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Professor Georgina Charlesworth
Name:
Professor Georgina Charlesworth
Job title:
Professor of Clinical Psychology of Ageing and Dementia
Place of work / study:
University College London
Area of Research:
Evaluation of psychological and social interventions for people with dementia and family carers
How is your work funded:
Currently by the ESRC, NIHR and Alzheimer’s Society
Tell us a little about yourself:
I am a psychologist, and currently the co-lead for a Dementia Network Plus called ‘SPIN-D‘ – Sustainable Prevention, Innovation and Involvement Network for Dementia. Being involved in the network is a great opportunity to enhance between different stakeholder groups, including: researchers, health and social care staff; people living with, or at risk of, dementia and their families; industry and policy makers. I have worked with with people with dementia and their families for 35 years now, both in research and in the NHS, and from before the time I qualified in clinical psychology.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself:
My car is a yellow electric Renault 5. I’m not really a ‘car person’, but this car has a presence that people seem to enjoy. I get approached in car parks by people keen to reminisce about the Renault 5(s) that they have owned. Lots of kids wave as part of the ‘Yellow Car’ game (not a game that I remember from my childhood, but seems to be played by all the primary school children in the area that we live in now).
Why did you choose to work in dementia?
My first job as a research assistant was in neuropsychological assessment in people with dementia and at the time I was just looking for a job in the place where I was living. However, I was pleased to get this particular job as ‘the brain’ is an amazing organ and there is still so much to learn about how it works. When I qualified as a clinical psychologist in the mid 1990s, I wanted to work with a population that was underserved by psychology. I took a post working in mental health in later life and with people with dementia of all ages and have never wanted to change specialty.
What single piece of advise would you give to an early-career researcher?
Publish
What book are you reading right now? Would you recommend it?
I’m between books, but plan to read Bob Mortimer’s ‘The Long Shoe’ next
Favourite film of all time?
Any films I’ve watched in the past 20 years have been ‘family viewing’ and I’d say our family favourite is Paddington 2.
Favourite ways to unplug and unwind?
My newest hobby is cryptic crosswords. I avoided them in the past as I had no idea where to even start with answers, but now I can sometimes (very occasionally) finish one! I still find sudokus easier, though. My personal challenge is to try to finish the hard sudoku in the Metro paper between getting on the Victoria line at Tottenham Hale and arriving at Warren Street. I’ve re-started knitting in recent years too.
What’s the best decision you ever made?
To have access to green space for kids.
What’s your favourite vacation spot?
I quite like the Italian Lakes. We were there this summer and I was reminded how nice they are. Impossible to get a good cup of tea there, though.
Do you collect anything?
Yes and no. I’m not a collector, but have collections of anything that might be useful one day. Bubble wrap, Amazon packaging, cardboard boxes, ribbons, tissue paper, safety pins, paperclips, those polythene pockets we used to keep paperwork in, and so on.
Adam Smith
