Dr. Douglas Turkington

Dr. Turkington is a Consultant Psychiatrist from Newcastle, UK. He is a Founding Fellow of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy (Philadelphia, USA) and is currently working as a Consultant Psychiatrist with the largest UK mental health trust in the North-East of England.

He acted as chief investigator of the largest pragmatic trial of low-intensity CBT delivered by psychiatric nurses in schizophrenia (INSIGHT). He has acted as site lead/Consultant on numerous randomized controlled trials of CBT for psychosis. These have included CBT for patients with schizophrenia who are Clozapine resistant (FOCUS), CBT for those patients with psychosis who refuse antipsychotic medication (ACTION) and CBT for those patients with psychosis who have post-traumatic stress disorder (STAR).

He has also run trials of CBT for psychosis against active comparators including Befriending and Cognitive Adaptation Training. The data from these trials have been included in meta-analyses leading to national recommendations for CBT for schizophrenia implementation.

Dr. Turkington is widely recognized as an expert in CBT for psychosis and is now making his expertise available via a series of webinars.

Helen Spencer

Helen Spencer is a Higher Research Assistant at Cumbria, Northumberland Tyne & Wear NHS Foundation Trust in the UK.

Helen has worked alongside Dr. Turkington for over 10 years and together they have published over 20 papers, including a book for service users and carers. Helen is in the final year of her Ph.D. and an expert in teaching CBT for psychosis techniques to mental health professionals and family members.

Dr. Sara Tai

Dr. Sara Tai is a Senior Lecturer in Clinical Psychology at the University of Manchester and a Consultant Clinical Psychologist at Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust.

She is a reflexive scientist-practitioner, therapist, educator and researcher, who has worked in a range of mental health settings, with people experiencing serious and enduring problems affecting their mental health.

Sara conducts research internationally, including large clinical trials in the UK, USA, Canada, China, and across Europe. Her work elucidates how key psychological mechanisms such as control and awareness across traditional diagnostic boundaries and help unify apparently disparate therapeutic traditions. Her work not only helps explain the nature and origin of psychological distress but, with colleagues, offers new therapeutic opportunities.

Dr. Lucy Stevens

Dr. Lucy Stevens is a Clinical Psychologist (DClinPsy, PG CBT Dip) in the National Health Service specializing in the treatment of Psychosis.

She delivers specialist direct therapeutic interventions, such as CBTp, to support people experiencing psychosis and their families, in addition to applying her enthusiasm and knowledge to inspire and upskill staff of other disciplines in the provision of psychologically-informed care, via supervision, consultation and training.

Dr. Stevens developed a passion for research prior to clinical training whilst working in an academic psychiatry department and continues to pursue research endeavours in her spare time. This has resulted in peer-reviewed publications and a chapter of an edited book based on her specialist area of interest; the understanding of psychotic symptoms as a response to, and in the context of, psychological trauma.

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