Claire Hart is an occupational therapist, counsellor, lecturer and researcher. She has demonstrated a long-term committment to excellence in occupational therapy education.  She has experience of clinical practice in primary, secondary care, specialist services, not-for-profit agencies and private practice.  In addition, she has been a training consultant with NHS and Social Care staff and a private clinical supervisor for groups and individuals.

Claire is an Assistant Professor at Northumbria University, where she is joint Programme Leader for the BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy. She is  involved in the delivery of undergraduate, postgraduate and apprenticeship education in occupational therapy and guidance and counselling.  Claire seeks to broaden awareness of international practice trends, elicit varied occupational perspectives and explore the impact of hegemeny.  

As an academic, she enjoys teaching creative and innovative ways to deliver complex concepts in an accessible way.  She has taught in Europe and Malaysia, and has a strong committment to internationalisation.  Feedback consistantly identified her work as engaging and inspiring, helping people to fulfil their potential and encouraging active scholarship at every stage of their professional develpment.

Claire is an active researcher, primarily focussed on qualitative research to explore issues faced by marginalised groups.  Her previous clinical experience working with refugees led her to conduct studies exploring the occupational needs of refugees and local mental health provision.

Claire is currently undertaking a number of research projects, including:

• an exploration or refugee mental health provision in the north east of England.
• a scoping review reflecting the disproportionate impact of CoVID-19 on marginalised groups.
• an evaluation of a CoVID-19 home working support service for NHS staff.
• a service evaluation of a group based end of life programme provided by Marie Curie.

Claire has contributed to research education and REF processes and provides training on inclusivity in research. She is a regular speaker at local, national and international conferences and has publications in key occupational therapy texts and journals.  She is a regular reviewer for the Journal of Occupatioanl Science, the Scandianvian Journal of Occupational Therapy and the World Federation of Occupational Therapists Bulletin.  

Claire is a member of the European Occupational Science Research Committee and the Occupational Science Migration Special Interest Group.