Joanna is Karl Jaspers Lecturer in Psychology and Spirituality at Ripon College Cuddesdon (an Anglican seminary) and also lectures in psychology of religion at the University of Oxford. She is an associate priest in an Oxfordshire parish.
Joanna practised for many years as a clinical psychologist, initially working in the area of adult mental health before moving into neurology, neurosurgery, and neurological rehabilitation, finally becoming head of Psychological Services at the Nuffield Orthopaedic NHS Trust in Oxford. Her PhD was on anxiety states following brain injury, and she has a continuing interest in the psychological processing of trauma.
After a career break to study theology at Wycliffe Hall, Joanna began to research the interface between psychology and Christian faith, a longstanding passion. From 2006-2011 she was director of the MA programme in Psychology of Religion at Heythrop College, University of London, where she also taught undergraduate psychology modules in neuroscience and positive psychology, before moving back to Oxford to take up her present post. More recently she has completed an MA in Christianity and the arts at King’s College London.
In addition to many research papers and several book chapters, Joanna has written or co-written ten books. These include Ethical practice in brain injury rehabilitation (OUP, 2007); The Dawkins Delusion? (SPCK: 2007); Jesus and the Gospel women (SPCK, 2009); The psychology of Christian character formation (SCM, 2015); Being mindful, being Christian (Lion-Hudson, 2016); Thinking of you: A theological and resource for the spiritual care of people with dementia (BRF, 2017); Neurology and religion (CUP, 2019).
