Hakak
dr yohai hakak joined brunel university london in 2014 and is currently senior lecturer in social work and programme lead for the msc social work programme. his practice background is in mental health social work, having worked with adults experiencing severe and enduring mental health difficulties. yohai's research explores migration, embodiment, parenting, religion, masculinities, youth, mental health and risk, with a particular interest in how these themes intersect with social work theory, practice and education. in recent years, he has developed a significant programme of research examining the international migration of social workers, including migration to and from the uk and the experiences and contributions of internationally recruited social workers. he has published extensively in social work and related disciplines and is the author of several books, including haredi masculinities between the yeshiva, the army, work and politics: the sage, the warrior and the entrepreneur (brill, 2016), an ethnographic study of ultra-orthodox jewish young men in israel. his work has attracted international attention through academic publications, public engagement activities and several award-winning documentary films. yohai plays a key role in the british association of social workers' special interest group on diaspora social workers and is book reviews editor and associate editor of social work education: the international journal. he has co-edited four special issues of social work education and played a leading role in establishing the london social work research network, which promotes collaboration and knowledge exchange among social work researchers, practitioners and doctoral researchers across london and beyond. he is also the founder and producer of the how does the social work podcast. yohai welcomes enquiries from prospective doctoral researchers interested in the following areas in relation to social work: migration and internationally recruited social workers embodiment and the sociology of the body religion and religious minorities masculinities and gender mental health risk and risk perception parenting and family relationships interfaith and intercultural relationships social work education and professional identity qualitative and creative research methods yohai's current areas of research interest are: embodiment in academic and professional practice | brunel university london the migration of professionals mixed families religious minorities mental health state power
![Dr Yohai Hakak]()
Dr Yohai Hakak
Dr Yohai Hakak joined Brunel University London in 2014 and is currently Senior Lecturer in Social Work and Programme Lead for the MSc Social Work programme. His practice background is in mental health social work, having worked with adults experiencing severe and enduring mental health difficulties. Yohai's research explores migration, embodiment, parenting, religion, masculinities, youth, mental health and risk, with a particular interest in how these themes intersect with social work theory, practice and education. In recent years, he has developed a significant programme of research examining the international migration of social workers, including migration to and from the UK and the experiences and contributions of internationally recruited social workers. He has published extensively in social work and related disciplines and is the author of several books, including Haredi Masculinities between the Yeshiva, the Army, Work and Politics: The Sage, the Warrior and the Entrepreneur (Brill, 2016), an ethnographic study of ultra-Orthodox Jewish young men in Israel. His work has attracted international attention through academic publications, public engagement activities and several award-winning documentary films. Yohai plays a key role in the British Association of Social Workers' Special Interest Group on Diaspora Social Workers and is Book Reviews Editor and Associate Editor of Social Work Education: The International Journal. He has co-edited four special issues of Social Work Education and played a leading role in establishing the London Social Work Research Network, which promotes collaboration and knowledge exchange among social work researchers, practitioners and doctoral researchers across London and beyond. He is also the founder and producer of the How Does the Social Work podcast. Yohai welcomes enquiries from prospective doctoral researchers interested in the following areas in relation to social work: Migration and internationally recruited social workers Embodiment and the sociology of the body Religion and religious minorities Masculinities and gender Mental health Risk and risk perception Parenting and family relationships Interfaith and intercultural relationships Social work education and professional identity Qualitative and creative research methods Yohai's current areas of research interest are: Embodiment in Academic and Professional Practice | Brunel University London The migration of professionals Mixed families Religious minorities Mental health State power
Kastrinou
maria kastrinou is a social anthropologist with fieldwork experience in south-eastern mediterranean, specifically in syria, greece, lebanon and in the israeli-occupied golan heights. her research critically interrogates the politics of religion, sect, state and statelessness, the political and cultural lives of refugees, and the political economy of conflict and resistance. her monograph power, sect and state in syria (i.b. tauris 2016) is the first ethnography of the druze minority in syria, and one of only a handful of anthropological works about syria. she has been engaged with projects on sectarianism, statelessness and refugees in the middle east and she is currently working on the druze heritage foundation funded research project ‘lives across divides: ethnographic stories from the golan heights.’ experimenting between anthropology and theatre, together with hannah knoerk and johannes birringer, they formed the hotspot collective and created, produced and performed ‘the price of water’ – a political play about refugees, capitalism and the hotspot critically engaging with kastrinou's ethnographic work in greece and the middle east. i convene the second year undergraduate module political and economic issues in anthropology. i am contributing to making the social (convened by gareth dale) and teach on global london (convened by inge dornan). in the past, i have convened or taught the following modules: classical anthropological theory; introduction to social anthropology; anthropology, objects and images; anthropological perspectives on war and humanitarian assistance; practising anthropology 1; ethnographic research methods; ethnographic encounters.
