About my current job
I lead TOPIC (The Oxford Psychological Interventions for Children and Adolescents) research group, which works across the Departments of Experimental Psychology and Psychiatry at Oxford University. Our work includes a particular focus on improving outcomes from and access to psychological therapies for children and young people with common mental health problems, such as anxiety disorders.
How did my education influence my career path?
I was an undergraduate at an exciting time for the development of psychological therapies, with David Clark, Anke Ehlers, Paul Salkovskis and others leading the development of cognitive models and interventions. I was lucky to have tutorials with Paul, and the content that he energetically and enthusiastically covered clearly illustrated the importance of developing a clear understanding of the psychological mechanisms that maintain disorders through experimental research, and how directly applying these findings can lead to treatments that are both effective and efficient. This is exactly what I hope my group will be able to achieve for children and young people.
Did you have a favourite tutor/lecturer/prof, and how did they inspire you?
I feel incredibly lucky to have had Alan Allport and Anne Dowker as my tutors at St Anne's. They were both incredibly caring and supportive (and I will always remember Anne's very high-quality biscuits which were very welcome to us students!).
How did friends made during your time at EP influence your life?
I met my wonderful friend, Professor Sarah Beck, as EP students at St Anne's College. I have so many wonderful memories of larking about with Sarah and her enthusiasm for studying psychology with philosophy was probably what led me to switch from EP to PPP in my first year. I'm not sure I was all that good at the philosophy side of things but I am sure that the opportunity to consider the wider moral and ethical issues was only a good thing. Our friendship is still bringing opportunities to influence my life - a particular highlight was when we were recently approached in a cafe to ask us if we would like to audition for GoggleBox; we've kept the details so watch this space!
Do you have a lesson or advice that you'd give to current students/researchers at EP?
Having now sat on both sides of tutorials I can safely say that the opportunity to discuss research with enthusiastic undergraduates, to hear their reflections, and to consider their questions is an absolute pleasure and these discussions can make a really helpful contribution to our own thinking on the subject (even if we have been thinking about it for years) - so don't hold back, get involved, and share your views.
