Dr Heather O'Mahen

About me:

Orcid ID: orcid.org/0000-0003-3458-430X

I am a Research Clinical Psychologist. My research focuses on improving equitable access to psychological interventions, particularly during the perinatal period.

I completed my PhD at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia (USA), (APA accredited) where my research was focussed on interpersonal factors in women's mental health. Clinically I specialised in CBT for depression and anxiety and Behavioural Couples Therapy. I then undertook a postdoctoral fellowship in perinatal psychology at the University of Michigan, Department of Psychiatry (APA accredited), where I also trained clinically in Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT). From 2005-2007 I was an Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. I joined the Mood Disorders Centre (MDC) and Psychology Department at the University of Exeter in 2007.

I am currently seconded to .2 WTE to NHS England as a National Clinical Advisor to the Perinatal Mental Health Policy team.

Interests:

My research focuses on the following areas: (1) investigating the efficacy of Cognitive Behavioural and Interpersonal Treatments for depression and anxiety, particularly behaviourally oriented treatments, and (2) improving treatment for women suffering from depression during pregnancy and postnatally, especially through novel treatment delivery modes (e.g., internet, apps) (3) understanding mechanisms (e.g., emotion regulation) underlying the links between perinatal depression, maternal sensitivity, and child outcomes.

Current Grants

2023 -2027 NIHR Health Technology Assessment - ACORN: A multi-site randomised controlled trial to evaluate the impact of a group treatment for antenatal anxiety. Heather O’Mahen PI. Total costs: £2,112,645.

2020-2025 NIHR ARC – ESMI-III: The Effectiveness of Maternal Mental Health Services. Abigail Easter PI. Total costs: £350,000 (Extension + £300,000).

Recently Completed Grants

2019-2023 NIHR Health Services and Delivery Research - ESMI-II: The Effectiveness and cost effectiveness of community perinatal Mental health servIces. Heather O’Mahen, Louise Howard co-PI’s £1,100,000.

2019-2023 MRC/NEWTON FUND UK-South Africa Joint Initiative on Mental Health - Digital delivery of Behavioural Activation to overcome depression and facilitate social and economic transitions of adolescents in South Africa (DoBAt) – Co-investigator (Treatment development co-lead with Michelle Craske). Alan Stein, PI. Total costs £671,000

2022-2023 NIHR Health Services and Delivery Research - ESMI-II: The Effectiveness and cost effectiveness of community perinatal Mental health servIces – Follow-on funds. Heather O’Mahen PI Total costs: £68,000

2022 Policy Support Fund - Population level associations between severe adverse pregnancy/childbirth events and onset of mental health illness in new mothers: is there a link with socioeconomic and ethnic background? Heather O’Mahen PI. Total costs - £21,834

2022-2023 Health Equity Innovation Challenge – Expanding Access to Postnatal Depression treatment. Online training in the voluntary care sector. Academic Health Science Network. Heather O’Mahen PI Total costs - £25,000

2018-2021 NIHR RFPB -Co-investigator (Exeter Site Lead). Low intensity interventions for antenatal depression: A feasibility study of an RCT of Interpersonal Counselling compared to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.” Jonathan Evans, PI. April, Total costs £245,451.

Previous Funding

2017-2018 Wellcome Trust ISSF – Collaborator (Treatment lead). Behavioural Activation for Adolescents in Uganda. Sub-contract award from Oxford: Alan Stein, PI. Sub-contract (Exeter) funding = £21,961

2017-2018 National Lottery “Better Start” – Collaborator (Treatment lead, Train/supervise). Implementing Behavioural Activation for Postnatal Depression in high need communities: The Blackpool Challenge. Sub-project (Exeter) specific funding = £19,000

2017-2018 NHS funded award. Co-investigator Title: "AccEPT clinic Devon 2017/18". Amount: £272, 272. Duration (10% REF share)

2016-2017 NHS funded award. Co-investigator Title: "AccEPT clinic Devon 2016". Amount: £136,136. Duration (10% REF share)

2014-2017 NIHR Rfpb – Co-Investigator (Site Lead, Treatment Developer and Clinical Supervisor). ACORN: Adapting and testing a brief intervention to reduce maternal anxiety during pregnancy. Co-investigator. Paul Ramchandani, PI. Total costs = £183,818

2014-2016 NHS funded award. Co-investigator Title: "AccEPT clinic Devon 2014/16". Amount: £284, 000. (10% REF share).

2013-2014 NHS funded award. Co-investigator Title: "AccEPT Clinic Devon 2013/14". Amount £136,136, (15% REF share)

2012-2016 NIHR Health Technology Assessment - Co-investigator. Design and treatment oversight. Process co-lead. COBRA: Cost and Outcome of Behavioural Activation - Multi-centre Randomised Controlled Trial for Depression. Dave Richards, PI. Total costs = £1,700,000

2012-2014 NHS funded award – Principle Investigator. “Radical Openness Behaviour Therapy” (ROBT) for Anorexia Nervosa.” Total Award: £80,000

2011-2017 Medical Research Council (MRC) Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation – Co-investigator. (Assessment Lead). “Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) for Treatment-Resistant Depression (TRD): A Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT)” Co-investigator. Awarded November, 2011-2017. Tom Lynch PI. Total costs = £2,100,000.

