Research

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Before training as a clinical psychologist I worked for a number of years at a leading think-tank, and also held posts at the Universities of Liverpool and East London. During this time I published widely on the psychology of happiness and wellbeing. To give a few examples:

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• I co-authored the influential Five Ways to Wellbeing, which is now a widely-used framework for mental health promotion, endorsed by the NHS and leading charities such as Mind.

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• I contributed to the landmark Oxford Handbook of Happiness, editing the section on “Happiness and Society” and co-authoring a chapter on the relationships between wellbeing and environmental sustainability.

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• I wrote a chapter for the Routledge International Handbook of Critical Positive Psychology, exploring the challenges of defining and measuring psychological states such as “flourishing”.

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Although in recent years I have focused on clinical practice, I have continued to be involved in research. I am particular interested in the relationship between socio-economic factors and mental health difficulties, and am currently a member of the British Psychological Society Division of Clinical Psychology subcommittee on Public Health and Prevention.

Selected Publications

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Thompson, S. (2018). Wellbeing, mental health and the false promise of the medical model. In N. J. L. Brown, T. Lomas, & F. J. Eiroá-Orosa. The Routledge International Handbook of Critical Positive Psychology. London, UK: Routledge.

 

Gabbay, M., […] Thompson, S., et al. (2017). Debt counselling for depression in primary care: an adaptive randomised controlled pilot trial (DeCoDer study). Health Technology Assessment, 21(35), https://doi.org/10.3310/hta21350

 

Thompson, S. (2016). Qualitative methods and public policy. Journal of Positive Psychology, 12, 321-322. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2016.1262623

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Thompson, S. (2014). On the diagnosis debate. The Lancet Psychiatry, 1, 498. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(14)00065-0

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Thompson, S. (2013). Editor of section ‘Happiness and Society’. In S. David, I. Boniwell & A. Conley-Ayers (Editors at large), The Oxford Handbook of Happiness. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

 

Thompson, S., Marks, N., & Jackson, T. (2013). Well-being and sustainability. In S. David, I. Boniwell & A. Conley-Ayers (Editors at large), The Oxford Handbook of Happiness. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

 

Kjell, O. N., Thompson, S. (2013). Exploring the impact of positive and negative emotions on cooperative behaviour in a Prisoner’s Dilemma Game. PeerJ, 1, e231 http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.231

 

Aked, J., & Thompson, S. (2011). Five Ways to Wellbeing: New Applications, New Ways of Thinking. Report commissioned by NHS Confederation and the National Mental Health Development Unit.

 

Mahony, S., Thompson, S., & Seaford C. (2011). Ways to Wellbeing: Exploring the barriers to promoting public mental health. Report commissioned by the Department for Health and Sciencewise-ERC.

 

Thompson, S., Michaelson, J., Abdallah, S., Johnson, V., Morris, D., Riley, K., & Simms, A. (2011). Moments of Change as Opportunities for Influencing Behaviour. Report commissioned by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

 

Michaelson, J., Abdallah, S., Steuer, N., Thompson, S., & Marks, N. (2009). National Accounts of Well-being: Bringing real wealth onto the balance sheet. London: New Economics Foundation.

 

Thompson, S., & Marks, N. (2008). Measuring Well-being in Policy: Issues and applications. Report commissioned by the Foresight Project on Mental Capital and Well-being.

 

Aked, J., Marks, N., Cordon, C., & Thompson, S. (2008) Five Ways to Well-being: The evidence. Report commissioned by the Foresight Project on Mental Capital and Well-being.