Dr Ross Wadey

About Research

Email: ross.wadey@stmarys.ac.uk

Biography

Ross Wadey is a Professor in Psychology (Sport, Exercise, Performance, and Health) at St Mary’s University, Twickenham. Ross is a Chartered Psychologist with the British Psychological Society. He sits on various journal Editorial Boards and is a book series Editor for Routledge. In addition to his teaching and research activities, Ross is a Trustee to the charity LimbPower that aims to engage amputees and individuals with limb impairments in physical activity to improve quality of life and aid lifelong rehabilitation. He’s passionate about effective teaching, collaborative research, and striving for a more socially just society.

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Research

Research profile

Areas of research supervision

• Co-production and collaborative research designs
• Qualitative research methods
• Storyanalysis and storytelling
• Patient and staff experiences of hospital settings, amputation rehabilitation, and the role of physical activity
• Environmental and psycho-social-cultural considerations of sport injury

Research profile

He received his PhD in 2009, which won an international award for research of outstanding merit. Ross’s research now involves working with external stakeholders (e.g., NHS, UK Sports Institute) to develop programmes of research that meet their needs. Currently, his research operates at the at the intersections between disciplines (e.g., sport psychology, sports sociology, sports medicine, sports communication) and aims to work with professionals operating across various fields (e.g., sport, military, health, performing arts) to support their craft (i.e., performance, health, well-being, mental health) and to bring about social justice. For example, Ross is the principal researcher for a collaborative, nationwide, and government funded project that embeds storytelling in the National Health Service (NHS) in England and Ireland. He also continues to construct international working groups that aim to support the health and welfare of injured populations and the professional practice of practitioners.

PhD students

• Dr Simon Crampton (completed)
• Dr Jade Salim (completed)
• Dr Francesca Cavallerio (completed)
• Dr Kylie-Roy Davis (completed)
• Dr Giampaolo Santi (completed)
• Dr Enda King (completed)
• Dr Chris Hammer (completed)
• Dr Chris Pocock (completed)
• Dr Phoebe Sanders (completed)
• Dr Atefeh Omrani (completed)
• Dr Kimberley Humphreys (completed)
• Dr Hannah Levi (completed)
• Dr John Downey (completed)
• Dr Sunita Kerai (completed)
• Dr Ciara Everard (completed)
• Dr Fiona Leggat (completed)
• Dr Lisa Trainor (completed)
• Dr Graham McKenzie (completed)
• Ms Cindy Okonkwo
• Ms Eva Brockschmidt
• Ms Jade Eccles
• Ms Emily Tailor
• Ms Samantha Glynn
• Ms Freya Davis
• Ms Sree Laxman
• Mr Aiden Parsons
• Ms Jane Holdon
• Mr Daniel Haruna
• Ms Francesca Principe.

If you’re interested in doing a PhD with Ross, please contact him directly.

Featured Publications

Amputation Rehabilitation

• Sanders, P., Wadey, R., Day, M., & Winter, S. (2020). Narratives of recovery over the first year after major lower limb loss. Qualitative Health Research, 30, 2049-2063. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732320925794
• Sanders, P., Wadey, R., Day, M., & Winter, S. (2019). Qualitative fieldwork in medical contexts: Confessions of a neophyte researcher. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise, and Health, 11, 106-118.
• Wadey, R., & Day, M. (2018). A longitudinal examination of leisure time physical activity following amputation in England. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 37, 251-261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2017.11.005
• Leggat, F., Wadey, R., Day, M., Winter, S., & Sanders, P. (under re-review). Co-designing narrative resources for lower limb amputation.

Sport Injury Psychology

• Wadey, R. (2020). Sport Injury Psychology: Cultural, Relational, Methodological, and Applied Considerations. Routledge. London.
• Wadey, R., & Day, M. (2022). Challenging the status quo of sport injury psychology to advance theory, research, and applied practice: An epilogue to a special issue. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 34, 1029-1036. https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200.2022.2100006
• Everard, C., Wadey, R., Howells, K., & Day, M. (2023). Construction and communication of evidence-based video narratives in elite sport: Knowledge translation of sport injury experiences. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 35, 731-754. https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200.2022.2140225
• Podlog, L., Wadey., R., Caron, J., Fraser, J. J., Ivarsson, A., Heil, J., Podlog, S., & Casucci, T. (2022). Psychological readiness to return to sport following injury: A state-of-the-art review. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1080/1750984X.2022.2081929