2011-2013 NHS funded award. Co-investigator Title: "AccEPT clinic Devon 2011/13". Amount: £284, 000. (15% REF share).

2010-2011 NHS funded award. Co-investigator Title: "AccEPT Clinic Devon 2010/11". Amount £136,136, (15% REF share)

2009-2012 National Institute of Health Research: Research for Patient Benefit (NIHR: RFPB)– Co-investigator. Clinical trainer/supervisor. “Psychological treatment of depression during pregnancy: Piloting a pragmatic randomised controlled trial.” Jonathan Evans, PI. Total costs = £248,990.

2008 Wellcome Capital Funding bid. Co-applicant. Awarded October 2008. Total costs = £3,605,000

2008-2010 National Health Service(NHS) funded award. Co-investigator Title: "AccEPT clinic Devon 2018/10". Amount: £284, 000. (15% REF share).

2008 Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLARHC) bid to NIHR co-applicant. 2008. Total costs = £20,000,000

2008-2009 Peninsula Primary Care Research Management & Governance – Co-Principle-Investigator “Supporting Psychological Interventions for Primary Care Patients.” O’Mahen, H.A. Total costs = £43,000

2007-2010 National Institute of Health R34 - “Improving Psychosocial Treatment for Perinatal Depression” Co-Investigator. (Trail Design, Treatment Developer, Clinical and Research Supervisor). Flynn, H. (PI) Total costs = $614,000.

2019 MRC Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF): - Principle Investigator. Digital delivery of Behavioural ActivatioN for adolescents to overcome depression and facilitate social and economic transitions in Africa: DIANA. Total costs = £29,626.

2015-2016 Economic and Social Research Council Impact and AAA – Principle Investigator ACORN: Adapting and testing a brief intervention to reduce maternal anxiety during pregnancy. Awarded April 2015-2016. Total costs = £19,673.

2011-2012 NIHR PENCLAHRC – Principle Investigator. Netmums: Online Behavioural Activation for Postnatal Depression. Awarded May 2011-2012. Total costs = £60,000.

Personal Interests:

Dr. O'Mahen is currently completing 12-month follow-up data from a randomized controlled trial of online Behavioural Activation for postnatal depression:

www.facebook.com/cbtforpostnataldepression

http://www.netmumshwd.com/

Qualifications:

In addition to conducting clinical research, I am involved in translating clinical research into policy and practice.

I am a member of the NHSE Perinatal Clinical Reference Group, and I co-lead the research sub-group with Dr. Giles Berrisford.I am an executive member of the British Psychology Society's Perinatal Faculty and a NICE - Expert Adviser for the Centre for Clinical Practice. I was a member of the Guidelines Development Group (GDG) for the 2014 NICE revised Antenatal and Postnatal Mental Health Guidelines, the Perinatal Access and Waiting Time Expert Reference Group (ERG), the Department of Health Perinatal Quality Standards ERG, and the Perinatal Outcomes ERG.

Together with colleagues from the University of Liverpool and the University of Exeter's CEDAR group, I am leading the NHSE Worforce, Training and Education (formerly Health Education England) funded national Perinatal Clinical Psychology Continuing Professional Development training programme. I also co-lead the SW regional NHS Talking Therapies Perinatal Champion and Supervisors training programme with CEDAR colleagues.

Together with Dr. Sarah Healy, I led the revision of the NHS Talking Therapies Perinatal Positive Practice guide, chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://cedar.exeter.ac.uk/media/universityofexeter/schoolofpsychology/cedar/documents/liiapt/Positive_Practice_Guide_FINAL.pdf

and the NHS Talking Therapies Perinatal Competencies framework: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/pals/sites/pals/files/iapt_perinatal_competancy_framework_final_version_sept_2021-1.pdf.

I regularly provide training in psychological treatments for perinatal mental health, including online clinician training through the FutureLearn Platform https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/guided-self-help-for-postnatal-depression.

I was fortunate to work with Elizabeth Van der Beugel on an artist-in-residency project on women's identities as they encounter mental health problems during pregnancy and postnatally. Please see the website for further details: http://www.artsandcultureexeter.co.uk/elizabeth-van-der-beugel

Career:

I worked with Netmums.com and mothers who had suffered from postnatal depression to develop and test an online intervention for postnatal depression. The intervention has been tested both in a self-help and guided self-help format and helped formed the 2014 NICE Antenatal and Postnatal Mental Health recommendations for guided self-help. The intervention is freely available to the public and health care professionals at this link: http://www.netmums.com/parenting-support/depression-and-anxiety/netmums-helping-with-depression-course.

Becky Hopley and I translated this treatment into guided self-help versions appropriate for IAPT. Both clinician and therapist versions are available here: http://psychology.exeter.ac.uk/pmh/

Online training for clinicians in these formats is available here: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/guided-self-help-for-postnatal-depression

With support from the Wellcome Trust, we have created a treatment website that compiles evidence based interventions for perinatal mental health https://perinataltreatment.wordpress.com/