The Peter Harrison Centre for Disability Sport welcomes Thomas Miller to the School of Sport, Exercise, and Health Sciences at Loughborough University.
Thomas completed his undergraduate and master’s degree in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Loughborough University before taking on multiple research assistant roles within the Centre examining wheelchair tennis on grass courts and evaluating a new parasport framework to support para-athlete development. Following his master’s, Thomas published his first research paper titled: “Exploring the barriers and facilitators to mental health help-seeking behaviours in British elite track and field athletes” in The Journal of Applied Sport Psychology. Since, he is currently training as a sport and exercise psychologist with the British Psychological Society.
Thomas re-joins the centre as a Doctoral Researcher on a funded PhD programme supported by Loughborough University and the RFU Injured Players Foundation (IPF) – England Rugby’s official charity dedicated to supporting rugby players who sustain a catastrophic spinal cord or acute severe traumatic brain injury. His research will examine mental health and wellbeing service provision for rugby players experiencing catastrophic injury and is supervised by Dr Janine Coates, Dr Carolyn Plateau, Dr Jamie Barker, and Professor Vicky Tolfrey, alongside Dr Karen Hood from the RFU IPF. This research will provide novel insight into the unique mental health experiences of rugby players who have experienced traumatic brain injury and/or spinal cord injury to inform future mental health interventions within these populations. Through the co-production of resources, this research aims to enhance the support offered by the IPF.
From everyone here at the Peter Harrison Centre for Disability Sport, welcome and good luck Thomas!