Author archives: Tamar Pincus

About Tamar Pincus

Tamar Pincus is the Dean of The Faculty for Environment and Life Sciences (FELS) at the University of Southampton. She took up the role in June 2022, moving from Royal Holloway, University of London, where she was Executive Dean for the Faculty of Life Sciences and the Environment. Tamar is a Professor in Health Psychology, and a registered practicing practitioner with the Health and Care Professionals Council. Her research into psychological aspects of chronic pain spans 30 years, has been cited by guidelines, and has changed practice on the ground. She was the Director of the research centre for the study of pain and well-being at Royal Holloway, and she is a core member of the Consortium to Research Individual, Interpersonal and Social Influences in Pain (CRIISP), which focuses on how people perceive pain and how others affect their pain, as well as considering wider social and environmental influences on pain.. Her research includes experiment approaches to explore psychological mechanisms in pain, observation studies to measure risk over time, trials to test effectiveness, and qualitative work, to examine the thoughts and beliefs of people living with pain and those who are part of their life. Examples include investigations of cognitive biases in people living with pain; the psychological predictors for poor outcome in low back pain, and the study of clinicians’ beliefs and behaviours and their effect on patients with pain, especially in reference to effective reassurance and return to work. She has been a core team member of many randomized controlled trials, and regularly provides advice on behavior change. Her practical work has focused on training practitioners in effective communication skills and fostering awareness of patients’ psychological needs and concerns, and her on-line videos have been viewed widely across the world.