Dr Alan Simpson
PhD, RMN, BA(Hons) (Social Psychology), PG Diploma (Counselling), Cert Research Methods
Health Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellow, CEAP
Teaching Fellow & Lecturer in Mental Health
Tel: 020 7040 5937
Fax: 020 7040 5811
Email: A.Simpson@city.ac.uk
Teaching interests
Alan’s teaching interests include case management and the Care Programme Approach (CPA); multidisciplinary mental health teams, team models, interprofessional relationships and communication; service user involvement and user perspectives; carer perspectives; research methods; qualitative research; homelessness and mental illness. He also supervises MSc students.
Research interests
Alan is currently funded by the Health Foundation’s Consortium for Healthcare Research to develop and conduct research into peer support provided by service users for people during the transition from hospital to community mental health services. He is also evaluating the teaching of harm reduction approaches to substance misuse in a project funded by a Centre for Educational and Academic Practices (CEAP) Teaching Fellowship award, held jointly with Dr Peter Phillips.
He is also evaluating the teaching of harm reduction approaches to substance misuse in a project funded by City University's Centre for Educational and Academic Practices (CEAP) Teaching Fellowship award, held jointly with Dr Peter Phillips.
Over the last seven years Alan has conducted research in acute psychiatric settings, including the 'City 128 Study of Observation and Outcomes on Acute Psychiatric Wards' and the 'Tompkins Longitudinal Acute Ward Project' with Professor Len Bowers. His previous studies included a multiple case study of community mental health teams and the co-ordination of community care for people with severe mental illness. Educational research projects have included the evaluation of an online discussion forum with service users and mental health nursing students; scoping research to identify the education and training required to improve support for mental health carers; and a study to identify the education and training needs of CPNs.
Clinical experience
CPN for homeless people with mental health problems; Drug and Alcohol Liaison Nurse; Staff Nurse in mental health day hospital; counsellor.
Other
Member of Mental Health Research Network groups in both England and Wales; Mental Health Nurse Academics (UK) and London and national networks developing user involvement in education and research. Alan is also involved with Star Wards, a social marketing initiative working with NHS mental health trusts to enhance acute inpatients' daily experiences and treatment outcomes. http://starwards.org.uk/
Publications
Book chapters
Simpson, A. (In press) Acute inpatient care. In Brooker, C. & Repper, J. (Eds) Implementing the National Service Framework for Mental Health: Principles, Practice and Research. London: Elsevier.
Simpson, A. & Brennan, G. (In press) Working in partnership with service users. In Callaghan, P., Playle, P. & Cooper, L. (eds) Mental Health Nursing Skills. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Simpson, A. (2006) The effective community mental health team. In Callaghan, P. and Waldock, H. (eds) The Oxford Handbook of Mental Health Nursing. pp316-317. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
Simpson, A. (2006) Dual diagnosis: Shared care and interprofessional practice. In Rassool, H (ed). Dual Diagnosis Nursing. pp130-139. London: Blackwell.
Peer reviewed publications
Simpson. A. & Reynolds, L. (2008) Consulting the experts. OpenMind, 152, 18-19.
Simpson, A. (2008) Professional backup. Nursing Standard, 22(38), 62-63.
Simpson, A. (2008) Chit-chat achieves more than keeping people busy. Mental Health Today, Star Wards Supplement, 3: 4.
Bailey, S. & Simpson, A. (2008) Attitudes towards attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in child and adolescent mental health services teams. Mental Health Practice, 11(10), 26-31.
Bowers, L. Simpson, A. Nijman, H. & Hall, C. (2008) Patient ethnicity and three psychiatric intensive care units compared: the Tompkins Acute Ward Study. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 15, 195–202.
Simpson, A., Reynolds, L., Light, I. & Attenborough, J. (2007) Talking with the Experts: Evaluation of an online discussion forum with mental health service users and student nurses. Nurse Education Today. 28(5), 633-640. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2007.09.009
Simpson, A. (2007) The impact of team processes on psychiatric case management. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 60(4), 409–418. 2007.
