Robert Dudley
Professor of Mental Health
Profile
Biography
I am a clinician working with people with psychosis and I specialise in the treatment of paranoia, and visual hallucinations. I undertake research to improve our understanding of and treatments for these distressing experiences, and am involved in supervision of research projects as well as involved in large treatment studies. I am an experienced trainer and supervisor of other clinicians. I manage and lead clinical services and have had leadership roles in academic settings as well.
Career
I studied at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne as an undergraduate then went to Durham for my PhD which was on the psychology of delusional beliefs. I then completed my Doctorate of Clinical Psychology training at Newcastle and completed further training in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.
Since qualifying as a clinician I have worked in the NHS offering psychological therapies for people with depression and anxiety but my work has mainly focussed on the understanding and treatment of psychosis. I have worked in an Early Intervention in Psychosis service since 2005. During this time I have also worked at Newcastle University part time as a research tutor on the Doctorate of Clinical Psychology course and was the Degree Programme Director for a number of years as well. I have been involved in a number of treatment trials evaluating the value of talking treatments for psychosis.
Since May 2022 I have taken up the role of Professor of Mental Health and work two days a week for York and three days a week in the NHS for CNTW NHS Foundation Trust where I work in the EIP service and have a Trust wide role for the provision of psychological therapies for psychosis.
Research
Overview
My research interests stem from and inform my work as a psychological therapist. I am a clinician in an Early Intervention in Psychosis service in the NHS. In this role I work with people who have suffered distressing psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations or delusional beliefs. The task I have as a clinician is to work collaboratively with a person to make sense of how and why they experienced the problems they had, how they can manage any persisting difficulties, and what will help keep them well in the future. Consequently, as a researcher I am interested in improving our understanding of the processes that lead a person to experience distressing psychotic symptoms like voices, or visual hallucinations. This research shapes and refines the models we draw on to help understand the development and maintenance of the distressing symptoms. This process of drawing on an empirically supported model and marrying it to the unique experience of the person is called formulation. This formulation aids the process of selecting the optimal interventions that helps alleviates a person’s distress and helps them remain well. Hence, I have two main areas of research interest which cover a) psychological processes in hallucinations and delusions, and b) formulation in cognitive behavioural therapy.
Grants
- Dudley, R. Cavanagh, K, Omrod, J., Turkington, D. and Freeston, M., Awarded £49,000 by the Lena Teague Bequest fund in 2007 for a project investigating psychological processes in people with first episode psychosis.
- Dudley, R. Awarded £21,279 by the NTW Foundation Trust for a project to develop a treatment for distressing visual hallucinations. Funding from 2010-2011
- Dudley, R. Awarded £20,439 by the NTW Foundation Trust for a project to further develop a treatment for distressing visual hallucinations. Funding from 2016-2017
- Co-applicant i4i NIHR award “Immersive virtual reality to transform the lives of patients with psychosis”. £3,957,119.00 5711 Funding from 2018-2021. PI Professor Daniel Freeman, University of Oxford. Funding from 2019-2022
- Co-applicant HTA NIHR “Multisite Randomised Controlled Trial of Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for psychosis (TF-CBTp) to reduce post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in patients with co-morbid PTSD and psychosis, compared to usual treatment: the TRUST (TRaUma and pSychosis Therapy) trial. £1,526,049 PI Emmanuelle Peters, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. Funding from 2020-2024
- Chief Investigator Research for Patient benefit NIHR “Managing Unusual Sensory Experiences (MUSE): A feasibility trial of a targeted, psycho-education toolkit for distressing hallucinations, in people with a first episode of psychosis. £250,000 from 2021-2022
- Co-applicant NIHR ARC funding An evaluation of the implementation of 5Ps plus plan (Formulation) in CNTW NHS Foundation Trust. £63891. PI Toby Brandon, Northumbria University and Emily Lennie CNTW. 2020-2022.
- Lead applicant NIHR ARC funding “Digital therapies for psychosis clinic: a real-world implementation study.” £59999 2022-2024
Teaching
Publications
Full publications list
See Google Scholar or ResearchGate for information about publications
External activities
Overview
- Invited lecturer for the diploma in CBT for Psychosis at Manchester, 2018-
- Member of Trial Steering Committees for a number of NIHR trials.
- Registered Practitioner Psychologist with HCPC (registration number PYL05085).