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Professor Colette Hirsch

Professor in Cognitive Clinical Psychology

  • Honorary Consultant Clinical Psychologist

Research interests

  • Psychology

Biography

Having gained a thorough training in cognitive-experimental research on anxiety during her PhD in Cambridge, Professor Colette Hirsch focused on developing her cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) skills as part of her D.Clin.Psych. at King’s College London and CBT training at The Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy and Research, USA. Professor Hirsch worked as a clinical psychologist in local and national CBT services, before returning to KCL to focus on clinical anxiety research during her fellowship. She is now a Professor of Cognitive Clinical Psychology and Consultant Clinical Psychologist leading the Generalised Anxiety Disorder Service at the Centre for Anxiety Disorders and Trauma, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. Professor Hirsch's clinical work is integral to her translational research, helping her develop models of emotional disorders and transdiagnostic processes, inspiring new clinical research ideas, which in turn lead to clinical innovation and translation.

Her research focuses on cognitive processes that maintain anxiety, depression and distress, both within clinical and sub-clinical populations, as well as at the interface between physical and mental health. She also conducts research to understand key mechanisms that maintain resilience. Her translational research has led to new interventions to prevent and treat emotional disorders and distress, via adaptations to face to face CBT, as well as via novel digital therapies. She is Deputy Lead for the Digital Therapies Theme at NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre. 

Research Interests: 

  • Cognitive processes such as attentional control, attentional bias, verbal processing and imagery processes that maintain transdiagnostic processes in emotional disorders
  • Interpretation bias and its transdiagnostic role in maintaining repetitive negative thinking
  • Intervention development for Generalised Anxiety Disorder
  • Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) such as worry and rumination
  • Cognitive processes and RNT that contribute to perinatal mental health
  • Cognitive processes that maintain psychological distress in physical health conditions (e.g., MS; Parkinson’s; Cancer survivorship)
  • Anxiety in Autism Spectrum Disorders
  • Cognitive processes that promote resilience to long term stress (e.g., being an unpaid caregiver, teacher)
  • Prediction of outcome for psychological interventions
  • Digital therapeutics for anxiety, worry, and stress

Teaching and research supervision:

As a clinical psychologist with applied research expertise in Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Depression and Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), Professor Hirsch provides specialist teaching on anxiety across numerous courses ranging from undergraduate psychology to specialist cognitive behaviour therapy training course such as Increasing Access to Psychological Therapies. She aims to inspire future clinicians and researchers to understand mechanisms that maintain anxiety, and value the importance of research in the development of better treatments.

She also provides research Project Supervision across a number of course ranging from BSc in Psychology to Doctorate in Clinical Psychology as well as for PhD students. Projects offered focus on different populations, but all aim to further the fields understanding of mechanisms that maintain distress or promote resilience and enable new interventions to be developed. Her supervisory style aims to fosters an understanding of how to conduct high quality clinical research and use critical thinking in research design.

Expertise and Public Engagement:

Professor Hirsch has provided a clinical anxiety perspective for the arts. For example, working with theatre makers Hannah Ringham and Glen Neath portrayal of anxiety in ‘Die or Run’ and with Michelle McMahon upcoming play ‘Fear’. She was also an anxiety consultant on ‘Wake’, a new play by Alex Froom, and on a production of ‘Bellville’ at the Donmar Warehouse. She was on the Science Gallery London’s curatorial advisory group ‘On Edge: Living in the Age of Anxiety.

Through other public engagement events Professor Hirsch has spoken about how research helps us develop and refine psychological interventions (e.g., ‘Department for Culture, Media and Sport’ in Whitehall on World Mental Health Day, October 2018; ‘Cheltenham Science Festival’ June 2018; ‘The Age of Anxiety’ March 2016). She has also contributed to panel discussions on mental health. For example, at a ‘Sad Girls’ London event in January 2018 which was attended by girls and young women who suffer from anxiety and depression. She has disseminated her research on resilience in the aftermath of cancer via ‘Maggie’s’ 2021 and ‘Keeping Abreast’ 2020.

    Research

    iStock-674953064
    Centre for Anxiety Disorders & Trauma (CADAT)

    CADAT is a leader in research, training and the clinical treatment of anxiety in the UK.

