Dr Gretchen Bjornstad (she/her/hers)

Gretchen is a Senior Lecturer and the Programme Manager for the Child Health and Maternity national priority programme in the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) South West Peninsula (PenARC).  She leads the SPaCE study, examining the prevalence of mental health conditions in parent carers of children with special educational needs and disabilities, as well as the barriers and facilitators to accessing mental health support for parent carers. Gretchen's research is focused on the evaluation, implementation, and development of evidence-based interventions for improving the health and well-being of children and families.

She completed her D.Phil. in the Department of Social Policy and Intervention at the University of Oxford in 2009. She specialises in trials and systematic reviews of interventions. She also has experience working with children in residential treatment settings and as a family counsellor.