Having trained as a psychological therapist in 2009, a central feature of Al Laville’s practice focuses on developing good interpersonal relationships and collaboration with student partners to advance pedagogic practice in meaningful and impactful ways.
Al joined the University of Reading in 2011, working as a Clinical Educator in the world-renowned Charlie Waller Institute for Evidence-based Psychological Therapies. As Al is passionate about embedding diversity and inclusion within the teaching of psychological therapies, key aspects of his teaching include a focus on sexual orientation, disability and wellbeing. He has conducted multiple student-staff partnership projects to develop wellbeing support within the student journey and has embedded SMART wellbeing goals within the curriculum for undergraduate teaching in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.
This passion is also reflected in Al’s scholarship and research, which has transformed student experience policy at the University of Reading. His diversity and inclusion in student experience projects have been disseminated at national level and international level to inform the practice of other teachers. Based on the reach, value and impact of Al’s practice, he was appointed as the University of Reading’s Dean for Diversity and Inclusion in 2020.
Al has developed the university’s strategic diversity and inclusion portfolio to include a significant focus on student experience and attainment, and this is reflected in his lead role in this area for the University of Reading Race Equality Review (2021). Al is now leading the university’s Decolonising the Curriculum project to further transform institutional pedagogic practice and student experience. Al has been a member of many professional body committees, including the British Psychological Society Presidential Taskforce for Diversity and Inclusion, and the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies Scientific Advisory Committee.
One example of Al’s impact is his lead role on the British Psychological Society Diversity and Inclusion clinical vignette project (2021), which has transformed the teaching of psychological therapy programmes in the UK. In his role on the Scientific Advisory Committee, Al leads on national CPD for psychological therapists and ensures both discipline-specific CPD and diversity and inclusion CPD are available to ensure holistic development of practitioners.