    FLARe: Fear Learning and Anxiety Response

    FLARe aims to model the processes underlying the development, maintenance and treatment of anxiety disorders, and post-treatment relapse.

    Project status: Ongoing

    Shift FOCUS Logo
    Shift Focus

    A study testing an online training designed for young people to help shift focus away from worry.

    Project status: Ongoing

    CEDAR group
    Cognition in Emotional Disorders and Resilience (CEDAR) Group

    The Cognition in Emotional Disorders and Resilience (CEDAR) group’s research focuses on understanding both the mechanisms that maintain mental health difficulties and those that foster resilience. We use this knowledge to help us develop new interventions that target these mechanisms either in face-to-face therapy or via digital therapeutics.

    RELAX study
    RELAX Study

    RELAX (‘REducing Levels of AnXiety’) is investigating whether a new web-based training can reduce anxiety in pregnant women and new mothers.

    Project status: Ongoing

    News

    A new generation of Inspiring Women at the IoPPN

    28 new portraits of internationally recognised female professors at the Faculty have been added to IoPPN’s ‘Inspiring Women’ exhibition, celebrating the...

    Inspiring Women cover photo

    International Women's Day 2023: Transforming technology for gender equality

    In recognition of the United Nation’s 2023 International Women’s Day theme celebrating innovation and technology for gender equality, we shine a light on some...

    IWD 23

    Professor Colette Hirsch LENS project is focus of MQ Deutsche Bank Hackathon 2022

    A 24-Hour Global MQ Transforming Mental Health Hackathon, sponsored by Deutsche Bank, challenged over 1350 employees worldwide with turning a web-based mental...

    MQ Hackathon

    YouTube partnership addresses mental health questions

    King's is working with YouTube to connect viewers with mental health advice from experts, debunk myths and signpost ways to get support.

    Mind of the Matter big

    Features

    Exploring research into anxiety disorders this Mental Health Awareness Week

    This year, Mental Health Awareness Week took place Monday 15 - Sunday 21 June, following the theme ‘anxiety’. Anxiety is a normal emotion in us all, but...

    Website Hero (1)

      Research

      iStock-674953064
      Centre for Anxiety Disorders & Trauma (CADAT)

      CADAT is a leader in research, training and the clinical treatment of anxiety in the UK.

      FLARe: Fear Learning and Anxiety Response

      FLARe aims to model the processes underlying the development, maintenance and treatment of anxiety disorders, and post-treatment relapse.

      Project status: Ongoing

      Shift FOCUS Logo
      Shift Focus

      A study testing an online training designed for young people to help shift focus away from worry.

      Project status: Ongoing

      CEDAR group
      Cognition in Emotional Disorders and Resilience (CEDAR) Group

      The Cognition in Emotional Disorders and Resilience (CEDAR) group’s research focuses on understanding both the mechanisms that maintain mental health difficulties and those that foster resilience. We use this knowledge to help us develop new interventions that target these mechanisms either in face-to-face therapy or via digital therapeutics.

      RELAX study
      RELAX Study

      RELAX (‘REducing Levels of AnXiety’) is investigating whether a new web-based training can reduce anxiety in pregnant women and new mothers.

      Project status: Ongoing

      News

      A new generation of Inspiring Women at the IoPPN

      28 new portraits of internationally recognised female professors at the Faculty have been added to IoPPN’s ‘Inspiring Women’ exhibition, celebrating the...

      Inspiring Women cover photo

      International Women's Day 2023: Transforming technology for gender equality

      In recognition of the United Nation’s 2023 International Women’s Day theme celebrating innovation and technology for gender equality, we shine a light on some...

      IWD 23

      Professor Colette Hirsch LENS project is focus of MQ Deutsche Bank Hackathon 2022

      A 24-Hour Global MQ Transforming Mental Health Hackathon, sponsored by Deutsche Bank, challenged over 1350 employees worldwide with turning a web-based mental...

      MQ Hackathon

      YouTube partnership addresses mental health questions

      King's is working with YouTube to connect viewers with mental health advice from experts, debunk myths and signpost ways to get support.

      Mind of the Matter big

      Features

      Exploring research into anxiety disorders this Mental Health Awareness Week

      This year, Mental Health Awareness Week took place Monday 15 - Sunday 21 June, following the theme ‘anxiety’. Anxiety is a normal emotion in us all, but...

      Website Hero (1)