Hello, INPM community. I am a PhD student at Leeds University in the UK. I embarked on my academic career in 2013 at the ripe old age of 44, when I started my BSc in Psychology, Counselling and Therapies. For my dissertation I explored Death Cafes to understand the social identity processes and the social support needs of individuals who attended. This then took me to a Masters of Research, where in my review of the literature I found an article by Paul Wong regarding death acceptance and Meaning Management Theory and this shaped my research. I found an area that explained what I felt about death and how to research death with a more positive twist. Upon completing my MRes I started my PhD at Leeds in February 2020, just in time for the COVID lockdown. My topic of research is still death and dying and exploring the death positivity movement and individuals who attend the events, to understand the types of conversations people have in respect of death and dying. I am looking forward to where my research is going to take me.
Alex Pinto, PhD student, School of Healthcare, University of Leeds
Twitter: @alexpinto50