He was appointed Professor of Osteopathy and Philosophy by the University of Bedfordshire in 2006 and made Professor at Kristiania University College, Oslo in 2011, where he continues to have a part-time appointment. He continued in practice 2 days a week in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, until the end of 2017, when health problems forced him to retire.

Stephen’s main academic interest is in the Philosophy of Medicine and Healthcare, which began with a MA in Philosophy of Medicine and Healthcare from the University of Wales in 1989.  His PhD was awarded by the Open University in 2001 with a thesis on 'The Concept of Function in Osteopathy and Orthodox Medicine'.

His current projects include: exploring the implications of the organism-mechanism dichotomy for osteopathy; developing a health-focused and values-based approach to clinical practice; exploring uncertainty as the proper epistemological basis for healthcare practice; and developing an ecological narrative of healthcare.  He is currently working with Prof K. W. M Fulford at the Collaborating Centre for Values-Based Practice at Oxford University and the General Osteopathic Council, to develop a values-based practice foundation for osteopathic regulation in the UK.  He is involved in CauseHealth, a funded collaboration between universities in the UK and Norway examining the concept of causation in healthcare.

Publications in the Journals of Medicine, Healthcare and Philosophy, Philosophy Psychiatry and Psychology, Nursing Philosophy, Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, The British Journal of General Practice, The Practitioner and the International Journal of Osteopathic Medicine (IJOM) for which he was Guest Editor for a Special Edition on Osteopathic Education, published in 2014.  He has two chapters in the recent Textbook of Osteopathic Medicine (2018) published by Elsevier.