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Prof Nadzeya (Nadia) Svirydzenka is a Professor of Cultural Identities at ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ. She completed her BSc in Psychology at Drake University, United States; MSc in Cross-Cultural Psychology and Brunel University, London; and a PhD with the focus on Social and Developmental Psychology at the University of Dundee, Scotland. She then spent four years as a Research Associate at the Greenwood Institute of Child Health at the University of Leicester prior to taking up position at ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ, Leicester in 2014.

Prof Svirydzenka is a social and cultural psychologist, and her research focuses on a key question: How does culture shape our sense of who we are, and with what consequences? She develops an interdisciplinary, international, and applied research programme to answer this question across a variety of domains including mental health, homelessness, gender-based violence, and inclusion. She aims to further understanding of mental health within vulnerable and/or marginalised populations though culturally framed identities, attitudes, stigma, and behaviours. As culture reflects sociocultural and economic factors underpinning power dynamics in any given society, she uses emancipatory and critical paradigms in her research, employing inclusive participatory methodologies and embracing the principles of co-creation. She blends the use of creative methodology (theatre, photo elicitation, digital storytelling) with traditional mixed methods (qualitative interviews and quantitative survey methods) to elicit new stories and lived experiences and catalyse fresh thinking about possible solutions. A central theme for her research concerns (i) how mental health and resilience can be developed in response to social challenges like migration, conflict, poverty, and gender violence; (ii) what resources mitigate the adverse mental health consequences; and (iii) how they can be mobilized from within communities for effective interventions. In her research she challenges traditional separation of meaningful identities like gender, ethnicity, and migrant as distinct categories as she is interested in an integrated approach focused on interactions and intersections between these categories.

• Social Sciences Research and Innovation Institute (²ÝÁñÊÓƵ)
• Mary Seacole Research Centre (²ÝÁñÊÓƵ)

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• Homelessness
• Health inequalities
• Identity & Identity intersectionality
• Child and adolescent mental health
• Identity and health
• Migration
• Communities and groups experiencing marginalisation
• Identity Structure Analysis
• Creative and participatory methodologies
• Mixed methods research.

• Social Psychology
• Cross-Cultural/Cultural Psychology

PhD in Social and Developmental Psychology, University of Dundee, Scotland, UK

Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education & Fellow of HEA, ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ, UK

MSc in Cross-Cultural Psychology, Brunel University, London, UK

BSc in Psychology, Drake University, Iowa, United States

Royal Society of Arts (Fellow), 2023 - Present

International Association of Cross-Cultural Psychology,  2015 – Present 

Society for the Study of Emerging Adulthood, 2017 – Present 

The Higher Education Academy (Fellow), 2017 – Present 

European Association of Social Psychology, 2011 – Present 

Co-Lead |  (ESRC COVID Rapid Response, Shelter Scotland, Rosetrees, Lifelines, NIHR ARC North Thames) 2020-Present

CHAMPIONS is a national research programme looking at the impact of living in temporary accommodation on children under 5 due to experiencing homelessness. We are working alongside families and professionals to co-develop recommendations for future support and best practices.

Projects within portfolio: CHAMPIONS original research (ESRC, 2020-2022), In their own words (Sheler Scotland, 2023 - 2025), PSP REFUGEE (NIHR ARC North Thames, 2024 - Present)

PI | NHS Inclusion Project (NHS Charities Scotland)

A collaborative project with two NHS trusts to explore organisational inclusion practices at the NHS and co-developing organisational strategies to promote inclusion using Forcefield Analysis. 

Co-I |  (GCRF/ESRC/AHRC) 2018-2021

Good mental health is recognised as an integral part of a person’s wellbeing and development embedded in all aspects of life, their beliefs, faith, culture, environment, spirituality, work, housing, education, family and community respect.

Our aim is to spread public awareness on mental health literacy in urban and rural India. Our work focuses on lived expertise stories of people with mental health problems and their families to promote public understanding about living with mental illness, help seeking and support for promoting mental health and wellbeing.

Our emphasis is on formulating knowledge in new, creative and accessible ways, through use of creative methodologies and media engagement as an intervention to enable knowledge to be used in genuinely empowering and emancipatory ways by the public and services in urban and rural India.

Co-I | (TRIUMPH) 2020-2021

The project is a collaboration between the Glasgow School of Art (GSA), De Montford University, Centre for Mental Health, and Leaders Unlocked, using a participatory design approach to work with young people from ethnically diverse groups.

Transition from primary to secondary school can be exciting, but it can also be a stressful experience for young people and can have a negative impact on their mental health. Young people from ethnically diverse groups may be particularly poorly supported in the transition process, and we have very little knowledge of their transition experiences. A participatory design approach enables understanding by focusing on their lived experience to create new insights and opportunities for co-designing future experiences.

INVITED TALKS (2016 ONWARDS)

Open Methodologies in International Research. Open Research Week between University of Leicester, Loughborough University, and ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ, February 2024

Invited Keynote and Panellist Theatre for communicating the needs of families parenting children under 5 in Temporary Accommodation, Institute of Health Visiting, Leadership Forum, December, 2023

Creativity, Variety, and Structure: Keys to Assessing Impact. Lifelines International, November, 2023 

Culture and Mental health. Mental Health in Schools Conference, Westminster Government Events, 2022

Invited Keynote and Panelist Participatory Models of Research for Community Mental Health. Taxila International Conference, Guyana, 2021

Svirydzenka, N. (26, May 2021). Participatory And Creative Models of Research For Community Mental Health. Modern Approaches for Better Health 8th International Congress,Gomel State University, Belarus.

