Laura Winter (previously Cutts) is a HCPC registered Counselling Psychologist and Senior Lecturer in Education and Counselling Psychology in the Manchester Institute of Education. She is also a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and a Chartered Psychologist with the British Psychological Society (BPS). She is the Programme Director for the Doctorate in Counselling Psychology and the Associate Director for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion for the School of Environment, Education and Development.

Laura has published widely in the fields of counselling psychology and education, focusing largely on the interplay between social and political issues, education and wellbeing. She edited the fourth edition of Sage’s flagship textbook ‘The Sage Handbook of Counselling and Psychotherapy’ (with Colin Feltham and Terry Hanley). See 'Publications' Tab for further information.

Laura is also currently co-convener of the 'Education and Psychology' Research Group within Manchester Institute of Education. Find out more about our work here.

Laura is active in the Counselling Psychology profession, and established the BPS Division of Counselling Psychology's Social Justice Networking and Special Interest Group in 2015. She led the group until 2018. Members of the BPS Division of Counselling Psychology can find out more about this group here.

Laura Anne Winter is part of the counselling psychology team situated within the Manchester Institute of Education (MIE).

The counselling psychology team's research focuses upon the broad area of 'Education and Therapy' (EaT), with the research of staff and students being divided into three broad strands of work:

• Therapy in educational settings (including school-based counselling, counselling in further and higher education and the development of innovative ways of working such as online or blended counselling services for young people).
• Applied psychologist education (including projects exploring the concepts of the 'scientist-practitioner', 'reflexive-practitice', and 'pluralistic practice' in therapeutic work).
• Psychology, inequality and education (including the exploration of the social justice work that psychologists engage in, the psychological and educational impacts of changes to welfare policy such as the implementation of the 'bedroom tax', and consideration of the impact of austerity measures upon the wellbeing services within school settings).

This fits within the Educational and Counselling Psychology subgroup of the Education and Psychology Research Group in MIE.

Laura's work has largely been focused within 'Psychology, Inequality and Education', and she has been involved in projects exploring social justice in both counselling and educational psychology, as well as exploring the impacts of welfare change (namely the 'bedroom tax') and austerity measures on how schools are supporting emotional wellbeing. A number of her projects have run across both 'Psychology, Inequality and Education' and 'Applied Psychologist Education', and she has an active interest in how psychologists learn about issues of social justice, diversity and difference. Laura has supervised and examimed a number of doctoral thesis projects focused on inequality, emotional well-being and education.

Laura's teaching is mainly focused on the Doctorate in Counselling Psychology programme. On this she leads the unit 'Humanistic Counselling Psychology Theory and Practice' and 'Core Counselling Psychology Skills', as well as contributing to 'Researching Education and Therapy 1' and 'Challenging Oppression, Discrimination and Inequalities in Counselling Psychology'. 

She has also delivered input, internal and external to the University of Manchester, on introductions to Counselling Psychology, the Reflective and Scientist-Practitioner models, and Basic Counselling Skills.