My name is Magdalena Furgalska and I am a PhD Candidate at the Law School, University of Birmingham. My research is fully funded by the Economic and Social Research Council Midlands Graduate School Doctoral Training Partnership (ESRC MGS DTP). This research is supervised by Professor Rosie Harding (Birmingham Law School) and Dr Emma Oakley (Birmingham Law School).
My primary research interest lies in how the law can be used to improve the experiences of mental health treatment by providing psychiatric survivors with more options, greater legal protection and increased autonomy in decision-making processes.
I believe that law should be made in accordance with the needs of the society and as such I privilege the meanings people assign to their experiences in my research.
Prior to starting my PhD, I have gained a Law Degree (LLB) from the University of Hull, Law Masters (LLM) from the University of Birmingham and the MA in Social Research from the University of Birmingham. I have also worked in various capacities at a leading set of Barristers’ Chambers in Birmingham throughout my studies.
Outside of my PhD studies, I have also worked on a number of research projects which were informed by experiences of everyday life. These were in the following aspects of law: supported decision-making, supported will-making, medical law and ethics, reproductive rights, criminal law and counter-terrorism.
This is my academic doctoral researcher profile.
Feel free to ask any questions about my background or anything mentioned above.