Meet the board

My name is Dr Jenelle Clarke and I am a lecturer in the sociology of health and social care at the University of Kent. I am sorry I cannot be with you in person as I have Welcome Week duties this week at the University. I recently took over as Editor-in-Chief of the TC Journal. I have been around the TC world for a number of years in a variety of roles. In fact, it was a TC that first drew me to the UK, and I was a member of Christ Church Deal (CCD) TC in Deal, Kent from 2005 until I moved to the midlands in 2011. I have recently moved back to Deal and am delighted to reconnecting with CCD. I did my PhD research in TCs (completed 2015) at the University of Nottingham with Professor Nick Manning and Dr Gary Winship, working with two communities for adults with a diagnosis of personality disorder. I used ethnography, a combination of participant observation and interviews, with clients and staff members to understand how times outside of therapy (like meal times and smoking breaks) contribute to personal change. These interactions are powerful moments in the life of a community where members engage in a number of ‘rituals’ that enhance their therapeutic journeys. I stayed active in TC research as a member, and then chair, of the TC Research and Development Group until 2018. I am very excited to be leading the journal and working with members on contributions and the direction and developments of the journal. I am especially keen to broaden the title and scope of the journal to include Enabling Environments (EEs). TCs have a natural close link with EEs as many of the principles of TC also underpin EEs. Formalising this relationship will expand, extend and strengthen community research in TCs and in areas where TC principles are being used, though maybe not formally recognised as TCs. I am especially keen to have more contributions from international authors and we know there are numerous examples of innovative and community approaches to mental health in our international community. I am working with Emerald, the previous Editor-in-Chief Dr Gary Winship, and the TCTC board to further develop the journal, particularly in terms of readership, contributions, influence and reputation. Our plans have started with raising the TC journal at a number of conferences this past year, reaching out to known and new contacts with the revised remit of the journal to now include a focus on EEs, and highlighting the most read/downloaded articles on the journal. Gary in particular has done a lot of work over the past year to reach out to our international community to raise the journal profile and I am pleased that this work has resulted in some author contributions. I am also very open to ideas, suggestions and comments for the journal. Please get in touch with me via email, j.clarke2261@kent.ac.u