Dr. Claire Tai integrates developmental psychology theories with clinical practice to design interventions supporting child and adolescent mental health and positive development. Her research journey began at Beijing Normal University, where she was a principal investigator of a Ministry of Education-funded studies on creativity in gifted and left-behind children—published in the Chinese Journal of Special Education—revealed how early environments shape cognitive potential in marginalized youth.

During her postgraduate study at the University of Pennsylvania, Claire expanded into biological-behavioural interfaces, conducting omega-3 supplementation trials for adolescents with aggression (presented at ISEE 2020) and advancing autism research through wearable stress-monitoring technology. Her findings on mindfulness-based school interventions appeared in Mindfulness, while work on COVID-19 impacts for neurodiverse families featured in the Journal of Global Health.

At the University of Edinburgh, Claire's doctoral research established parental cognitions as critical predictors of adolescent wellbeing. Using Bayesian analysis, she demonstrated attachment's moderating role in coping mechanisms—presented at the British Psychological Society's Developmental Psychology conferences (2024). This work unifies her earlier discoveries on environmental influences, biological interventions, and family dynamics.

Beyond research, Claire is a counsellor accredited with BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy) and COSCA (Counselling and Psychotherapy in Scotland). During her practice, Claire applies CBT techniques to support adults and young people with diverse mental health needs—including depression, anxiety, trauma, and eating disorders. Her frontline clinical experience informs both her research on adolescent mental health and her teaching methodologies. This scholar-practitioner approach ensures her work remains grounded in therapeutic efficacy while advancing evidence-based strategies for child development and family education.

Dr. Claire Tai’s research interests focus on investigating mechanisms that shape child and adolescent mental health, with emphasis on family-system dynamics and neurodevelopmental contexts. Her primary research investigates parental cognition pathways—specifically parental beliefs, attributions, and mentalisation capacities—that influence adolescents’ stress coping and psychological wellbeing. This work employs longitudinal designs and Bayesian analysis to quantify attachment’s moderating role in these relationships. Claire is also interested in examining how biological factors intersect with socioeconomic adversity or family environments.

Methodologically, Claire's approach integrates:

• Longitudinal and correlational research tracking psychosocial factors across development.
• Multivariate regression modelling to quantify predictors of mental health outcomes.
• Co-production frameworks that engage adolescents, parents, and schools as research partners to conduct impactful, translational research.

EDS452: Educational Counseling And Coaching

EDS 425: Development And Educational Psychology Across The Lifespan (Co-teacher)