Gabriel Wynn

HEA Fellow, BPS Chartered Associate Fellow, HCPC Registered Counselling Psychologist, and BACP Registered Accredited Counsellor. 

I am a part time Lecturer for the Doctorate in Counselling Psychology Programme (D.Couns.Psych.) at Manchester Institute of Education. In this role I lead on the Critical Perspectives on Distress module and the Working in Different Modalities and Across the Lifespan module. I also teach group and individual CBT skills; and topics in service leadership and social entrepreneurship for practitioner psychologists. I provide supervision for qualitative doctoral research; and internal and external examinations for doctoral theses in Counselling Psychology. I am currently developing Expert by Experience consultation panel for the Doctorate in Counselling Psychology programme. My research interests include social and reflective learning in the course of recovery from mental and behavioural illness. I joined the University of Manchester as a Lecturer in Counselling Psychology following my completion of D.Couns.Psych. there in 2018.

Beyond my University role, I am also Director of Oakwood Psychology Services, a social enterprise providing specialist community psychological therapies and behavioural health support under contract to the NHS. 

Since qualifying in 1994 with M.Ed in Counseling Psychology at Rutgers University, New Brunswick NJ, USA I have worked in hospital and community settings across the public, private and social sectors. From 1994 - 2000 I held staff psychotherapist positions on psychiatric units at St Clares Hospital, Boonton NJ and University Medical Center, Princeton NJ. During this time I also worked as an associate counsellor in a number of private practices, most notably the Center for Optimum Living in Kinnelon NJ.

Following my move to Manchester UK in 2002 I have principally worked in third sector clinical and operational lead roles as Owner/Director of Oakwood Psychology Services. Under my direction since 2006 the organisation has delivered a range of NHS contracts as a sole provider and within provider consortia.  In 2011 I was awarded a Northwest Regional Development Agency grant to undertake the LEAD SME management programme at Manchester Enterprise Business School. I subsequently wrote a BPS guidance document and counselling psychology textbook chapter on social entrepreneurship for practitioner psychologists. I have also delivered conference presentations on successful bidding for public sector tenders. Other publications to date are in the area of psychological treatments for eating disorders; and practical aspects of training and practice development for counselling psychologists and psychological therapists.

Lecturer, Counselling Psychology

• Module Lead: Critical Perspectives on Distress
• Module Lead: Working in Different Modalities and Across the Lifespan
• Other teaching: CBT theory and practice; assessment and formulation skills; integration in counselling psychology theory and practice; motivational interviewing; group psychotherapy; scientist-practitioner model; clinical recordkeeping and report writing; data protection and GDPR; leadership and management in clinical services
• Student reflexive practice group leader
• Student candidate application review and selection
• Academic assignment marking
• Student progression panels
• Curriculum development
• Programme handbook and other materials updates
• Internal examiner for D.Couns.Psych doctoral thesis
• Service user consultation relationships and initiatives

My current research interests include developing qualitative concept analysis methods for applied psychology research. I am also working on research that centres service users and their social contexts as the most salient change agents in psychological therapy.

I supervise professional doctorate researchers working on qualitative studies in a variety of topics related to counselling psychology. I have a particular interest in supporting researchers to develop novel/innovative qualitative research methods, and/or to use non-traditional qualitative data sources.  I am also interested in supervising investigations into lived experiences of individuals (and their families and friends) recovering from, or living with, severe mental illness.

Current D.Couns.Psych. supervision

2024: King Yin Chan: How to equip trainee counselling psychologists to work with clients from racially minoritised backgrounds? An exploration of the experiences of trainers and trainees.

2024: Emily Howarth: Bringing the outside in: How do therapists incorporate indoor nature-based techniquest when supporting individuals living with and beyond cancer?

2023 (interim supervisor): Robert Charles: A fractured presence: A study of how white therapists approach black issues within the therapeutic dyad

2023: (2nd/1st supervisor) Rosemary Hunt: Couple relationships of parents of people experiencing mental health difficulties

2023: (2nd supervisor) Nicola Alcock: A study into how fathers who identify as People of Colour (PoC) learn to manage the emotional challenges they may encounter during their infants’ stays on UK Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs)