Research Community

Amanda Bonson is a PhD student and a qualified Cognitive Behavioural Therapist. She currently works as a Research Therapist at Combat Stress, the UK's leading Veterans' mental health charity, where she is delivering a novel treatment of moral injury to military Veterans. Amanda's PhD thesis will be an exploration of predictors of treatment outcomes for UK military Veterans with moral injury. Amanda has a special interest in translational research in clinical treatment of trauma, particularly in military and Veteran populations. 

Over 15 years experience in harvesting real-world evidence from front line of everyday practice in a veterans' charity Serving veterans and family members. Production of high quality practice-based data, submission for independent analysis and peer reviewed articles published by Kings College London and timely independent reports produced by Nottingham Trent University, Independent economic analysis conducted by Pro Bono Economics demonstrating the economic and social benefit of the charity. Currently involved in 2 year study called 'Project ITQ' tracking veterans and family members of veterans through treatment investigating the shift from Complex PTSD to no PTSD in treatment.

The Traumatic Stress Research Group is an interdisciplinary team with a mission to improve the health and well-being of individuals exposed to traumatic events. The organization aims to improve understanding of traumatic stress through high-quality, externally funded research, as well as develop effective and cost-efficient interventions for individuals experiencing psychosocial difficulties after traumatic incidents. They also aim to build strong interdisciplinary global collaborations, increase research capacity in the traumatic stress field, and disseminate evidence-based knowledge. 

Catherine is a Senior Research Data Scientist at RAND Europe whose work primarily focuses on applying statistical modelling to data on the Armed Forces community, such as forecasting the size and demographics of the Armed Forces community out to 2040, estimating the cost and prevalence of poor transitions from the Armed Forces and understanding the interactions of Armed Forces children with the social care system. Catherine’s research has focused on understanding and supporting the Armed Forces Community across a wide range of issues since 2022, with projects for the Ministry of Defence, Royal British Legion, RAF Benevolent Fund, Greenwich Hospital, the OVA and FiMT.

The Centre for Evidence for the Armed Forces Community is an independent centre funded by Forces in Mind Trust and run by a consortium of RAND Europe and King’s Centre for Military Health Research (KCMHR) at King’s College London. The centre provides an accessible and authoritative evidence base exploring the transition from military to civilian life, to inform policy and practice affecting ex-Service personnel and their families in the UK. It also functions as a community hub for the UK Armed Forces research community, connecting researchers, policy makers, and service providers, to support the forging of joined up working and collaboration, and build pathways to impact. This is achieved through various outputs, including but not limited to, a accessible online research repository, informative themed research and policy summaries and primary research exploring key themes impacting the UK ex-Service community. 

The Centre for Injury Studies formerly known as The Centre for Blast Injury Studies (CBIS) at Imperial College London. It is an expansion of CBIS’ previous remit, with the work going beyond a focus on Serving military personnel and veterans, to also include research into the significant number of civilians who are injured during conflicts around the world. The research considers those who are injured and works closely with those who treat conflict injuries to be able to improve treatment, mitigation and rehabilitation. This includes research into personal protective equipment, surgery and devices (such as medical equipment, prosthetics and orthotics). By embedding civilian and military health professionals, scientists and engineers within the Centre, this centre continues to deliver change through new technology, equipment and policies.

The Centre for Military Gambling Research (MilGAM) is the multi-disciplinary centre of excellence for all aspects of military-related research on gambling harm.

The aim of MilGAM is to coordinate and direct the growing body of research evidence on military gambling research and to act as a clearinghouse, training provider, and to advance evidence-based knowledge generation and dissemination.

The Centre for Military Women’s Research (CMWR)’s core mission is to inform and improve the well-being of women in the military and Veteran community through world-leading collaborative research and evaluation. Their work highlights women’s experiences, issues, and support needs and the centre is dedicated to fostering co-production with members of the military community and collaboration with partners and stakeholders.

Charlotte Williamson is a doctoral student at King’s Centre for Military Health Research, King’s College London. Her PhD seeks to explore self-harm and suicide behaviours in the UK Armed Forces using a mixed-methods design. Prior to commencing her PhD, she worked as a Research Assistant across several research projects in the field of military mental health, at both Combat Stress and the King's Centre for Military Health Research. Her research interests include self-harm and suicidality, military mental health, and using digital technology in mental health care.

Chloe Storer is a third-year PhD student at King's College London and Imperial War Museums. She was awarded AHRC CDP funding for her PhD which explores narratives of Operation Herrick told over time. She also has a distinction level MA in Public History and a first class History degree, both from Royal Holloway, University of London. Her historical interests include social and cultural history.  She specialises in the history and experience of Warfare, and is interested in exploring material culture further in the future. She is an experienced oral historian, working both on her PhD and a new project LOUD Fence which explores child sexual assault. 

As a trainee health psychologist, I am focused on understanding and improving mental health pathways for UK Armed Forces veterans. Drawing on my own lived experience as a veteran, and my work alongside a range of veteran organisations across the UK, I am particularly interested in why many veterans struggle to engage with, or benefit from, standard PTSD treatments such as CBT, EMDR and pharmacotherapy. My research examines how cultural competence, systemic barriers and loss of trust shape veterans’ experiences of care. I also explore emerging interventions—especially psychedelic‑assisted psychotherapy—for those with treatment‑resistant PTSD or moral injury. Overall, my work aims to inform policy and develop more holistic, veteran‑centred models of care that enhance choice, acceptability and long‑term recovery.