News
As a leading institute for psychological research the Psychology Department and it's members are often in the news.
In this section you can find some of the most recent interviews by and projects of our departmental members.
November 2012
Hope Clayton has won a competition with FindAMasters to get a bursary toward her MSc with a YouTube video she submitted. Please see link below for her innovative video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQw3bMx8uYk
Can virtual reality help soldiers with PTSD?
BBC World News - 25th September 2012
Dr Jennifer Wild discusses the use of virtual reality in treating soldiers with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. She says the technology would not replace face to face contact with a therapist, but could be useful in bringing soldiers back to the site of the traumatic experience.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIWtuWtLhqo
July 2012
In July, Professor Arnoud Arntz, from Maastricht University, The Netherlands was invited to give a special lecture at the IoP on “Schema Therapy for Personality Disorders.” We are pleased to announce that the lecture is now available from: Schema Therapy
Abstract: Personality disorders (PDs) are among the most challenging and difficult to treat mental disorders. There are no simple biological causes or treatments known, and psychological therapy is generally considered to be the treatment of choice. Nevertheless, there is a paucity of studies into psychological models and treatments of PDs. The scientific knowledge of PDs is therefore limited, and treatment is often suboptimal. Schema Therapy (ST) is a relatively new treatment for patients with personality disorders. It is a integrative therapy, using techniques and insights from CBT, experiental therapies, attachment theory, and object-relation theories. Although perhaps best known from its effectiveness for Borderline Personality Disorder, models have been developed and tested for almost all personality disorders now, and found to be effective. In this presentation I will give an overview of the state of the art of the current Schema Therapy models for various personality disorders, including the forensic variants; the empirical evidence for the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of Schema Therapy; and discuss some basic research into mechanisms underlying techniques used in Schema Therapy. Lastly, issues of effective implementation and the important role of sound training in techniques will be discussed.
Biosketch: Professor Arntz is Professor of Clinical Psychology and Experimental Psychopathology in the Department of Psychological Science, University of Maastricht, The Netherlands. He is scientific director of the Research Institute of Experimental Psychopathology, Maastricht. His major research foci are on personality disorders (PDs), especially borderline personality disorder (BPD), and anxiety disorders, especially PTSD, OCD and panic disorder. Using the approach of experimental psychopathology he has tested psychological theories of anxiety disorders and PDs and contributed to the development of their psychological treatment. He was project leader on a multicentre RCT that compared schema therapy (ST) to psychodynamic psychotherapy for BPD patients, and of another multicentre RCT that compared ST to treatment as usual (TAU) and CCT for 6 other PDs. He is currently the PI of the international RCT comparing group-ST to TAU. He chairs a Dutch-German collaborative study investigating basic brain and cognitive processes in BPD and their change during treatment, that is associated with the international RCT. He is co-editor in chief of the Journal of Behaviour Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry and was recently made a fellow of the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities and Social Science.
March 2012
18 March
Dr. Jennifer Wild appears on BBC Breakfast
Dr. Wild discussed daydreaming and its benefits.
17 March
Congratulations to Professor Ivan Eisler who has been recognised by the leading UK eating disorder charity Beat for his research on eating disorders.
Professor Eisler, Head of the Section of Family Therapy, Department of Psychology and Head of the Child and Adolescent Eating Disorder Service at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust was awarded a ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’. The award was presented to Professor Eisler for his outstanding clinical work and research on behalf of people affected by eating disorders.
Beat Chief Executive Susan Ringwood: “We are delighted to acknowledge Prof Eisler’s contribution to the world of eating disorders in this way. So many people owe their health and wellbeing to his skill, commitment and determination. His influence is truly global and this award recognises a lifetime of achievement”.
The award was presented on Saturday 17th March during Beat’s International Eating Disorders Conference.
February 2012
26 February
Dr. Jennifer Wild appears on LBC Radio The Whole Show with Petrie Hosken
Dr. Wild discussed propanolol - a drug that wipes out bad memories. She taked about the research supporting CBT for PTSD and how propanolol would likely not lead to long-term recovery from the disorder by explaining the theory of how PTSD develops.