![Dr Maria Kastrinou]()
Dr Maria Kastrinou
Maria Kastrinou is a social anthropologist with fieldwork experience in South-Eastern Mediterranean, specifically in Syria, Greece, Lebanon and in the Israeli-Occupied Golan Heights. Her research critically interrogates the politics of religion, sect, state and statelessness, the political and cultural lives of refugees, and the political economy of conflict and resistance. Her monograph Power, Sect and State in Syria (I.B. Tauris 2016) is the first ethnography of the Druze minority in Syria, and one of only a handful of anthropological works about Syria. She has been engaged with projects on sectarianism, statelessness and refugees in the Middle East and she is currently working on the Druze Heritage Foundation funded research project ‘Lives across divides: Ethnographic stories from the Golan Heights.’ Experimenting between anthropology and theatre, together with Hannah Knoerk and Johannes Birringer, they formed the Hotspot Collective and created, produced and performed ‘The Price of Water’ – a political play about refugees, capitalism and the Hotspot critically engaging with Kastrinou's ethnographic work in Greece and the Middle East. I convene the second year undergraduate module Political and Economic Issues in Anthropology. I am contributing to Making the Social (convened by Gareth Dale) and teach on Global London (convened by Inge Dornan). In the past, I have convened or taught the following modules: Classical Anthropological Theory; Introduction to Social Anthropology; Anthropology, Objects and Images; Anthropological Perspectives on War and Humanitarian Assistance; Practising Anthropology 1; Ethnographic Research Methods; Ethnographic Encounters.
Havsteen-Franklin
dominik havsteen-franklin’s work explores how arts therapies and creative health practices contribute to personal, social, technological, and systemic change. as professor of practice in arts therapies at brunel university london and consultant in arts psychotherapies at central and north west london nhs foundation trust, he works across clinical practice, research, education, public health, digital innovation, and cultural partnership. his scholarship is concerned with the conditions through which change becomes possible. drawing on complexity theory, critical realism, new materialist and posthumanist thought, systems thinking, ecological models, mentalization-based approaches, and critically pluralist arts therapies theory, dominik examines how wellbeing emerges through relations between people, materials, places, institutions, cultures, technologies, and forms of knowledge. a central theme in his recent work is the relationship between creativity, artificial intelligence, and wellbeing. he is interested in how ai and digital systems organise patterns of convergence and divergence: how they can narrow complex experience through prediction, classification, optimisation, and repetition, but also how they may support generative reflection, relational insight, and imaginative forms of inquiry when developed within ethical and participatory frameworks. his methodological work spans realist evaluation, arts-based inquiry, participatory research, mixed-methods evaluation, psychometric development, and complexity-informed programme design. he is particularly interested in methods that can account for emergence, uncertainty, power, context, and lived experience, especially where conventional models of evidence struggle to capture the relational, material, and ecological dimensions of arts-based practice. dominik’s current projects include research on ethical digital creative health through p_art_icipate!, education and wellbeing through the art of wellbeing in education project, ai-informed approaches to relational and linguistic change in mental health contexts, and creative systems approaches to nhs team development and organisational learning (care project). his work with teams focuses on how affect, communication, leadership, professional identity, institutional pressures, and psychological safety interact within complex organisational ecologies. across these projects, dominik works with partners in health services, higher education, cultural organisations, digital innovation, community settings, and international arts therapies networks. his research seeks to develop approaches that are theoretically rigorous, practically useful, and accountable to the communities, practitioners, institutions, and technologies through which contemporary wellbeing practices are shaped. my research explores how arts therapies and creative health practices contribute to wellbeing, mental health, education, social change and systems development. i am particularly interested in relational and ecological approaches to practice, and in how change emerges through interactions between people, materials, places, institutions, technologies and wider socio-political contexts. my work draws on complexity theory, critical realism, new materialist and posthumanist thought, systems thinking, mentalization-based practice and critically pluralist arts therapies theory. methodologically, i work across realist evaluation, arts-based research, participatory inquiry, mixed-methods evaluation, psychometric development and complexity-informed programme theory. current research interests include digital creative health, ethical wellbeing technologies, artificial intelligence and creativity, convergence and divergence in mental health and wellbeing, arts-based approaches to team development, creative health in education, social art therapy, trauma-informed practice, and context-sensitive approaches to evaluating creative health interventions. arts therapies and creative health social art therapy and arts-based approaches to social change digital creative health, digital wellbeing, and ethical online practice artificial intelligence, creativity, mental health, and wellbeing complexity theory, systems thinking, and ecological approaches to care realist evaluation, living logic models, and complexity-informed programme evaluation participatory, arts-based, and practice-based research methods mentalization, relational practice, and psychodynamic approaches in arts therapies team development, organisational learning, and psychological safety in healthcare systems education, curriculum development, and wellbeing in higher education trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and socially situated arts therapies practice psychometric development and evaluation of creative wellbeing measures ethics, regulation, accessibility, and inclusion in creative health and arts therapies interdisciplinary partnerships across health, education, culture, community, and technology sectors