Godin, P., Davies, J., Heyman, B., Reynolds, L., Simpson, A. & Floyd, M. (2007) Opening communicative space: A Habermasian understanding of a user led participatory research project. Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology, 18(4), 452-469.
Fitch, C., Simpson, A., Collard, S. & Teasdale, M. (2007) Mental Health and Debt: Challenges for knowledge, practice and identity. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 14, 128-133. See also: http://www.mhdebt.info/finaldemand.pdf
Bowers, L., Alexander, J., Simpson, A., Ryan, C. and Carr-Walker, P. (2007) Student psychiatric nurses' approval of containment measures: relationship to perception of aggression and attitudes to personality disorder. International Journal of Nursing Studies 44(3), 349-356.
Bowers, L., Allan, T., Simpson, A., Nijman, H. & Warren, H. (2007) Adverse incidents, patient flow and nursing variables on acute psychiatric wards: the Tompkins Acute Ward study. International Journal of Social Psychiatry. 53(1), 75-84.
Bowers, L. Jeffery, D., Simpson, A., Daly, C. & Warren, J. (2007) Junior staffing changes and the temporal ecology of adverse incidents in acute psychiatry: the Tompkins Acute Ward Study. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 57(2), 153-160.
Bowers, L., Simpson, A., Eyres, E., Nijman, H., Hall, C., Grange, A. & Phillips, L. (2006) Serious untoward incidents and their aftermath in acute inpatient psychiatry: The Tompkins Acute Ward Study. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 15(4), 226-234.
Bowers, L., Nijman, H., Allen, T., Simpson, A., Warren, J. & Turner, L. (2006) Prevention and management of aggression training and officially reported violent incidents: The Tompkins Acute Ward Study. Psychiatric Services, 57(7), 1022-1026.
Bowers, L., Simpson, A., Alexander, J. Hackney, D., Nijman, H., Grange, A. & Warren, J. (2005) The Nature and Purpose of Acute Psychiatric Wards: The Tompkins Acute Ward Study. Journal of Mental Health, 14(6), 625-635.
Simpson, A., Bowers, L., Alexander, J., Ridley, C. & Warren, J. (2005) Occupational Therapy and Multidisciplinary Working on Acute Psychiatric Wards: The Tompkins Acute Ward Study. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 68(12), 545-552.
Simpson, A. (2005) Community psychiatric nurses and the care co-ordinator role: squeezed to provide ‘limited nursing’. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 52(6), 689–699.
Bowers, L., Simpson, A., & Alexander, J. Real world application of an intervention to reduce absconding. (2005) Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 12(5), 598-602.
Bowers, L., Douzenis, A., Galeazzi, G.M., Forghieri, M., Tsopelas, C., Simpson, A. & Allan, T. (2005) Disruptive and dangerous behaviour by patients on acute psychiatric wards in three European centres. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 40(10), 822-828.
Bowers, L., Alexander, J., Simpson, A., Ryan, C. & Carr-Walker, P. (2004) Cultures of psychiatry and the professional socialization process: the case of containment methods for disturbed patients. Nurse Education Today, 24, 435-442.
Simpson, A., Miller, C. & Bowers, L. (2003) Case management models and the care programme approach: how to make the CPA effective and credible. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 10(4), 472-483.
Simpson, A. Miller, C. & Bowers, L. (2003) The History of the Care Programme Approach in England: Where did it go wrong? Journal of Mental Health, 12(5), 489-504.
Bowers, L. Simpson, A. & Alexander, J. (2003) Patient-staff conflict: results of a survey on acute psychiatric wards. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 38(7), 402-408.
Allen, C., & Simpson, A. (2000) Peers and partners: working together to strengthen preceptorship in mental health nursing. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 7(6), 505-514. 2000.
Simpson, A. (2000) Private care's win-win. Mental Health Nursing, 20(8), 6-9.
Simpson, A. (1999) Focus on training. Nursing Times, 95(47), 67-68.
Simpson, A. (1999) Creating Alliances: the views of users and carers on the education and training needs of community mental health nurses. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 6(5), 347-356.