21 February
Professor Theresa Marteau appears on BBC Radio Four with Dr Mark Porter
Professor Marteau discussed her research in Derbyshire into providing financial incentives for pregnant women to stop smoking.
10 February
Dr. Jennifer Wild appears on BBC Radio Five with Shelagh Fogarty
Dr. Wild discusses DSM-V, the nudge theory, and lonliness in old people.
January 2012
26 January
Congratulations to Emeritus Professor Gisli Gudjonsson who has been awarded the European Association of Psychology and Law (EAPL) Lifetime Achievment Award 2012
The award will be presented a the EAPL Cyprus meeting in April.
December 2011
30 December
Dr Jennifer Wild contributes an article, "Do Trauma survivors miss out on valuable treatement?" to the BBC.
"Hundreds of thousands of people every year in the UK suffer from the severe stress reaction, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
But Dr Jennifer Wild of the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London says in this week's Scrubbing Up that they are not getting the help they need..."
8 December
Eleni Mantzari, Health Psychology PhD Student, wins Best of Behavioural Medicine Award
Mantzari, who studies with the Centre for the Study of Incentives in Health, has been awarded the Best of Behavioural Medicine prize by the UK Society for Behavioural Medicine (UKSBM). Her abstract, Using financial incentives to increase uptake of the HPV vaccination: a randomised cotrolled trial, was one of two to be awarded the prize, selected from an interdisciplinary field of 229 submissions.
Eleni will be presenting her research (co-authored with Florian Vogt and Theresa Marteau) to the UKSBM Annual Scientific Meeting on Tuesday 13th December.
The Centre for the Study of Incentives in Health is a multi-institutional research centre supported by a Wellcome Trust Strategic Award in Biomedical Ethics (PI Marteau: 086031/Z/08/Z).
5 December
The Psychologist marks 25 years of the founding of the Health Psychology Section of the British Psychological Society
Members of the King's Health Psychology section featured include John Weinman, Rona Moss-Morris, and Lance McCracken.
"The emergence of health psychology (HP) as a distinct disciplinary area can be traced back to an American Psychological Association (APA) task force that met in 1973 ... to examine ways in which psychologists could contribute to the maintenance of physical health, the management of people with physical health prohlems and healthcare delivery..."
1 December
BABCCP SIG One Day Skills Workshop: Acceptance & Commitment Therapy for Psychosis: A Mindful Approach to Recovery with Eric Morris & Joe Oliver
Henriette Raphael Function Room
Guy’s Campus
King’s College London
9.30am-4.30pm
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is a contextual cognitive behavioural therapy, which incorporates mindfulness and values-based behavioural activation.
This workshop will give an overview of ACT and how this approach can help people with psychosis. It will be practically focussed, using case material, transcripts, and recordings of sessions. The presenters will describe the approaches they take in using ACT in community, inpatient, and early intervention settings. Case conceptualisation will be covered alongside the use of key metaphors and treatment exercises.
Eric and Joe are clinical psychologists, working for the South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust in early intervention for psychosis. They have been developing and researching ACT/ mindfulness individual and group interventions for psychosis at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London. Both regularly deliver ACT teaching and training, in the UK and internationally.
November 2011
30 November
KCL hosts London heats of FameLab, Dr. Jennifer Wild wins Honorable Mention
Dr. Jennifer Wild from the Psychology Department competed in the 3 pm heat against researchers from universities across London and the South East. In a three minute presentation, the participants needed to convey their enthusiasm for a scientific topic of their choice, entertain and inform the lay person and impress a panel of four judges. The Psychology Department would like to congratulate her on winning Honorable Mention.
Video from the London and Oxford heats can be found here.
16 November
Jeffrey Gray Memorial Lecture: Learning to live without unconscious cognition
Speaker Professor David Shanks, Professor of Psychology and Head of the Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, will discuss the topic "To what extent do we know our own minds?"
7-8 November
New Approaches to Working with Voices: CBT Techniques for Command Hallucinations, Distressing Beliefs and Images
This two-day workshop will cover psychological models of voices and CBT skills and techniques for working with voices. There will be a particular emphasis on command hallucinations, distressing beliefs and images.
