The ZSA essay competition was organised by University of Central Lancashire on behalf of the Suicide and Self-Harm Reduction North West network and asked the question…
Have the rates of self-harm and suicide increased during the Covid-19 lockdowns and pandemic, in the UK and globally, and how might we explain these findings?
We were delighted by the quality of the entries and are pleased to announce that the winner of the ZSA competition is Chloe Morris! You can read Chloe’s winning essay here.
Chloe was awarded £500 for her winning essay and was presented with her certificate of achievement by Elaine Darbyshire from the Zero Suicide Alliance and Professor Andrew Ireland from the University of Central Lancashire.
Competition organiser and judge, Dr Kathryn Gardner said: “We were extremely impressed with the entries we received for this competition, from a diverse range of people. Competition entries were judged by a panel of members from the Suicide and Self-Harm Research North-West (SSHaRe NoW) network and the Zero Suicide Alliance.
Several essays were strong contenders, but the winning essay by Chloe Morris was unanimously selected by judges as the essay that best captured trends in self-harm and suicide during the pandemic, whilst showing a good understanding of the issues and constructing balanced arguments to articulate potential explanations for these trends”
About the winner
Chloe attended the University of Lincoln for her Undergraduate degree and obtained a first class BSc (hons) in Psychology with Forensic Psychology. Chloe continued her studies in Psychology, by securing her place on UCLan’s MSc Applied Clinical Psychology course, for which she is currently studying. In addition to her academic studies. Chloe has been volunteering for SHOUT, the mental health crisis texting service since March 2021 and has helped over 250 texters in that time, becoming a level 6 Crisis Volunteer. Chloe is also currently a Bank Mental Health Recovery Worker at Doncaster Crisis Accommodation.
Well done Chloe!