Dr Paula Gomes Alves BSc, MSc, FHEA, PhD

Paula Gomes Alves has been a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Greenwich since 2021, after joining the university as a Lecturer in November 2019. She has a background in clinical psychology, with an emphasis on substance use and substance use treatment. She has also clinical training as a psychodynamic therapist in substance use treatment.

Her professional interests include the evaluation of processes and outcomes of psychological interventions, which means understanding not only if interventions work but also why they work (i.e. therapeutic ingredients). Additionally, her research also focuses on evaluating the patient experience and views about those interventions. Paula has a special interest in studying strategies to improve the delivery of substance use treatment using co-production methods, i.e., working in collaboration with service users and health professionals to enhance the relevance, acceptability, and usefulness of such strategies. Paula's current interests also include exploring which and how non-specific therapeutic factors, such as the patient-therapist relationship, impact the outcomes and processes of treatment. More recently, Paula has been expanding her clinical work by combining her psychodynamic therapy training with her professional experience in photography in therapeutic photography workshops with students and the general community.

Paula's teaching areas are substance use and addictions, mental health, psychological interventions, and research methodology, with an emphasis on qualitative research.

Posts held previously

Research Experience

• 2017 - 2019 Research Associate at University College London
• 2012 - 2016 Post-graduate Research Fellow at Lisbon University Institute
• 2011 - 2012 Research Collaborator and Academic Fellow at Global Drug Survey
• 2010 - 2011 Research Trainee at the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EU Agency)
• 2010 - 2012 Research Assistant at Lisbon University Institute
• 2009 - 2010 Research Assistant (volunteer) at King’s College London.

Teaching Experience

• 2018 - 2019 Teaching Assistant as MSc in International Addiction Studies at King’s College London (distance learning)
• 2017 - 2019 Teaching Fellow and Research Supervisor as MSc in Psychology and Neuroscience of Mental Health at King’s College London (distance learning)
• 2017 - 2019 Learning Tutor and Research Supervisor as Qualitative Research Methods for MSc Population Health at University College London
• 2017 - 2019 Personal Tutor and Research Supervisor for BSc/MSc Population Health at University College London.

Clinical Experience

2021 - Present CEO and Workshop Facilitator at Between Spaces as a therapeutic photography project 
2008 - 2009 Clinical Placement at Drug and Alcohol Treatment Services at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust  
2007 - 2008 Psychologist at the Learning Support Centre of Bucelas
2006 - 2007 Clinical Psychologist Trainee at Drug and Alcohol Treatment Service of Lisbon (Centro das Taipas).