Dr Faye Horsley

Assistant Professor

School: Psychology

Dr Faye Horsley is a registered forensic psychologist with over 15 years of experience working within the criminal justice system. Faye has worked in adult prisons and forensic hospitals ranging from high to low security, as well as with young people and forensic service users in the community. As a practitioner Faye specialises in the assessment of sexually violent and violent offenders, including those convicted of arson. Faye's research expertise is arson and firesetting. She completed her Ph.D at Durham University in January 2020. Her thesis is entitled Arson Reconceptualised: the Continuum of Fire Use. Faye joined Northumbria University as a senior lecturer in psychology in December 2021.

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Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

Faye's main research interest is the psychological and social significance of fire, and human interaction with fire. This is based on her own conceptualisation of fire use as a dimensional construct, ranging from non-criminalised to criminalised behaviour. Faye employs qualitative and quantitative methods to explore factors which influence how people engage with fire, and the beliefs/ attitudes they hold towards it. Faye draws upon interdisciplinary perspectives in her work, and has a particular interest in the social construction of fire and the influence of culture. As a practitioner forensic psychologist, the focus of Faye's work is arson reduction and prevention. She recently took the lead on a project exploring deliberate firesetting in the North East of England, commissioned by North East Fire and Rescue Services (FRS). She continues to collaborate with FRS colleagues.

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Fire Messaging: a qualitative exploration of how adults teach children about fire, Horsley, F., Birrell, E., Gouldthorp, G., Kohli, D., McLackland, F., Taylor, E. 14 Nov 2024, In: Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice
Non-criminalised fire use and self-concept: a preliminary grounded theory study, Lee, R., Horsley, F., McKeown, A. 24 Nov 2023, In: Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice
A pilot evaluation of Enhanced Case Management within a Youth Offending Service: Practitioners’ experiences of trauma-informed formulation, Martin, A., Robson, A., Horsley, F., Kennedy, P. Feb 2022, In: Clinical Psychology Forum
Clinical and forensic assessment of firesetting, Horsley, F. 30 Dec 2022, Further Case Studies in Forensic Psychology, London, Taylor & Francis
Exploring explicit and implicit correlates of early anti-social fire exposure and everyday fire use in adulthood, Kathryn Horsley, F., James, T., Baker, N., Broughton, R., Hampton, X., Knight, A., Langford, I., Pomfrey, E., Unsworth, L. 10 Aug 2022, In: Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice
Guest editorial: Firesetting special edition, Horsley, F. 10 Aug 2022, In: Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice
Invited paper: Legitimacy of fire use: investigating the Continuum of Fire Use Theory (CoFUT), Hope, J., Horsley, F. 18 Feb 2022, In: Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice
Arson and firesetting: a new conceptualisation, Horsley, F. May 2021, Forensic Psychology, Hoboken, New Jersey, Blackwell Publishing
New perspectives on arson and firesetting: the human-fire relationship, Horsley, F. 29 Sep 2021
The fire - fire user relationship: a grounded theory of criminalised fire users' experiences, Horsley, F. 2 Nov 2021, In: Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology

Professional Activity

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Editorial work: Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice (Journal) 2022
Editorial work: Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice - Special Edition on Arson and Firesetting (Journal) 2020
Membership of committee: British Psychological Society Division of Forensic Psychology Training Committee (External organisation) 2018