Adversity, Trauma, and Mental illness

• Day, M., & Wadey, R. (2016). Narratives of trauma and recovery: The complex role of sport following permanent acquired disability. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 22, 131-138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2015.07.004
• Wadey, R., Day, M., & Howells, K. (2020). Growth Following Adversity in Sport. Routledge. London.
• Wadey, R., Day, M., & Howells, K. (2020). Growth following adversity: An inspirational and cautionary tale. Association of Applied Sport Psychology, Newsletter.
• Day, M., & Wadey, R. (2024). Learning to put on the brakes: Trauma informed narrative interviewing after limb amputation. In J. McMahon & K. McGannon (Eds.), Trauma in Sport. Routledge, London.

Physical Health and Psychological Well-Being

• Salim, J., & Wadey, R. (2020). Using gratitude to promote sport injury-related growth. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology.
• Cavallerio, F., Wadey, R., & Wagstaff, C. R. D. (2016). Understanding overuse injuries in rhythmic gymnastics: A 12-month ethnographic study. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 25, 100-109
• Cavallerio, F., Wadey, R., & Wagstaff, C. (2018). Life after gymnastics: A narrative account of former elite gymnasts. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise, and Health, 9, 533-545.
• Glynn, S., R. Wadey, M. Day, and C. Everard (2023). Cultural, institutional, and relational understanding of sport injury. In M. Arvinen-Barrow and D. Clement (Eds.), The Psychology of Sport Injury and Rehabilitation (2nd ed). New York: Routledge

Qualitative Research Methods

• Day, M., & Wadey, R. (2018). Researching growth following adversity in sport and exercise: Methodological implications and future recommendations. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise, and Health, 9, 499-513. https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2017.1328460
• Cavallerio, F., Wadey, R., & Wagstaff, C. (2020). Member reflections with elite gymnasts and coaches: Looking back to look forward. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise, and Health, 12, 48-62. https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2019.1625431
• Cavallerio, F., Wadey, R., & Wagstaff, C. (2021). Impacting and being impacted by overuse injuries: An ethnodrama of parents’ experiences. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise, & Health, 14, 19-36. https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2021.1885480
• Leggat, F., Wadey, R., Day, M., Winter, S., & Sanders, P. (2023). Bridging the ‘know-do’ gap using integrated knowledge translation and qualitative inquiry: A narrative review. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise, and Health, 15, 188-201. https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2021.1954074

Applied Practice (Interventions)

• Wadey, R., & Evans, L. (2011). Working with injured athletes: Research and practice. In S. Hanton & S. D. Mellalieu (Eds.), Professional Practice in Sport Psychology: A review (pp. 107-132). London: Routledge
• Howells, K., Wadey, R., Roy-Davis, K., & Evans, L. (2020). A systematic review of interventions to promote growth following adversity. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2020.101671
• Salim, J., & Wadey, R. (2018). Can emotional disclosure promote sport injury-related growth? Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 30, 376-387. https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200.2017.1417338
• Everard, C., Wadey, R., Day, M., & Howells, K. (in press). Examining the applied value of narrative for professional practice: An exploration of sport injury narratives in action. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology.

Professional Practice

• Wadey, R., Davis-Roy, K., & Evans, L. (2019). Sport psychology consultants’ perspectives of facilitating sport injury-related growth. The Sport Psychologist, 33, 244-255. https://doi.org/10.1123/tsp.2018-0110
• Downey, J., Shearn, K., Brown, N., Wadey, R., & Breckon, J. (2024). The implementation of behaviour change practices in physical activity referral schemes: A narrative review. Health Psychology and Behaviour Medicine, 12. https://doi.org/10.1080/21642850.2023.2278293
• Sanders, P., Wadey, R., Day, M., & Winter, S. (2020). Prosthetic rehabilitation in practice: An exploration of experiential knowledge in the multi-disciplinary team. Qualitative Health Research, 31, 309-322. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732320933272
• Everard, C., & Wadey, R. (2024). Narrative pedagogy and sport injury: Educating coaches. In L. Purdy & N. Barker-Ruchti (Eds.), Sports coaching education and innovative pedagogies. Routledge, London.

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