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Charlotte Kitchen
Research Associate

Profile

Biography

Charlotte has extensive research experience in evaluating and adapting Behavioural Activation (BA), a brief psychological treatment, for different groups and settings. She previously led the Centre of Excellence in Behavioural Activation (CEBA) at the University of York, a research hub created and supported by Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV), bringing together learning from over a decades' BA research. Most recently, she has been exploring its potential for young people with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) who are tackling their problematic screen time use ('RECLAIM your Brain! Reducing E-Consequences: Lifestyle Adjustments for Improved Mental Health in Neurodiverse Youth'). Alongside this she works on an NHS England initiative, the Research Engagement Network, to broaden opportunities for young people to participate in research.
 
Charlotte initially joined the Mental Health and Addictions Research Group in 2017 as a Trial Support Officer on the CASPER (collaborative care for older adults with major depressive disorder) and CHEMIST (community pharmacies mood intervention) research projects. Following this she worked as a Research Fellow with the Diabetes and Mental Illness Improving Services and Outcomes (DIAMONDS) and Community-based Behavioural Activation Training (ComBAT) teams.
 
Charlotte's background is in Psychology and her PhD focused upon evaluating a BA intervention for young people with depression in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. During her PhD she was awarded the British Psychological Society Postgraduate Fellowship Award which enabled her to undertake a three month placement in the Houses of Parliament, where she was based in the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology. Following this she was an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) White Rose Post-Doctoral Fellow based in the Public Health and Society Research Group examining health inequalities in psychotherapy. Working alongside Professor Kate Pickett and Dr Stephanie Prady, her Fellowship sought to understand the variation in adolescent's experience of psychotherapy using social inequalities as an explanatory framework to contribute to the on-going debate about how best to deliver psychotherapy to greater numbers of young people without excluding those who may need it the most.

Qualifications

  • BSc (Hons) Psychology, Newcastle University, 2009
  • PGCert Health Research Methods, Durham University, 2013
  • PhD Health Studies, Durham University, 2018

Research

Overview

Charlotte’s research interests focus upon interventions to improve adolescent mental health, specifically Behavioural Activation, and equitable access to and engagement with psychological therapies more broadly. Her methodological interests include qualitative study of lived experiences and the application of mixed methods within a trials context.

Projects

  • Research Engagement Network: widening opportunities for young people to take part in research
  • Research Capability Funding: RECLAIM your Brain! Reducing E-Consequences: Lifestyle Adjustments for Improved Mental Health in Neurodiverse Youth - Preparatory phase
  • ESRC White Rose Fellowship: Understanding young people's engagement with psychological therapies through a social inequalities lens

Research group(s)

Charlotte Kitchen

Contact details

Dr Charlotte Kitchen
Research Associate

External activities

Overview

Video abstract from Dr Charlotte Kitchen on her CAMH paper 'Innovations in Practice: A randomised controlled feasibility trial of Behavioural Activation as a treatment for young people with depression'. Authors; Charlotte E. W. Kitchen, Paul A. Tiffin, Sue Lewis, Lina Gega, David Ekers

Podcast on Behavioural Activation Explained Episode 1: the BAY study, progress and potential: Professor Bernadka Dubicka and Mr Will Jones discuss with Dr Charlotte Kitchen some preliminary findings from the BAY study where Behavioural Activation (BA) was trialed for young people with depression

Podcast on Behavioural Activation Explained Episode 2: a BA practitioners' perspective: Dr Charlotte Kitchen was joined by BA practitioners Matthew O'Brien and Susan Moore to discuss their work in the ComBAT study delivering BA to young people

Blog Dr Charlotte Kitchen reflects on her British Psychological Society (BPS) funded fellowship in the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST)

 

Publications

Full publications list