Dr Kaye Richards

Biography

Kaye is Senior Lecturer in Outdoor Education and Programme Leader for the BSc Outdoor Education.  She is a Chartered Psychologist of the British Psychological Society (BPS) and an experienced outdoor educator, lecturer and researcher, with 20 years experience of working in a variety of outdoor and HE settings.   In her early career she taught outdoor education in schools, worked with disaffected young people in the outdoors and was as a trainee instructor at Plas-Y-Brenin.  She then went on to be a Lecturer in Outdoor Education and Adventure Recreation at the now Buckinghamshire New University, followed by Research Leader (with a specialism in Youth Development) at Brathay Hall Trust - a leading outdoor development training organisation in the Lake District – where she also taught on the MA in Development Training (leading adventure therapy) at the now University of Cumbria and was co-chair of the International Consortium for Experiential Learning (ICEL). Immediately prior to joining the Outdoor Education team at LJMU, Kaye was Research Facilitator for the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), where she was involved in a range of research projects and initiatives in counselling and psychotherapy in partnership with a number of HE institutions across the UK.  Whilst at BACP, Kaye was also Special Interest Lead for counselling children and young people, and was a founding member of the Counselling in Schools Research Consortium.
 
Kaye brings a specialist area in adventure therapy - her PhD developed the first adventure therapy intervention for women with eating disorders in the UK, where she worked with psychotherapists in developing innovative adventure therapy practices.  She has continued to facilitate a range of training and seminar events in adventure therapy and has contributed to ongoing national and international developments in the field. This has included being a member of the International Adventure Therapy Committee, editing a range of publications, and organising and chairing the 5th International Adventure Therapy Conference (2009, UK).  

Teaching areas:

As a Chartered Psychologist Kaye brings specialist knowledge in psychological and sociological perspectives of Outdoor Education and Outdoor Leadership.   Modules she leads and teaches include: Philosophical and Theoretical Foundations of Outdoor Education, Adventure Therapy, Development Training, Outdoor Leadership (Psychology and Practice).  She also teaches rock climbing and mountain leadership, sport psychology related to outdoor pursuits, critical perspectives in Outdoor Education, and research methods.

Academic and professional qualifications/training:

•  Ongoing: MSc Sport Psychology (LJMU) - working towards professional accreditation as a sport psychologist
•  PhD ‘An analysis of developing an outdoor adventure therapy intervention for the treatment of  eating disorders in women’ (LJMU): External Examiner -Professor John McLeod
•  MSc The Psychology of Human Potential (LJMU)
•  BEd (Hons) Outdoor and Science Education (LJMU)  
•  ML (Summer); SPA; BCU Inland Kayak Instructor and Inland Kayak Proficiency; Orienteering Instructor, Dry Ski Slope Instructor Training, Alpine Mountaineering Training.
• Foundation training in psychotherapy.

Publications

Kaye has edited and written a range of publications, including ‘Eating disorders and adventure therapy: a feminist approach to research and practice' (2000),‘Therapy within adventure’ (2002), ‘Self-esteem and youth development’ (2004) and she is co-author of a BACP systematic review titled ‘The impact of clinical supervision on counsellors and therapists, their practice and their clients’  (2007). Kaye was launching editor of the academic Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning (JAEOL) and is now a member of its editorial board.  She recently contributed to research on the psychological and social benefits of camping (2011) that gained national and international press coverage. Click here for more information. 
 
Kaye has presented a range of conference papers, workshops and keynotes on outdoor education, adventure therapy, and counselling and psychotherapy, both nationally and internationally. 

Click here for list of Publications

Interests

Kaye is passionate about the development of outdoor and adventure therapy research and practice.  She is also interested in: the psychology of outdoor education and outdoor/adventure experiences; outdoor leadership; clinical applications of sport psychology; sport psychology and outdoor adventure; eating disorders intervention and prevention strategies; the emotional well-being of children and young people; gender and anti-discriminatory practice in the outdoors; process research in counselling and psychotherapy and psycho-spiritual psychotherapy.

share was this page helpful?