I am a licensed psychologist, educator, and queer scholar, currently an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Warwick and, from November 2025, a Research Associate at the University of Bath.
My main research interests include carceral care, self-harm as a social
practice, and the cultural politics of mental health.
Between 2022-2025, I held a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship at Warwick and UC Berkeley, where I led a qualitative study exploring self-destruction, power, pleasure, resistance, and pain in UK prisons. I have also worked as an educator and researcher in prisons in the USA (San Quentin) and Cyprus.
My academic background bridges psychology, gender studies, and critical theory, with a strong focus on community engagement and collective organising.
I hold a PhD in Gender Studies from the University of Cyprus, and both a BA and MA in Psychology from Panteion University in Athens.
Working as an educator in Central Prison of Cyprus for five years impacted and changed my ontological and epistemological perspective toward prisons and prisoners. I have worked extensively with psychiatric patients in social care homes (2010-2019) and have a unique experience of working with both institutions. I have also taken part in many local and European projects as a researcher about LGBTQ issues, queer parenting, and prison studies.
Outside of academia, I have teamed up with queer/feminist anarchy groups in Cyprus to offer solidarity to immigrants issues, domestic workers’ issues and the reunification of the island.
I also train as an amateur triathlete, and I push my physical boundaries through the disciplines of swimming, running and cycling. This practice offers me an embodied and gendered knowledge about pain and pleasure among triathlon and running communities.
︎ Get in touch: elena.Vasiliou@warwick.ac.uk
︎ CV Vasiliou 2025
︎ academia.edu