clinical Psychology. 1-18.
Burdett, H., Sharp, M. L., Serfioti, D., Jones, M., Pernet, D., Hull, L., ... & Fear, N. T. (2023). Employment and mental health during the initial period of the coronavirus pandemic among UK ex-service personnel. Journal of Military, Veteran and Family Health, e20220064.
Serfioti, D., Murphy, D., Greenberg, N., & Williamson, V. (2022). Effectiveness of treatments for symptoms of post-trauma related guilt, shame and anger in military and civilian populations: a systematic review. BMJ Mil Health.
Williamson, V., Murphy, D., Aldridge, V., Bonson, A., Serfioti, D., & Greenberg, N. (2022). Development of an intervention for moral injury-related mental health difficulties in UK military veterans: a feasibility pilot study protocol. European journal of psychotraumatology, 13(2), 2138059.
Serfioti, D., Chang-Tave, A., Gribble, R., Lawrence, E., Fear, N., & Burdett, H. (2022). Change in Socioeconomic Status & the Role of Transition among those who have left the UK Armed Forces. https://s31949.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/20220819-Report-SocioEconomic-FINAL.pdf
Lamb, D., Gnanapragasam, S., Greenberg, N., Bhundia, R., Carr, E., Hotopf, M., ... & Wessely, S. (2021). Psychosocial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on 4378 UK healthcare workers and ancillary staff: initial baseline data from a cohort study collected during the first wave of the pandemic. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 78(11), 801-808.
Smith, L. E., Serfioti, D., Weston, D., Greenberg, N., & Rubin, G. J. (2022). Adherence to protective measures among healthcare workers in the UK: a cross-sectional study. Emergency Medicine Journal, 39(2), 100-105.
Serfioti, D., & Hunt, N. (2021). Extreme sport as an intervention for physically injured military veterans: the example of competitive motorsport. Disability and rehabilitation, 1-9.
Sharp, M. L., Serfioti, D., Jones, M., Burdett, H., Pernet, D., Hull, L., ... & Fear, N. T. (2021). UK veterans’ mental health and well-being before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal cohort study. BMJ open, 11(8), e049815.
Sharp, M. L., Serfioti, D., Jones, M., Burdett, H., Pernet, D., Hull, L., ... & Fear, N. T. (2020). COVID-19: impact on the health and wellbeing of ex-serving personnel (veterans-check) protocol paper. medRxiv, 2020-09.