BSc (Hons), MSc (Buckingham), PhD (Warwick)
Jenna joined The University of Buckingham as a Lecturer in Psychology in 2023, having previously been a visiting lecturer since 2017. She specialises in the area of Health Psychology, teaching on the MSc Health Psychology course as well as various modules on the undergraduate degree programme. Jenna completed her undergraduate and MSc degrees here at Buckingham, before moving to work as a Research Assistant on the MRC-funded “Warwick Study of Mental Defeat in Chronic Pain” at the University of Warwick, Sleep and Pain Lab. She went on to conduct a PhD exploring the role of self-compassion in chronic pain at the University of Warwick.
Jenna is a passionate presenter who enjoys disseminating findings at national and international conferences as well as widening participation for non-academics. She has featured on multiple episodes of the Pain Concern Podcast “Airing Pain” discussing her research and the role of self-compassion in pain. She also endorses outreach events to help young people access and progress in STEM subjects.
Research interests
Jenna is a member of the Centre for Health and Relationships Research. Her main research interests are chronic pain, spinal cord injury, mental defeat in chronic pain and self-compassion as an intervention modality for pain-related outcomes. She also researches sleep disturbances and insomnia as well as specialising in long-term health conditions.
Recent Publications & Conference Presentations
- Themelis, K., Gillett, J. L., Karadag, P., Cheatle, M. D., Giordano, N. A., Balasubramanian, S., Singh, S. P. & Tang, N. K. Y. (2023). Mental defeat and suicidality in chronic pain: a prospective longitudinal analysis. Journal of Pain. Learn more.
- Gillett, J. L., Rakhimov, A., Karadag, P., Themelis, K., Ji, C., Balasubramanian, S., Singh, S. P. & Tang, N. K. Y. (2023) Self-Compassion in Chronic Pain: Evaluating the Self-Compassion Scale Short-Form and Exploring initial Relationships in Pain Outcomes. British Pain Society 56th Annual Scientific Meeting 2023, Glasgow, UK.
- Themelis, K., Gillett, J. L., Karadag, P., Cheatle, M. D., Giordano, N. A., Balasubramanian, S., Singh, S. P., Tang, N. K. Y., (2023). Prospective predictors of suicide risk in patients with chronic pain: An investigation into the role of mental defeat. British Pain Society 56th Annual Scientific Meeting 2023, Glasgow, UK.
- Gillett, J.L., Karadag P., Themelis, K., Li, Y.M, Lemola S., Balasubramanian S., Singh, S., & Tang, N.K.Y. (2023). Investigating mental defeat in individuals with chronic pain: Protocol for a longitudinal experience sampling study. BMJ open, 13(2), e066577. Learn more
- Gillett, J. L., Karadag, P., Themelis, K., Balasubramanian, S., Singh, S. P., Ji, C. & Tang, N. K. Y., (2022). Exploring the role of self-compassion in chronic pain: Associations with key outcomes. IASP 2022 World Congress on Pain, Toronto, Canada.
- Themelis, K., Gillett, J. L., Karadag, P., Balasubramanian, S., Singh, S. P. & Tang, N. K. Y., (2022). Mental defeat and suicidality in chronic pain: A prospective longitudinal analysis. IASP 2022 World Congress on Pain, Toronto, Canada.
- Themelis, K., Gillett, J. L., Karadag, PK, Balasubramanian, S., Singh, S. P., Tang, N. K. Y., (2022). Does mental defeat experienced by people with chronic pain change over time? Patterns of change over 6 months and prospective predictors. IASP 2022 World Congress on Pain, Toronto, Canada
- Finlay, K. A., Hearn, J. H., Gillett, J. L., Ratwatte, P., Morton-Bye, J., & Chater, A. M. (2022). Adaptations to mindfulness-based interventions for neurological impairment: The SMALL PROMPTS approach. Rehabilitation Psychology, 67(3), 391–404. Learn more
- Collard, V. E., Gillett, J. L., Themelis, K., & Tang, N. K. (2021). An exploratory investigation into the effects of mental defeat on pain threshold, pain rating, pain anticipation, and mood. Current Psychology, 1-12. Learn more
- Gillett, J. L., Duff, J., Eaton, R., & Finlay, K. (2020). Psychological outcomes of MRSA isolation in spinal cord injury rehabilitation. Spinal cord series and cases, 6(1), 1-9. Learn more