Dr Lucy Foulkes

Dr Lucy Foulkes is an academic psychologist in the Department of Experimental Psychology. She holds a Prudence Trust Research Fellowship and a NIHR Senior Research Fellowship. Her group researches mental health and social development in adolescence, with a particular focus on the possible negative consequences of increased public mental health awareness. She is currently a Prudence Trust Research Fellow, investigating how school-based mental health interventions may have unintended negative effects.

Lucy completed her PhD (2011–15) and postdoc (2015–17) at UCL before moving to the University of York for a lectureship (2018–20). Her first book, What Mental Illness Really Is (…and what it isn’t), was published by Penguin Random House in 2021. Her second book, Coming Of Age: How Adolescence Shapes Us, was published by Penguin Random House in 2024. Her work has been featured in national and international media outlets including The Guardian, The Times, New Scientist, BBC Radio 4, BBC Newsnight and The New York Times.