Staff Profile | Faculty of Medical Sciences

Research Interests

My research interests stem from and inform my work as a  psychological therapist. I am a clinician in an Early Intervention in Psychosis service in the NHS. In this role I work with people who have suffered distressing psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations or delusional beliefs. The task I have as a clinician is to work collaboratively with a person to make sense of how and why they experienced the problems they had, how they can manage any persisting difficulties, and what will help keep them well in the future. Consequently, as a researcher I am interested in improving our understanding of the processes that lead a person to experience distressing psychotic symptoms like voices, or visual hallucinations. This research shapes and refines the models we draw on to help understand the development and maintenance of the distressing symptoms. This process of drawing on an empirically supported model and marrying it to the unique experience of the person is called formulation. This formulation aids the process of selecting the optimal interventions that helps alleviates a person’s distress and helps them remain well. Hence, I have two main areas of research interest which cover a) psychological processes in hallucinations and delusions, and b) formulation in cognitive behavioural therapy.

Postgraduate Supervision

I currently supervise a number of doctorate of clinical psychology research projects as well as a part time PhD. I have supervised successfully to completion a Ph.D,  2 M.Phils, a Doctorate of Counselling Psychology award, and around 60  Doctorate of Clinical Psychology degrees.

Grants

I have a number of research projects underway at the moment funded by NIHR

Co-applicant i4i NIHR award “Immersive virtual reality to transform the lives of patients with psychosis”. £3,957,119.00 PI Daniel Freeman, University of Oxford. Funding from 2018-2021.

Co-applicant HTA NIHR “Multisite Randomised Controlled Trial of Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for psychosis (TF-CBTp) to reduce post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in patients with co-morbid PTSD and psychosis, compared to usual treatment: the TRUST (TRaUma and pSychosis Therapy) trial. £1,526,049 PI Emmanuelle Peters, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. Funding from 2020-2024

Chief Investigator Research for Patient benefit NIHR “Managing Unusual Sensory Experiences (MUSE): A feasibility trial of a targeted, psycho-education toolkit for distressing hallucinations, in people with a first episode of psychosis. £250,000 from 2021-2023

Co-applicant NIHR ARC funding An evaluation of the implementation of 5Ps plus plan (Formulation) in CNTW NHS Foundation Trust. £63891. PI Toby Brandon, Northumbria University and Emily Lennie CNTW. 2020-2022.