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Miss Deepti Ramaswamy

Profile summary

  • Research Student
  • Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences
  • School of Psychology & Counselling
  • Psychology

Professional biography

I am an accredited psychotherapist with a special interest in trauma with experience of working in various settings within the NHS such as CAMHS, Primary Care, Eating Disorders, Prison and Veterans Complex Treatment Services. I have also worked overseas in the humanitarian sector as a mental health specialist in conflict areas such as Iraq, Syria and Myanmar.  

I joined the Open University to pursue doctoral research in 2021 to explore questions related to trauma, identity and engagement with extremism.

Research interests

I am interested in exploring the following questions: 

  • How do experiences people's traumatic and adverse life experiences including marginalisation, victimisation and discrimination influence an individual's sense of identity and self-story? 
  • How do these factors affect people post-disengagement? 
  • How does identity interact with and influence the development of extremist states of mind and identification and engagement with extremist groups? 
  • Can psychological therapy support people to understand their life experiences to help them see themselves, others and the world differently and therefore tell a different story?

I am currently recruiting former extremists from the far-right and Islamist groups who are interested in exploring these questions and accessing confidential psychological therapy to help with the psychological after effects of extremist engagement such as anxiety, depression, guilt or shame. I can be contacted at deepti.ramaswamy@open.ac.uk