![Dr Dominik Havsteen-Franklin]()
Dr Dominik Havsteen-Franklin
Dominik Havsteen-Franklin’s work explores how arts therapies and creative health practices contribute to personal, social, technological, and systemic change. As Professor of Practice in Arts Therapies at Brunel University London and Consultant in Arts Psychotherapies at Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, he works across clinical practice, research, education, public health, digital innovation, and cultural partnership. His scholarship is concerned with the conditions through which change becomes possible. Drawing on complexity theory, critical realism, new materialist and posthumanist thought, systems thinking, ecological models, mentalization-based approaches, and critically pluralist arts therapies theory, Dominik examines how wellbeing emerges through relations between people, materials, places, institutions, cultures, technologies, and forms of knowledge. A central theme in his recent work is the relationship between creativity, artificial intelligence, and wellbeing. He is interested in how AI and digital systems organise patterns of convergence and divergence: how they can narrow complex experience through prediction, classification, optimisation, and repetition, but also how they may support generative reflection, relational insight, and imaginative forms of inquiry when developed within ethical and participatory frameworks. His methodological work spans realist evaluation, arts-based inquiry, participatory research, mixed-methods evaluation, psychometric development, and complexity-informed programme design. He is particularly interested in methods that can account for emergence, uncertainty, power, context, and lived experience, especially where conventional models of evidence struggle to capture the relational, material, and ecological dimensions of arts-based practice. Dominik’s current projects include research on ethical digital creative health through p_ART_icipate!, education and wellbeing through the Art of Wellbeing in Education Project, AI-informed approaches to relational and linguistic change in mental health contexts, and creative systems approaches to NHS team development and organisational learning (CaRE Project). His work with teams focuses on how affect, communication, leadership, professional identity, institutional pressures, and psychological safety interact within complex organisational ecologies. Across these projects, Dominik works with partners in health services, higher education, cultural organisations, digital innovation, community settings, and international arts therapies networks. His research seeks to develop approaches that are theoretically rigorous, practically useful, and accountable to the communities, practitioners, institutions, and technologies through which contemporary wellbeing practices are shaped. My research explores how arts therapies and creative health practices contribute to wellbeing, mental health, education, social change and systems development. I am particularly interested in relational and ecological approaches to practice, and in how change emerges through interactions between people, materials, places, institutions, technologies and wider socio-political contexts. My work draws on complexity theory, critical realism, new materialist and posthumanist thought, systems thinking, mentalization-based practice and critically pluralist arts therapies theory. Methodologically, I work across realist evaluation, arts-based research, participatory inquiry, mixed-methods evaluation, psychometric development and complexity-informed programme theory. Current research interests include digital creative health, ethical wellbeing technologies, artificial intelligence and creativity, convergence and divergence in mental health and wellbeing, arts-based approaches to team development, creative health in education, social art therapy, trauma-informed practice, and context-sensitive approaches to evaluating creative health interventions. Arts therapies and creative health Social art therapy and arts-based approaches to social change Digital creative health, digital wellbeing, and ethical online practice Artificial intelligence, creativity, mental health, and wellbeing Complexity theory, systems thinking, and ecological approaches to care Realist evaluation, Living Logic Models, and complexity-informed programme evaluation Participatory, arts-based, and practice-based research methods Mentalization, relational practice, and psychodynamic approaches in arts therapies Team development, organisational learning, and psychological safety in healthcare systems Education, curriculum development, and wellbeing in higher education Trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and socially situated arts therapies practice Psychometric development and evaluation of creative wellbeing measures Ethics, regulation, accessibility, and inclusion in creative health and arts therapies Interdisciplinary partnerships across health, education, culture, community, and technology sectors