Professor (She/her) Almuth McDowall

Overview

Biography

Almuth is Professor of Organisational Psychology at Birkbeck University of London in the School of Psychological Sciences. Her research has been funded by Neurodiversity in Business, the Ministry of Defence, the College of Policing, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and the Home Office, as well as a range of other funders.  Almuth has won awards for her research and her commitment to furthering the practice of psychology in the workplace in the UK. She is regularly contributes to the media fueled by her belief that research needs to speak to organisations directly to have impact and contemporary relevance.

She is a Fellow of the International Society for Coaching Psychologyand a practicing (chartered and registered) psychologist working with the private, public and third sector delivering bespoke assignments, often at senior levels.

Recent assignments include the support of senior leadership teams through organisational change programmes and the assessment of top managers in multinational contexts, as well as work around digital working and digital leadership.

Almuth previously held posts at Surrey University and City University London, after a successful career in health and fitness. She continues to teach dance based fitness classes based on Sleektechnique including to staff and students at Birkbeck.

Highlights

• Our recent research in co-production with Neurodiversity in Business (NiB) has resulted in accessible guidance for business stakeholders. For example, neuroinclusion needs to give more attention to specialist career path, and increased attention to wellbeing and psychological safety. Read the report at: https://neurodiversityinbusiness.org/research/

• Our research, together with Kevin Teoh and David Gamblin, on the performing arts has highlighted that this is still a tricky environment for parents and carers. Mothers in particular pay career penalties! Read the report here: https://pipacampaign.org/research/balancing-act-survey

• A bittersweet symphony: that's what life in classical music is like, for those who balance caring responsibilities. Read our report here.

Office hours

By appointment - look out for announcements on Moodle

Qualifications

• Phd Organisational Psychology, City University of London, 2006
• MSc Occupational Psychology, Goldsmiths University of London, 2000
• BSc Psychology with German , Goldsmiths University of London, 1999
• Chartered Psychologist, British Psychological Society, 2009
• Postgraduate Certificate for Teaching in Higher Education, University of Surrey, 2008

Web profiles

• Linked in Profile for Almuth
• Almuth on Twitter

Research

Research interests

• Diversity and neurodivergence
• Worklife balance and flexible/ remote working
• Performing arts as 'labour'
• Wellbeing at work
• Coaching at work
• Policing

Research overview

Almuth is an applied researcher who has a strong commitment to research with relevance to practice. Her expertise spans diversity and neurodivergence, wellbeing and worklife balance, coaching and professional competence and development. Her research has been funded by the Ministry of Defence, the College of Policing, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and the Home Office. She is a valued and sought after collaborator and relishes working in interdisciplinary teams. Almuth has won awards for her research and for her commitment to furthering the practice of psychology in the workplace in the UK and its underpinning standards.

She is regularly sought as a contributor and commentator to the press and radio, fuelled by her belief that research needs to speak to organisations directly to have impact and contemporary relevance.

Almuth favours multi-method research organisational phenomena are complex and rarely understood through one lens alone.

It is one of her passions to work in depth with doctoral students, who have undertaken research in topics such as validating and investigating leadership behaviours in Asia, Workplace Performance, Situational Processing in Simulated Assessment, Coaching Competence and Adjusting for disability in the workplace.

Supervision and teaching

Supervision

Supervisions within Birkbeck:

12

I welcome targeted supervision enquiries from students interested in working with performing artists and the 'labour' involved in stage work, neurodiversity, worklife balance in a broad sense and also coaching. I work from a deeply psychological perspective and usually prefer that applicants have relevant prior qualifications.

Current doctoral researchers

• AISHWARYA SRINIVASAN

  Nature of supervision:

  Principal Supervisor, Oct 2022 onwards

• BEN MORRIS

  Nature of supervision:

  Principal Supervisor, Oct 2021 onwards

  Title of thesis:

  The Neuro-Divergent Concept of `Fit¿

• GREG SWAYSLAND

  Nature of supervision:

  Principal Supervisor, Oct 2020 onwards

• JESSICA DARK

  Nature of supervision:

  Principal Supervisor, Oct 2020 onwards

• LUCINDA SOON

  Nature of supervision:

  Principal Supervisor, Sep 2019 onwards

• MARIANNA SIDIROPOULOU

  Nature of supervision:

  Principal Supervisor, Mar 2019 onwards

  Title of thesis:

  WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP: AN INTERNAL GLASS CEILING?

  Description:

  I’m studying women and leadership from a psychoanalytic viewpoint. A robust body of research is already in place to unpack the notable absence of females in the higher echelons of leadership. Other researchers have discussed a possible "labyrinth", a "glass ceiling" or a "glass cliff". I will be exploring the possibility of an “internal glass mirror “ suggesting that perhaps  women unconsciously collude with the patriarchal status quo stopping themselves in attaining and keeping leadership positions due to inner psychological workings. More specifically I am looking at aggression, desire, superego formations and female identity from a psychoanalytic viewpoint and how women negotiate their internal, unconscious self image in being leaders. My methodology is based on a combination of interviews, projective tests and Kleinian play therapy with the sole aim of bypassing the conscious part of my participants.
   

• SEBASTIAN BOO

  Nature of supervision:

  Joint Principal Supervisor, Nov 2019 onwards

• VERITY HANNELL

  Nature of supervision:

  Principal Supervisor, Oct 2023 onwards

Doctoral alumni since 2013-14

• PAULA FITZGERALD

  Nature of supervision:

  Principal Supervisor, Jul 2022

  Title of thesis:

  Turning Pointe: the lived experience of embodied occupational identity in professional ballet dancers

  Awarded:

  2023

• SHAFAG GARAYEVA

  Nature of supervision:

  Principal Supervisor, Oct 2017

  Title of thesis:

  Can thinking positive go wrong? A mixed-method study of positive thinking at work

  Awarded:

  2022

• KIRSTY LAUDER

  Nature of supervision:

  Principal Supervisor, Oct 2016

  Title of thesis:

  A critical examination of the evidence for effective reasonable adjustments for adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in the workplace

  Awarded:

  2021

• JEREMIAH KOH

  Nature of supervision:

  Principal Supervisor, Jan 2016

  Title of thesis:

  A Multi-method Approach to Investigating Psychological Resilience in a Conscripted Basic Military Training Environment

  Awarded:

  2020

Teaching

I teach on work and wellbeing (MSc level) and qualitative research methods as well as ad hoc sessions for other modules.

Teaching modules

• Introduction to Neurodiversity Coaching (SC12002S7)
• Advanced Neurodiversity Coaching (SC12003S7)
• Neurodiversity through the Lifespan (SC12004H7)
• Neurodiversity (SCPS238H6)

Publications