Thomas completed his BSc and MSc in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Loughborough University. He now works as a Research Assistant with Dr Thomas Rietveld and Professor Vicky Tolfrey within the Peter Harrison Centre for Disability Sport, researching wheelchair tennis and grass courts.
Prior to his RA role, Thomas research focus was on mental health in elite sport, specifically help-seeking behaviours of athletes. Whilst working with Jamie Barker, Carolyn Plateau, and Janine Coates in the School of Sport, Exercise, and Health Sciences at Loughborough University, he published his research “Exploring the barriers and facilitators to mental health help-seeking in British elite track and field athletes” in the Journal of Applied Sport Psychology.
Through working in the Peter Harrison Centre, Thomas has assisted on various projects aligned with disability sport such as investigating competition structures in the UK for sitting volleyball, monitoring and evaluating the Inspire a Generation programme for British Wheelchair Basketball, and monitoring and evaluating para talent identification for UK Sport.
Alongside his research activities, Thomas is a Sport and Exercise Psychologist (In Training) through the British Psychological Society.
He works on national talent pathways, such as the Youth Talent Programme and Diploma in Sporting Excellence, as a sport psychologist for England Athletics and Sheffield United Football Club.
Featured publication
- Miller, T. W., Coates, J., Plateau, C. R., & Barker, J. B. (2023). Exploring the barriers and facilitators to mental health help-seeking behaviours in British elite track and field athletes. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 1-21. DOI: 10.1080/10413200.2023.2197962