Dr Soljana Cili

Biography

BIOGRAPHY
Dr Soljana Çili has a first class Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) from the University of Malta and a PhD in Psychology from the University of Southampton. She has taught at various universities in the UK, at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. At the London College of Fashion, Dr Çili teaches units related to personality and individual differences, research methods, and group dynamics and processes in the course MSc Applied Psychology in Fashion. She establishes and manages collaborations between MSc students and external partners as part of the Psychology Collaborative Unit. She is also a member of the Psychology Ethics Review Panel, as well as the College’s Research Degrees Sub-Committee, REF Panel, and Academic Misconduct Panel. Dr Çili supervises MSc and PhD research projects which investigate fashion and the fashion industry from a psychological perspective. She has published her research in peer-reviewed psychology journals and presented it in national and international conferences. In addition, she is an ad hoc reviewer for several cognitive, social, and clinical psychology journals. Dr Çili is a Chartered Psychologist.

RESEARCH INTERESTS
Memory-self relationship; Narrative identity; Self-defining memories; Impact of fashion and fashion industry practices on individuals’ sense of self and well-being; Trauma; Psychopathology; Intrusive mental imagery; Cognitive-behavioural therapy; Imagery rescripting

RESEARCH STATEMENT
Dr Çili’s research has three main aims:
1) Understand the way in which individuals’ sense of self develops and is shaped by life events and environmental factors (e.g., adverse experiences, exposure to fashion and media images, working in the fashion industry);
2) Understand the way in which life events and environmental factors influence individuals’ psychological well-being and contribute to psychological disorders;
3) Understand mechanisms of change in cognitive-behavioural interventions such as imagery rescripting.