Enquiries to Dorothy Abrahams.
October 2011
20 October 2011
Professor Myra Hunter was interviewed by the Daily Mail on research showing that women can experience menopause symptoms for up to ten years after the start of menopause.
"Professor Myra Hunter said: ‘Our study looked at a large number of postmenopausal women and we were surprised to find that menopausal symptoms persisted in over half of the women. They were still having hot flushes on average ten years after their last period."
21 October 2011
Dr. Jennifer Wild appears on BBC Radio 5 live with Shelagh Fogarty
Dr. Wild and Shelagh discussed unemployment and mental health, trauma in Libya, and the death of Chinese toddler YueYue.
1 October 2011
As we start the academic year, The Psychology Department would like to extend a warm welcome to all new staff and students - We hope that you will find an engaging scholarly community and a wonderful collegial environment. The year has barely begun, yet there is much good news to impart...
FACULTY APPOINTMENTS
The Psychology Department is delighted to announce the following academic appointments:
Professor Rona Moss-Morris, new head of Health Psychology, Guy's Campus. Professor Moss-Morris completed a BSc in occupational therapy at the University of Cape Town, and a Masters and PhD in health psychology at the University of Auckland before taking up a position as a lecturer, then senior lecturer, at the same University. She then worked as part of a team setting up and running an MSc in Health Psychology and restructured the first year behavioural medicine teaching for the medical students. After 18 years in New Zealand, she moved to the UK to take up a position at the University of Southampton from which she joins us.
Professor Lance McCracken, Professor in Behavioural Medicine, Department of Psychology, joins us from the University of Bath and the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases where he developed and studied treatments for chronic pain based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and mindfulness-based approaches.
Dr Joseph Chilcot, Lecturer in Health Psychology, will be joining the Department of Psychology in November, from the University of Hertfordshire where his research focused on the relationship between illness perception, mood and clinical outcomes in end-stage renal disease.
Dr Thorsten Barnhofer, has moved to the Institute from the Department of Psychiatry in Oxford. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Muenster, where he also finished training in CBT. His research interests centre around the investigation of cognitive processes underlying maintenance and recurrence of depression and their modification using mindfulness-based approaches.
EDUCATION
Teaching and Learning Hub Showcase Drop-in
The Institute is embarking on a major refurbishment to create additional teaching and learning spaces. This investment will enhance the student experience and ensure that quality teaching and learning space is always available to students.
The work will start in the New Year and we will be developing the ground floor, quad, reception and Wolfson Lecture Theatre. There will be a new 100 -seat lecture theatre, a student hub area and lounge and three seminar rooms, as well as enhanced landscaped courtyard with access to new balconies adjoining the second floor cafeteria.
Please join the project development team on the 19 October to find out more about these exciting plans. The drop-in session will be held in Seminar Rooms 1 and 2 from 14.30-16.00.
RESEARCH
Parade of Stars event
To showcase the IoP's research portfolio to colleagues and key partners, we are holding a 'Parade of Stars' event in the afternoon of Wednesday 5 October. The event will highlight the important research questions being addressed by the Institute, illustrating the quality, breadth and diversity of what we do (Psychology staff members Professor Veena Kumari and Professor Gisli Gudjonsson are taking part).
The afternoon will begin at 2pm in the Wolfson Lecture Theatre and run until 5.45 pm. Afterwards there will be a drinks reception and an opportunity to view posters detailing the research being undertaken by different departments. All IoP staff and students are invited to attend, as well as colleagues from King's Health Partners.
September 2011
1 September 2011
Dr. Fiona Challacombe, Dr. Victoria Bream Oldfield and Professor Paul M Salkovskis release new book Break Free from OCD
"I would...go as far as suggesting that every therapist involved in treating people with OCD must read this book, because if the therapists treating us with OCD understand the principles written in this book, then ultimately, we as sufferers, will benefit from their increased understanding of the illness." - Ashley Fulwood, Chief Executive of OCD-UK.