Reports
Simpson, A. & Benn, L. (2007) Scoping exercise to inform the development of a National Mental Health Carer Support Curriculum. London: City University/Together: Working for Wellbeing. http://www.citypsych.com/docs/Carersfinal.pdf
Bowers, L., Hackney, D., Nijman, H., Grange, A., Allan, T., Simpson, A., Hall, C. & Eyres, S. (2007) A Longitudinal Study of Conflict and Containment on Acute Psychiatric Wards: Report to the DH Policy Research Programme. London, City University.
http://www.citypsych.com/docs/TAWSreport.pdf
Bowers, L., Whittington, R., Nolan, P., Parkin, D., Curtis, S., Bhui, K., Hackney, D., Allan, A., Simpson, A., & Flood, C. (2006) The City 128 Study of Observation and Outcomes on Acute Psychiatric Wards: Report to the NHS SDO Programme. London, City University. http://www.sdo.lshtm.ac.uk/files/project/61-final-report.pdf
Godin, P. et al (2006) Engaging service users in the evaluation and development of forensic mental health care services. London: City University/ National Forensic Mental Health R&D Programme www.nfmhp.org.uk/Godin%20final%20report%20to%20website.doc
Simpson, A. & Sharples, N. (2004) Mental Health Nurse Academics (UK) Position Paper 2: Mental Health Nursing and Research. London: MHNAUK.
Simpson, A. (1998). Creating Alliances: the development of the community mental health nurse in supporting people with severe and enduring mental health problems in the community. Eastbourne: Sussex Education Consortium.
Other journal papers and columns
Simpson. A. & Reynolds, L. (2008) Consulting the experts. OpenMind, 152, 18-19.
Simpson, A. (2008) Professional backup. Nursing Standard, 22(38), 62-63.
Simpson, A. (2008) Showing the card to stigma on wards. Mental Health Today, Star Wards Supplement, 2: 4.
Simpson, A. (2008) Bruce Forsyth and the Recreation Game. Mental Health Today, Star Wards Supplement, 1: 4.
Simpson, A. (2007) Patients in the classroom. Nursing Standard, 22(7), 72.
Bowers, L. & Simpson, A. (2007) Observing and engaging new ways to reduce self harm and suicide. Mental Health Practice, 10(10), 12-14.
Simpson, A. (2006) Involving service users and carers in the education of mental health nurses. Mental Health Practice, 10(4), 20-24.
Simpson, A. (2006) Review of Dispatches: Mental Health Scandal. Mental Health Practice, 10(4), 26-27.
Bowers, L., & Simpson, A. (2006) Major study launched to shed light on the differences between acute inpatient wards. Mental Health Practice, 7(5), 6.
Simpson, A. & Bowers, L. (2004) Runaway Success. Nursing Standard, 21 (18): 18-19.
Simpson, A. (2003) Read all about it. Mental Health Nursing, 23(3), 24.
Simpson, A. (2003) Viewpoint: Beverly Malone. Guardian Unlimited [Web Page]. www.societyguardian.co.uk/health/comment/0,7894,432057,00.html
Simpson, A. (2001) When is it really good to talk? Book Review: Confidentiality and Mental Health. Nursing Times, 97(4), 31.
Simpson, A. (2000) Taking a pounding. Health Service Journal, 110(5710), 26-27.
Simpson, A. (2000) What price confidentiality? Nursing Times, 96(9), 35.
Simpson, A. (2000) When your parts drop off, look for a happy fitter. (Column). Nursing Times, 96(50), 21.
Simpson, A. (2000) Most cats like CPNs. (Column) Mental Health Nursing, 20(9), 24.
Simpson, A. (2000) The joy of socks. (Column) Mental Health Nursing, 20(5), 24.
Workbooks
Simpson, A., Alexander, J., & Bowers, L. (2003) The Anti-Absconding Intervention: A Handbook for Ward Managers. London: City University. http://www.citypsych.com/
Bowers, L., Alexander, J., & Simpson, A. (2003) The Anti-Absconding Workbook. London: City University. http://www.citypsych.com/
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