Dr Béré Mahoney

Berenice Mahoney

Social Science Lead Three Counties Medical School and Principal Lecturer PhD Course Leader School of Psychology

MBChB

Department of Performance, Health and Wellbeing

Contact Details

email: b.mahoney@worc.ac.uk

Dr Mahoney is an experienced academic and interdisciplinary researcher who engages in research on patients’ experiences of living with long-term conditions, along with the experiences and training needs of healthcare professionals supporting these patients. With special interests in breast cancer and allergy, Dr Mahoney works with colleagues in the NHS, industry, and is a member of the British Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology Psychology Working Group.

She is a strong advocate of interdisciplinary research using qualitative, quantitative, and mixed research in her work. Dr Mahoney also conducts research on sexuality, gender identity and physical and mental health, having been on the British Psychological Society’s Psychology of Sexualities Section Committee, and an expert witness working with human rights law firms and thus the Home Office in cases of individuals seeking asylum in the UK because of their sexuality.

Her current research projects include vaccine hesitancy among individuals diagnosed with, or who self-identify as having, an allergy; and the experiences of patients living with occult breast cancer. Dr Mahoney is also engaged actively as a reviewer, invited editorial writer and guest editor for international peer review health journals. 

Teaching Interests

Dr Mahoney lectures across Levels 5, 6, 7 and 8, and has over a decade of experience as an external examiner across all these levels. At levels 5 -7 her lecturing specialisms are individual differences, research methods, psychology and the law, and professional skills.  Dr Mahoney also contributes to Level 7 modules on the psychology of prescribing and mental health on the MSc Advanced Clinical Practice and the MSc Physician Associate programmes respectively.

Dr Mahoney contributes regularly to the doctoral student and academic staff Researcher Development Programmes, delivering workshops on ethics, writing, structuring doctoral theses, flexible and interdisciplinary approaches to research, completing a PhD by published work, and working in PhD supervisory teams. Dr Mahoney is also PhD Course Leader for the School of Psychology, one of the Deputy Chairs of the University Research degrees Board, and supervises doctoral students engaged in a range of projects on health and identity.

Research Interests

  • Living with long-term conditions, with a particular focus on allergy and breast cancer.
  • Sexuality, gender identity, physical and mental health, and illness.
  • Interdisciplinarity, patient centred care, and healthcare professional training.

Membership of Professional Bodies

  • British Psychological Society: Chartered Psychology, Chartered Scientist, Associate Fellow, Register of Expert Witnesses
  • Advance HE: Fellow
  • British Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: Psychology Working Group Member

Recent Publications

Mahoney, B. (2023). Invited Editorial Geography and breast reconstruction: the complex business of using travel time to understand how patients access care after surgery. Annals of Breast Surgery, 1-4. https://eprints.worc.ac.uk/id/eprint/12896

Lea, R., Davis, S. K., Mahoney, B., & Qualter, P. (2023). Do emotionally intelligent adolescents flourish or flounder under pressure? Linking emotional intelligence to stress regulation mechanisms. Personality and Individual Differences, 201, 111943.

Hampshire, C., Mahoney, B., & Davis, S. K. (2022). Parenting styles and disordered eating among youths: A rapid scoping review. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 802567.

Mahoney, B., Walklet, E., Bradley, E., Thrush, S., Skillman, J., Whisker, L., ... & Potter, S. (2020). Experiences of implant loss after immediate implant-based breast reconstruction: qualitative study. BJS open, 4(3), 380-390..

Béré Mahoney, Eleanor Bradley, Elaine Walklet and Steve O’Hickey. “I haven’t said goodbye to my kids”. The Psychologist, 32, 42-45.

Mahoney, Berenice, Walklet, Elaine, Bradley, Eleanor and O'Hickey, Stephen (2019) Improving Adrenaline Auto-injector Adherence: a Psychologically-informed Training for Healthcare Professionals. Immunity, Inflammation and Disease, 7, 214-228. DOI: 10.1002/iid3.264.

Walklet, Elaine, Mahoney, Berenice, Bradley, Eleanor and O'Hickey, Stephen (2019) Application of Health Psychology: Development of a Practitioner Training Intervention in Anaphylaxis. Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions, 39(2), 130-135.

Lea, Rosanna, Davis, Sarah K., Mahoney, Berenice and Qualter, P. (2019) Does Emotional Intelligence Buffer the Effects of Acute Stress? A Systematic Review. Frontiers in Psychology, 10. Article 810. ISSN Online: 1664-1078