Keisha York is an ESRC (LISS DTP) funded PhD student who joined King’s in September 2021.

Her research relates to virtual reality, diversity management and technological innovations for human resource development. Specifically, she investigates the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) diversity training on UK employee’s diversity knowledge, implicit bias, and effective communication skills.

Keisha is also a guest lecturer on the MSc Organisational Psychiatry & Psychology programme, and supports non-governmental organisations on root cause analyses, strategic interventions for workplace wellbeing and cultural transformations.

She withholds an MSc in Organisational Psychiatry & Psychology from King’s College London, and BSc in Criminology & Psychology from the University of Southampton.

Research Interests: 

• Diversity Management and Training
• Virtual Reality for Human Resource Management
• Digital Transformation
• Organisational Change and Culture
• Mental Health and Wellbeing at Work

Research Groups: 

• Cognitive Science Investigation Lab: https://www.csilab.org/keisha-york
• IoPPN Virtual Reality Lab: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/research/vrlab 

Orcid ID: 

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3800-5811 

Teaching: 

Keisha teaches Diversity Management and Critical Thinking Skills on the Organisational Psychiatry & Psychology MSc programme.

Expertise and Public Engagement: 

Keisha is the founder of the BiPP Network ­– a professional network organisation which has educated over 300 members and nine stakeholders, including King’s College London, NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre, Royal Holloway University and Queen Mary University, on racial inequities and career development in the psychology field. This work has been recognised by the British Psychological Society, Royal College of Psychiatrists and UK Houses of Parliament.

Key Publications: 

• Young, K., Purves, K., Hübel, C., Davies, M., Thompson, K., Bristow, S., York, K., Breen, G. (2023). Depression, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK. Psychological Medicine, 53(12), 5428-5441. doi:10.1017/S0033291722002501 
• York, K. (2020). BAME representation and psychology. Psychologist, 33, 4-4. Retrieved from https://www.bps.org.uk/psychologist/bame-representation-and-psychology