Doctor of Clinical Psychology (DClinPsy)

The Academic Strand is made up of the teaching and assignments that happen over the three years of the doctorate. This is where inclusive classrooms are vital and we work in partnership with our external lecturers to ensure this happens, e.g. sending lecture slides at least 48 hours in advance of the lecture. We address Racial and Social justice in the workshops we regularly run for all lecturers on decolonisation. These can be booked onto via the Academic webpage. We also work in partnership with our NHS placement supervisors as trainees prepare their Clinical Practice Reports, asking supervisors to verify the work and support trainees in their considering of the case. The paperwork that we ask supervisors to complete is on the Academic webpage; this webpage also continues all the information needed about coming to teach on the course, including how to get paid and guidance for teaching online and for inclusive classrooms.

In the Research Strand, trainees must complete a Major Research Project (MRP) and a Quality Improvement Project (QIP). Many of our trainees conduct research addressing racial and social justice or the climate emergency, as well as wider topics within mental health and wellbeing. We have an established and experienced research team who are always open to working with psychologists external to the University to co-supervise MPRs or QIPs. If you have an idea or would like to discuss this further, please contact the Research Director Dr Fiona Warren: DClinPsy-Research-Director@exeter.ac.uk

We work in partnership with three NHS Trusts (Devon, Dorset and Somerset) to run the Clinical Strand of the programme. We could not do this without our excellent and generous NHS supervisors. We offer CPD in the form of supervisor workshops, and in opening up some lectures in our timetable for NHS supervisors to join (sometimes lecturers put on a numbers cap). These CPD events can be booked onto via our supervisor website. If there are any topics that would be useful to support supervisors’ supervision of trainees, please do make a suggestion and we will try and provide it: please contact the Clinical Director Tracy Rydin-Orwin: T.J.Rydin-Orwin@exeter.ac.uk

DClinPsy Research – Trainee Theses & Publications

The research theses submitted during the final year of the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology are available online. If you go to the E-Theses section of Open Access Exeter and use the search term DClinPsy you will retrieve all the posted doctoral theses from the Programme.

Below is a list of publications resulting from trainee work from 2013- 2023.

ABEL, A., Hayes, A.M., Henley, W., & Kuyken, W. (2016). Sudden gains in cognitive-behavior therapy for treatment-resistant depression: Processes of change. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 84, 726-737.

ANKRETT, S., Smithson J., Limond, J., Behn, N., Wade, S.L., Wilkinson, L, & Adlam, A.R. (2023). Understanding and supporting peer relationships in adolescents with acquired brain injury: A stakeholder engagement study. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 33, 1090-1119.

O'Mahen, H. A., Wilkinson, E., BAGNALL, K., Richards, D. A., SWALES, A. (2017). Shape of change in internet based behavioral activation treatment for depression. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 95, 107-116

O'Mahen, H. A., BOYD, A., & GASHE, C. (2015). Rumination decreases parental problem-solving effectiveness in dysphoric postnatal mothers. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 47, 18-24.

EDGE, D., Newbold, A., Ehring, T., ..., & Watkins, E.R. (2021). Reducing worry and rumination in young adults via a mobile phone app: study protocol of the ECoWeB (Emotional Competence for Well-Being in Young Adults) randomised controlled trial focused on repetitive negative thinking. BMC Psychiatry, 21, 519.

EDGE, D., Watkins, E.R., Limond, J., & Mugadza, J. (2023). The efficacy of self-guided internet and mobile-based interventions for preventing anxiety and depression – A systematic review and meta-analysis. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 164, 104292.

GERDES, S., Williams, W. H., & Karl, A. (2022). Psychophysiological responses to a brief self-compassion exercise in armed forces veterans. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 780319.

GREVILLE-HARRIS, M., Smithson, J., & Karl, A. (2020). What are people's experiences of orthorexia nervosa? A qualitative study of online blogs. Eating and Weight Disorders, 25, 1693-1702.

GRIFFITH, E., Kuyken, W., Watkins, E. R., & Jones, A. (2014). Do females with bulimia nervosa and eating disorder not otherwise specified have selective memory biases? Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 43, 1-12.

HOLMYARD, L., Smithson, J., Karl, A. & Bellinger, A. (in press). Growing Together: Displaced Women’s Resilience and Growth in Reciprocal Relationship. Families, Relationships and Societies.

LASZCZYNSKA, A. (2020). What is the role of clinical psychologists in responding to the current rise of race associated hate crime in Britain post the 2016 European union referendum? Clinical Psychology Forum, 333, 48-55.

LISHMAN, E., Cheston, R. & Smithson, J. (2016). The paradox of dementia: Changes in assimilation after receiving a diagnosis of dementia. Dementia, 15, 181-203.

LOWENSTEIN, J.A.S., Wright, K., Taylor, A., Moberly, N.J. (2015). An investigation into the effects of different types of exercise on the maintenance of approach motivation levels. Mental Health and Physical Activity, 9, 24-34.

MACRAE, J. A., Pearson, R. M., Lee, R., Chauhan, D., Bennert, K., Burns, A., ... & Evans, J. (2015). The impact of depression on maternal responses to infant faces in pregnancy. Infant Mental Health Journal, 36, 588-598.

MAHAN, S., Rous, R., Adlam, A. (2017). Systematic review of neuropsychological rehabilitation for prospective memory deficits as a consequence of acquired brain injury. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 23, 254-265.

NEWMAN, A., Burbach, F., & Reibstein, J. (2013). How therapists discuss causality with families in an integrated family management and therapy service, a qualitative study with focus groups. Contemporary Family Therapy, 35, 437-451.

Lawrence, N., O'SULLIVAN, et al. (2015). Training response inhibition to food is associated with weight loss and reduced energy intake. Appetite, 95, 17-28

PARKER, C., Smithson, J., Limond, J., Sherbersky, H. & Butler, C. (2020). Student and supervisor experiences of the Systemic Practice Scale (SPS): A discourse analysis. Journal of Family Therapy, 43, 793-818.

RICHARDS, J., Smithson, J., Moberly, N. J., & Smith, A. (2021). "If it goes horribly wrong the whole world descends on you”: The influence of fear, vulnerability, and powerlessness on police officers’ response to victims of head injury in domestic violence. International Journal of Environmental and Public Health, 18, 7070.

ROSSER, B.A., & Wright, K.A. (2016). The impact of thought speed and variability on psychological state and threat perception: Further exploration of the theory of mental motion. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 40, 453-467.

ROWLEY, M., Topciu, R., & Owens, M. (2022). A systematic review of mechanisms underpinning psychological change following nature exposure in an adolescent population. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19, 12649.

Idusohan-Moizer, SAWICKA, A., DENDLE, J. et al. (2015). MBCT for adults with intellectual disabilities: An evaluation. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 59, 93-104.

SCUTT, E., Smithson, J., & Longford-Daly, J. (2022). Experiences of eating difficulties in siblings of people with anorexia nervosa: A reflexive thematic analysis. Journal of Eating Disorders, 10, 123.