Skip to main content

Dr Rashpal Dhensa-Kahlon

Positions held:
  • Senior Lecturer, Social and Organisational Psychology; School of Psychological Sciences
  • UG Admissions Tutor, School of Psychological Sciences
  • Ethics Committee Member, School of Psychological Sciences
Email
  • Overview

    Overview

    Biography

    Rashpal (Rashi) is a Chartered Psychologist (BPS) and Senior Lecturer in Social and Organisational Psychology in the School of Psychological Sciences at Birkbeck, University of London. She earned her PhD (Organisational Behaviour) and MSc (Social and Organisational Psychology) from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

    She is an applied Social and Organisational Psychologist and her research explores psychological wellbeing through a social psychological lens. Her broad interest lies in mental health and wellbeing, and her specific focus is on how people navigate adversity, particularly trauma, in two applied contexts: work-related as well as collective trauma across populations.

    Prior to joining Birkbeck, Rashi held appointments at the University of Surrey and Aston University. Prior to academia she worked in consulting within banking and professional services.

    Office hours

    All students will be communicated module specific office hours at the start of each term.

    In-person and online meetings can be arranged upon request by email.

    Qualifications

    • PhD Social Psychology and Organisational Behaviour, London School of Economics & Political Science, 2015
    • MSc Social and Organisational Psychology (Distinction), London School of Economics & Political Science
    • BSc Psychology (1st Class), University of Surrey
    • Extended leave: June 2014-Jan 2015; Feb 2018-2019

    Web profiles

    Administrative responsibilities

    • Member, Ethics Committee, School of Psychological Sciences
    • Undergraduate Admissions Tutor (BSc Psychology), School of Psychological Sciences

    Professional activities

    Rashi is a Section Editor for Stress & Health, and has served as a member of the Board of Organizational Psychology Review. She regularly reviews for a range of academic journals within social and organisational psychology, as well as health more broadly.

    Rashi is a Member of Member of the Scientific Committee of The European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology.

    Rashi undertakes commissioned research (e.g., for the NHS, private consultancies). 

    Professional memberships

    Honours and awards

    • Special Recognition for Outstanding Contribution to Occupational Health Research , Society of Occupational Medicine, January 2023
    • Research Fellow (3 years), Leverhulme Trust, January 2011
    • PhD Studentship , Leverhulme Trust, June 2011

    ORCID

    0000-0003-1371-9340
  • Research

    Research

    Research interests

    • Mental health and well-being
    • Work-related trauma
    • Collective trauma
    • Recovery and post-traumatic growth
    • Mixed methods researcher
    • Social support
    • Workplace health interventions
    • Humour

    Research overview

    My research explores psychological wellbeing through an applied social psychology lens. I am specifically interested in how people navigate adversity, particularly trauma, within two different social contexts: work-related trauma in organisations (e.g., with bus drivers, military, ordinary work) and collective trauma across populations (e.g., COVID-19 pandemic in England, terror bombings) using mixed methods. My research draws on surveys, populations based studies, and more recently, a return to qualitative methods (narrative and thematic analysis). I am interested in unearthing the effects of social connections and behaviours on psychological wellbeing and specifically the role played by social support and humour. I am also interested in the role played by interventions in positively infleuncing people’s lived experiences. I am keen on finding opportunities to dissemeniate research into the domains of public practice where we can make a real differences to people’s lives.

    Research Centres and Institutes

    Research clusters and groups

  • Supervision and teaching

    Supervision and teaching

    Supervision

    I welcome enquiries from prospective PhD students who are interested in undertaking research in any of my areas of research interest. Please contact me by email to discuss potential research projects and supervision.

    PhD students supervision:

    Emily Kitson. Thesis title "See it, Say it, Sort it: How Personality and Decision Making Affects Safety Behaviours." Awarded by the University of Surrey in June 2021. (with Prof Stephen Woods).

    Megal Ramsell. Thesis topic: An investigation of the relationships between stigma, psychosocial working conditions and post-traumatic growth following extra-organisational trauma. Principal Supervisor. January 2023 onwards (with Dr Kevin Teoh).

    Sophia Ruhland. Sep 2024 onwards (with Prof Fiona Tasker)

    Andrew Cole. January 2026 onwards (with Prof Almuth McDowall)

    Teaching

    Rashi teaches on both undegraduate and postgraduate modules on Social Psychology and Trauma. 

    Teaching modules

    • Social Psychology (SCPS163H5)
    • Perspectives in Social Psychology (SCPS210H7)
    • The Psychology of Trauma and Addiction (SCPS232H7)
  • Publications

    Publications

    Article

    Book Section

    • Reich, T.C. and Dhensa-Kahlon, Rashpal (2021) Workplace mistreatment. In: Brough, P. and Gardiner, E. and Daniels, K. (eds.) Handbook on Management and Employment Practices. Handbook Series in Occupational Health Sciences. Springer. pp. 1-22. ISSN 2730-7409. ISBN 9783030249366.
    • Dhensa-Kahlon, Rashpal and Coyle-Shapiro, J.A.M. (2014) Anticipatory (in)justice and organizational change: understanding employee reactions to change. In: Oreg, S. and Michel, A. and Todnem By, R. (eds.) The Psychology of Organizational Change: Viewing Change from the Employee’s Perspective. Cambridge University Press. pp. 173-194. ISBN 9781107477773.
    • Coyle-Shapiro, J.A.M. and Dhensa-Kahlon, Rashpal (2011) Justice in the Twenty-first Century organization. In: Townsend, K. and Wilkinson, A. (eds.) Research Handbook on the Future of Work and Employment Relations. Edward Elgar. pp. 305-404. ISBN 9781848448469.

    Conference Item

    Monograph

  • Business and community

    Business and community

    Media

    I am happy to receive enquiries from the media on the following topics:

    • Mental health and wellbeing
    • Work-related trauma
    • Collective trauma
    • Health related interventions
    • Social connections/social support

      Outreach

      Podcasts:

      Managing and Overcoming Trauma. The Workplace Podcast with YellowWood. Jan 2022. 

      (https://open.spotify.com/episode/41FK5FqXUosNZP2DmvWuKo?si=0vy5-0WdT1mwHXqEVjkD2Q)

      Organisational Interventions to Support Staff Wellbeing in the NHS. NHS Employers Health and Wellbeing Network

      Showcase panel ‘Resilience in an Uncertain World’ at Birkbeck’s Business, Economics and Informatics Engagement Week. Sharing insights from my research on trauma and recovery.

      Stress Productivity and Wellbeing. Showcase session, involving use of interactive wellbeing technology, at the Surrey Festival of Science