Crystal Liyadi is a Psychology placement student from The University of Manchester and is primarily working on the Bipolar At Risk (BART) II Trial. 

With aspirations of becoming a clinical psychologist, Crystal is driven to seek a range of opportunities. She was a research assistant on a project exploring the feasibility and effectiveness of delivering remote video-feedback intervention to promote positive parenting (VIPP). As a co-author, she assisted Dr. Wan in a systematic review on the cultural appropriation of story stem narrative assessment (paper currently under review). Hence, she is familiar with parent-child dynamics, handling confidential data, and conducting literature searches and reviews.

Previously, Crystal completed a short work placement as a primary school teaching assistant. She also volunteered at Migrant Support, an organisation that provides conversational English and writing classes to middle-aged immigrants. Her passion for inclusivity is also reflected through her involvement in “International Expert by Experience,” where international students gathered to discuss the common experiences in university and collectively produced additional guidance in the Academic Advisor handbook and training at the University of Manchester. As an ethnic minority, Crystal hopes to be part of the EDI and PPI Inclusivity projects to promote more culturally adapted research.

Crystal is currently volunteering at Alzheimer’s Society where she offers weekly calls to her clients to maintain their social engagement. Her previous experiences have sharpened her resilience, flexibility, time management, interpersonal skills and meticulousness.

Crystal is excited to be involved in BART II and various PPI projects. She looks forward to working with young people to better understand their experiences and apply them to research. By staying curious and enthusiastic, she hopes to make the most out of her placement at JUICE.

Some of Crystal’s interests include psychosis, neuroscience, physical health, developmental psychology and trauma. During her free time, she enjoys reading, cooking, going to the gym, and exploring new coffee and pastry shops.