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Dr SJ Lennie

C.Psychol.

Profile summary

  • Central Academic Staff
  • Lecturer in Policing Organisation and Practice
  • The Faculty of Business & Law
  • The Open University Business School
  • Policing in FBL
  • sarah-jane.lennie

Professional biography

Dr Sarah-Jane Lennie (SJ) is a Chartered Psychologist (British Psychological Society) and Lecturer in the Department of Police, Organisationa and Practice, at the Open University.  SJ specialises in social psychology, emotions in the workplace and the mental health and wellbeing of police officers.  Prior to returning to academia SJ served for 18 years as a police officer, to the rank of Detective Inspector.  SJ is an Associate to the College of Policing, as a subject matter expert in mental health and organsational culture and leadership.  SJ's research focus is on supporting police officer's emotional welllbeing through the exploration of officer's lived experience and the impact of organisational culture and leadership on individual mental health.  SJ looks at the role of stigma, emotional suppression and dissociation in the increasing cases of PTSD within British officers. Currenlty she is working on projects looking at the needs of police families, perinatal mental health in policing, self-reflection as a form of self-care for police officers and the implementation of Schwartz rounds in British and New Zealand police.

Research interests

Emotions at Work, Organisational Culture and Leadership, Wellbeing, Mental Health, PTSD, Organisational Psychology, Social Psychology. 

Teaching interests

Leadership, Decision Making, Investigation.

External collaborations

SJ is an Associate to the College of Policing and delivers on Leadership, Mental Health and Wellbeing and PTSD to the Fast Track Inspector and Direct Entry cohorts and on the Senior Command Course.  SJ is currently Principle Investigator on a College of Policing funded project looking at the wellbeing needs of the families of police officers as an aspect of the Police Covenant.

SJ is working collaboratively with Waikato University and the New Zealand police service to improve officer wellbeing, reflecting the work with British police officers.

Publications

Psychodrama and emotional labour in the police: A mutually beneficial methodology for researchers and participant (2021-12)
Lennie, Sarah-Jane; Sutton, Anna and Crozier, Sarah
Methods in Psychology, 5, Article 100066