Miss Courtney Few

I am a final-year Professional Doctorate student in Health Psychology at the University of Stirling. My work mainly focuses on supporting the physical health and wellbeing of children, young people, and their families living with long-term conditions.

Over the course of my placement with Diabetes Scotland I have designed and delivered a self-administered Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) based handbook with embedded therapeutic based videos for parents and carers of young people with Type 1 diabetes, in collaboration. I have also developed and run a health coaching service for people aged 13–35 living with diabetes, using evidence-based approaches from models such as the NHS Education for Scotland’s Motivation, Action, and Prompts (MAP) model of behaviour change, Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), and ACT to support sustainable behaviour change.

Alongside interventional work, I have conducted systematic reviews, in particular on the topics of digital health interventions for childhood asthma medication adherence, completed during an internship with IQVIA. I have also had teaching/lecturing experience at the University of Stirling, where I have gained experience delivering lectures, facilitating tutorials, and marking assessments.

Supervisors: Professor Vivien Swanson and Dr Hannah Durand (with support from Dr Lesley McGregor)

My research interests are focused on children and young people’s health and wellbeing, particularly in relation to body image and appearance when living with conditions or after injury. I am especially interested in how those living with burn injuries and their families cope with pain, sleep difficulties, and psychosocial challenges such as appearance, as well as how young people with type 1 diabetes perceive their body image in relation to insulin use and eating behaviours.