Dr Gary Wood

About me:

Gary's coaching and goal setting book is: Don't Wait For Your Ship To Come In. . . Swim Out To Meet It

 [ Dr Gary Wood ]

Blogging at: PsyCentral

Principally I'm a social psychologist and a personal coach which often finds me working in diverse arenas from corporate consultancy to the press, to radio and television and, of course, the lecture theatre. 

I'm committed to combining academic rigour with an engaging and accessible approach to bring psychological insights to all aspects of human social life. My work falls into five main categories of: psychologist, research consultant, personal coach, writer and broadcaster.

Psychologist: My background is in applied human psychology and social psychology. I have 14 years experience of teaching psychology in UK universities to a wide range of students from undergraduates, to part-time mature students, to post-grads. At present I teach social psychology in The School of Education, University of Birmingham. I'm also an honorary senior research associate at University College London, and research associate to Brook in Birmingham. I'm a Fellow of The Higher Education Academy, and a Chartered Member of the International Association of Positive Psychology.

Research Consultant: I'm also a research consultant for a range of public and private organizations advising on all aspects of research from design, through to analysis, report writing and also media briefings. Clients have included: American Airlines, BBC, BBFC, The Birmingham Rep, Brook Advisory, The Communications Research Group, Heart of Birmingham Teaching PCT, HotBed Media, ITC, Learning and Skills Council, Lexis PR, Powergen, Royal Free Hospital, and West Midlands Police Authority. I'm also an experienced focus group moderator and research interviewer.

Personal Coach: Building on my psychological training, I have undertaken several life coaching qualification and now maintain a caseload of clients and regularly contribute coaching principles to media features. For the popular men's lifestyle website, www.mansized.co.uk, I'm the life editor.

Writer: As well as publishing on a range of topics in the academic arena, I published my first self-help book in 2005 (Sex, Lies & Stereotypes). I also contributes quizzes and reviews for a range of publications including eve, Times Higher Education Review, and The Psychologist. I have had regular features in eve magazine and currently agony uncle in More magazine. I have also contributed features to The Lovers' Guide Magazine and have been a consultant to Anne Diamond's Daily Mail advice column. Quotes from me frequently appear in the media. My goal-setting and coaching book Don't Wait For Your Ship To Come In. . .Swim Out To Meet It is published April 2008 by Capstone.

Broadcaster: I regularly contribute expert analysis across the spectrum of media, from light entertainment to national and local news features. Appearances include: Big Brother’s Little Brother discussing first impressions and group dynamics, Money Spinners giving a body language master class, a documentary on male grooming, a series for UK Style on the psychology of Christmas presents, BBC's The Big Questions with Nicky Campbell and resident life-coach on the Trisha Goddard show for the ‘Campaign for Change’. Key radio appearances include: Woman’s Hour, You and Yours, BBC Asian Network, and is a regular panellist on Five Live’s The Late Show.

Lifelong Learner: As a committed lifelong learner I continue to seek out new opportunities for my own personal and professional development. To this end I have attended courses on meditation, reiki, creative visualization, voice-training and media training. In In August 2007, I attended an intensive Summer School at the Birmingham School of Acting (BSA) which rekindled my love of theatre. I have since attended weekly acting classes at the BSA, creative scriptwriting at the Midlands Arts Centre and am now continuing acting training at The Birmingham Theatre School.

Needless to say, all of these courses help bring fresh input and insight to all aspects of my life and work.