Dr Richard HassallAcademic

Biography

Dr Richard Hassall is an Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Nottingham. He is a qualified clinical psychologist, now retired, having previously worked in child and adolescent mental health services and services for people with intellectual disabilities. After retirement he enrolled at the University of Sheffield to study philosophy, completing a PhD in 2022; his thesis argued that receipt of a DSM-based psychiatric diagnosis can cause the recipient to become a victim of hermeneutical injustice. His research centres on the nature of psychiatric diagnostic categories, the biomedical model of psychopathology underlying them, and the impact such diagnoses have on the self-narratives of recipients. He has published on these themes in peer-reviewed journals including the Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice and Educational and Child Psychology, and is listed as a member of the Centre for Engaged Philosophy.

References

1. 1.Richard Hassall – University of Nottingham, Academia.edu — Confirms honorary research fellow role at University of Nottingham Department of Philosophy; retired clinical psychologist background in CAMHS and intellectual disabilities; PhD at Sheffield completed 2022; research focus on psychiatric diagnosis and hermeneutical injustice
2. 2.Sense-making and hermeneutical injustice following a psychiatric diagnosis – PubMed — Confirms 2024 peer-reviewed publication in Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice on psychiatric diagnosis and hermeneutical injustice
3. 3.Psychiatric Diagnosis and Hermeneutical Injustice: The Impact of Biomedical Diagnoses on Personal Narratives – White Rose eTheses — Confirms PhD thesis title, completion in 2022, and career history as a clinical psychologist informing the research
4. 4.Richard Hassall (@RHHassall) on X — Account self-identifies as 'Ret'd clinical psychologist & Hon Research Fellow, Philosophy Dept, Nottingham University', corroborating role and affiliation
5. 5.Members – Centre for Engaged Philosophy

Expertise

Cited on

• Mental health

Stated areas of expertise

• Philosophy of psychiatry
• Psychiatric diagnosis and epistemic injustice
• Mental health and self-narrative
• Biomedical model of psychopathology
• Autism spectrum disorder diagnosis
• Child and adolescent mental health

Notable achievements

• Published 'Sense-making and hermeneutical injustice following a psychiatric diagnosis' in the Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice (2024), arguing that psychiatric diagnosis can constitute hermeneutical injustice as described by Miranda Fricker. Source ↗
• Completed a PhD in philosophy at the University of Sheffield in 2022, with a thesis titled 'Psychiatric Diagnosis and Hermeneutical Injustice: The Impact of Biomedical Diagnoses on Personal Narratives'. Source ↗
• Published a conceptual paper on autism spectrum disorder diagnosis in Educational and Child Psychology (2017), questioning whether ASD represents a distinct psychological natural kind. Source ↗

What they’ve said

• “It is sensible that questions of overdiagnosis should be addressed in this review. It is the malevolent leaders of Reform UK who are jumping on to a bandwagon here, not Streeting.”

  clinical psychologist · Mental health · 27 Aug 2026 · Wes Streeting is right to examine questions of overdiagnosis | Letters ↗

• “Prof Rippon also criticises the case study of Mason, used in the documentary, for not being a scientific experiment. But this implies a very narrow positivist view of what scientific inquiry involves.”

  Honorary research fellow, department of philosophy, University of Nottingham · Mental health · 27 Aug 2026 · ADHD is no myth – but we should interrogate it all the same | Letters ↗

Source references

1. Wes Streeting is right to examine questions of overdiagnosis | Letterstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
2. ADHD is no myth – but we should interrogate it all the same | Letterstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026

Contact & links

• Xhttps://x.com/RHHassall
• Staff pagehttps://nottingham.academia.edu/RichardHassall
• Websitehttps://engagedphilosophy.org/members/

Organisational contact points only, each taken from a page the organisation publishes itself. No personal or direct contact details are held or shown.