Svirydzenka, N. (15 May 2018). Introducing ‘Culture’ in the Curriculum: Cultural Literacy in Teaching & Studying Psychology. Invited talk at 3T Session, ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ.

Svirydzenka, N., Dogra, N., & Vostanis, P. (9 May 2016). Ethnicity, migration history and mental health of Indian and White British adolescents. Tilburg University, NDL.

SELECTED CHAIRED CONFERENCE SESSIONS

Svirydzenka, N. (Jul. 2021). Global narratives on mental health and wellbeing: Stories from India. Symposium at International Association of Cross-Cultural Psychology (IACCP) 25th International Congress

Svirydzenka, N. (Oct. 2019). Positive Development and Critical Perspectives on Emerging Adulthood. Paper Session at Society for the Study of Emerging Adulthood, Toronto, Canada

SELECTED CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS (2016 ONWARDS)

Hardy, N., Lakhanpaul, M., & Svirydzenka. (9-11 Nov., 2023). CHAMPIONS: Theatre in policy recommendations from scientists. Theatre about Science Conference. Coimbra, Portugal.

Ankers, M., Parry, Y., Lakhanpal, M., Sivertsen, N., Willis, E., Svirydzenka. (13-15 Sep., 2023). Voices of families and children living in temporary accommodation during the COVID-19 pandemic: Comparisons of the Australian and UK experiences. Australian College of Children and Young People’s Nurses. Darwin, Australia

Dugmore, L., Svirydzenka. & Raghavan, R. An exploration of the mental health service experiences of migrants from Poland in the Midlands, UK (United Kingdom). UK Culture and Psychology Conference. September, 2023. Edinburgh, Scotland.  

Lakhanpaul, M., et al & Svirydzenka. Exploring children’s experiences of living in temporary accommodation during COVID-19 lockdowns to establish its impact on wellbeing. RCPCH (Last Author as second lead), June 2023, Glasgow, Scotland.

Svirydzenka, N. & MeHeLP Team (27-31, Jul. 2021) Urban and Rural narratives of carers, users, and community members on mental health literacy in Kerala, India. International Association of Cross-Cultural Psychology (IACCP) 25th International Congress, Online

Svirydzenka, N., Sharshakova, T., Wiium, N., & Dimitrova. R. (10-12, Oct. 2019). Positive Youth Development and Developmental Assets of Emerging Adults in Belarus.Society for the Study of Emerging Adulthood 9^th Congress, Toronto, Canada.

Svirydzenka, N. (19-20 Sep. 2019). Participatory research with young people with mental health needs.Mental Health, Migration, and Resilience Conference, Pune, India.

Svirydzenka, N., Sharshakova, T., Wiium, N., & Dimitrova. R. (25-26, Oct. 2018). Positive Youth Development of Emerging Adults in Belarus. Modern Approaches for Better Health 7^th International Congress,Gomel State University, Belarus.

Svirydzenka, N., Adams, B. G., and van de Vijver, F. (2-5 Jul. 2018). Inclusive Identity and Multicultural Attitudes as Factors in Academic Engagement and Motivation in BAME and White British youth in the UK.International Association of Cross-Cultural Psychology (IACCP) 24^rdInternational Congress, Guelph, Canada.

Svirydzenka, N., Adams, B. G., and van de Vijver, F. (2-4 Nov. 2017). Inclusivity and Multicultural Attitudes as Factors in Academic Engagement and Motivation of Emerging Adults in the UK. Society for the Study of Emerging Adulthood, Washington DC, US.

Svirydzenka, N., Dogra, N., & Vostanis, P. (30 Jul.-3 Aug. 2016). Ethnicity, migration history and mental health of Indian and White British adolescents.International Association of Cross-Cultural Psychology (IACCP) 23^rdInternational Congress, Nagoya, Japan.

Paul Mulvenna Interoception and emotion recognition in bipolar disorder, First supervisor

Monica Turcan, Self love, First Supervisor

Ankara Clarke, Rural creative industries, Second Supervisor 

• £10k, Trauma-informed theatre for women’s empowerment (Lifelines, PI)                          2024-25
• £15k, Culturally Sensitive Parenting Support in Parents (NIHR ARC, PI)                            2024-25
• £125k, Children’s Experiences of Temporary Accommodation-TA (Shelter Scotland, PI) 2023-24
• £10k, Co-creating music & song with families in TA (Rosetrees Foundation, Co-I) 2022-23
• £20k, Organizational Inclusion & Ethnicity at NHS (NHS Charities Together, PI) 2021-23
• £60k, Gender Based Violence Research Network India (AHRC, PI), 2022-2023
• £20k, Organisational Inclusion of Cultural Diversity (NHS commission, PI) 2022 - 2023
• £522k, Impact of COVID on children experiencing homelessness (UKRI/ESRC, Co-I), 2020 – 22
• £30k, Mental health & cultural diversity in school transition (TRIUMPH Network, Co-I), 2020 – 21 
• £687k, Mental health literacy in communities in India (GCRF/ESRC/AHRC, Co-I), 2018 – 21