I’m Sarah, and I have both lived and professional experience of mental illness, self-harm and suicide.
Professionally, since 2014 I’ve worked at Swansea University as a health data analyst and researcher, using routinely collected data from health and other services, with a focus on mental health, substance use, self-harm and suicide. I also provide support to other researchers with their projects.
My personal experience is of growing up with a parent who had herself been bereaved by parental suicide, struggled with her own mental health, and died by suicide. She was also a passionate and inspirational campaigner for the rights of people with mental illness. This has profoundly shaped my life and my understanding of the lasting, sometimes inter-generational impact such experiences can have on individuals and families. I want these experiences to enable me to make a positive contribution, helping researchers use data to improve people’s lives.
Outside of work, I love music, cats, gardening, and wandering the Welsh countryside photographing wildlife.