Clare Wyllie

Thesis title: Explaining gambling addiction: the case of slots gambling in a place of inequalities (working title)

Biography

Background

I am mostly an applied researcher on mental health, suicide and addictions, but also health and social care, human rights and democratic participation. I have also worked in strategy and policy, intervention design, evaluation and public communications. 

 

I have held senior roles in the public and charity sector in South Africa (where I originate) and the UK. This includes Agenda for Gender Equality, Institute for Democracy in South Africa, Commission on Gender Equality, Human Rights Commission, South African Presidency, Samaritans, the Care Quality Commission and GambleAware. 

 

For the last ten years I have been working with those harmed by gambling to develop evidence, support gambling reform and tackle the stigma and discrimination they experience.  

 

Qualifications

BA hons (University of KwaZulu Natal)

MA Gender Studies (University of KwaZulu Natal)

MSc Social Research Methods (London School of Economics and Political Science)

Responsibilities & affiliations

I am Research Director of the not-for-profit Tackling Gambling Stigma. I am on the Board of Thrivin’ Together, a women-led charity for women harmed by gambling.  

Research summary

I am a qualitative researcher of mental health, particularly addiction and currently gambling harm. I am interested in producing powerful and useful explanations for the production and functioning of mental illness in societies and individuals.

I have a long career in applied research and draw on a multidisciplinary background across sociology, psychology, public health, health service design and Science and Technology Studies.I use and explore participatory, ethnographic, embodied and arts-based/arts-informed methods. I have my own direct experiences of mental ill health and addiction, myself and those close to me.  

Current research interests

My PhD is about the vexed question of agency in addiction. Loss of self-contol is fundamental to the concept and experience of addiction. However, critical addiction studies has tended to focus on questions of social norms rather than whether, why and how people may experience a loss of control. I am exploring how assemblages and non-human agents along with feminist conceptions of flesh and feelings could explain the functioning and persistance of gambling addiction.

Past research interests

In my career I have worked on a wide variety of research projects, topics and methods. Some have been academic collaborations, and others designed to support charities or public policy and services. A handful of examples are the role of internet sites and social media in suicidality, tools to assess the quality of healthcare across a local area, overhauling Samaritans helpline data, establishing ways to involve service users and gambling marketing, platforms and data rights. Most recently, I have been gathering testimony from people with lived experience of gambling harm to tackle stigma and discrimination and produce policy recommendations for the Gambling Act review. I have also been co-producing guidelines for reporting on gambling with journalists, based on news analysis and lived experience.

Knowledge exchange

As an applied researcher, my career is based on designing, delivering and using evidence for policy and practice in public and third sector organisations.

I have also influenced in wider spheres. 

For example, I provided evidence to inquiries by Peers for Gambling Reform and the All Party Parliamentary Group on Gambling Harm. I advised the Scottish Government on suicide prevention and established the National Suicide Prevention Alliance with the Department of Health, England.

Affiliated research centres

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