This week we are excited to profile four new Medical Humanities in Practice Research Fellows, who are joining us for their first in-person session on Thursday 19 June 2025. First up is Estelle Verdi, who is currently Principal Counselling Psychologist and Service Lead for the West Yorkshire Maternal Mental Health Service – Paths at South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. Here we catch up with Estelle about her research project on ‘Illuminating Grief: Mental Health Support for Muslim Women Experiencing Baby Loss’ and her plans for the Fellowship.
If your research was a film, what would the title be?
In our own words: A film about baby loss, grief and healing for Muslim women. The film would explore the use of poetry and creative methods to illuminate the often unspoken experiences of baby loss. Through creative expression and shared storytelling the film would invite women to give voice to their experience. Acknowledging stories as they are told, in the words of those who have lived them.
What will you be doing during your Medical Humanities in Practice Research Fellowship?
I will be creating a scoping review of the literature in the area focusing on creative health as a means of exploring common narratives and explanations that Muslim women may use to understand baby loss. I look forward to connecting and collaborating with medical humanities researchers to enhance participatory research ideas and the benefit of the research to the community I will serve. I will then move to meeting with a wide range of stakeholders such as healthcare providers, community centres and women and families to co-design the research and inform a series of workshops or individual sessions to explore the use of poetry to express grief, feel heard and seen, and make sense of baby loss.
What expertise and experiences will you be drawing on?
I have a professional doctorate in Counselling Psychology qualifying in 2011. Since then I have worked in mental health, specialising in Perinatal Mental Health since 2018. During this time I have acted as Site Lead and Principal Investigator for a national randomised controlled trial which allowed me to develop research skills and participate in research as a facilitator of the Circle of Security parenting intervention.
I am currently the Service Lead for the West Yorkshire Maternal Mental Health Service – Paths. The aim of this service is to meet the needs of women and birthing parents with moderate to severe and complex mental health difficulties as a result of birth trauma, baby loss (including loss via removal due to social care proceedings) and severe fear of birth.
Why are you excited about working in the medical humanities?
I’m really looking forwards to working with a range of interdisciplinary experts and learning from others to enhance my research for the benefit of the people I serve.
What changes would you like to see as a result of your research?
An opportunity to amplify women’s voices from the research and yield greater insight and awareness into the experience of baby loss within Muslim women. I would like to see changes in access to mental health services for diverse communities in future as well as culturally sensitive and adapted interventions.
What interests or hobbies do you have outside of your research that might surprise people?
I enjoy long distance walks and hiking up mountains. I recently walked from Whitby to Saltburn with a friend over 2 days which was a great experience. I also enjoy keeping fit with spinning and lifting weights.
We warmly welcome Estelle to the Discovery Research Platform and look forward to working with her.
This year four Medical Humanities in Practice Research Fellowships were awarded to support the delivery of novel research projects from June 2025 to June 2026. We will be launching another Fellowship application round for 2026 to 2027 in October – if you are interested in the scheme, please keep an eye out on our website and social media.
Find out more about our Medical Humanities in Practice Research Fellows:
