At present, I am co-investigator on a project called ‘ImpACT Stroke’ which is focused on modifying Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for Stroke Survivors living with significant neurocognitive effect through co-design methods and feasibility testing. This project compliments a pending grant application which aims to adapt ACT for individuals with High Grade Glioma (level 3 or 4 brain cancer). I am also supervisor to a PhD student who is exploring emotional support needs among parents of young children with Type 1 diabetes and who will be investigating the acceptability of an adapted ACT intervention to facilitate emotional resilience and augment parent/child health outcomes. Related to this, I am keen to pursue research examining the acceptability and potential benefits of peer support for parent of children newly diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, and I am in the initial phases of planning this. Additionally, I have an interest in utilizing art to facilitate communication of health information, for instance through the use of comic-based resources. I am currently developing projects which explore the use of comics and illustrations to convey mental health and environmental health information.

We recently completed one of the first studies examining an integrated treatment for opioid misuse and chronic pain. This clinical pilot study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and sought to examine the efficacy of an intervention targeting pain interference and opioid misuse in a sample of military veterans in the United States. The integrated treatment consisted of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for chronic pain and Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention for opioid misuse. Outcomes indicated that the treatment was feasible, as retention and participation were excellent. Furthermore, in comparison to treatment as usual, the integrated intervention was associated with larger reductions in pain interference and opioid misuse at a six month follow-up. A detailed report of these findings is currently in press at the Journal of Pain (doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2019.11.007). We were recently funded for a five year project to replicate and extend these results in a fully powered clinical trial.

Alcohol screening and assessment measures for young people I led the first comprehensive evaluation of all the available diagnostic and psychometric research evidence on alcohol screening and assessment for young people. In doing so, I directly addressed a key research question posed by UK clinical experts, “Which screening tool should be considered as the 'gold standard' for assessing the drinking behaviour of those under the age of 18?” Through this rigorous review, I provided policy-relevant recommendations for practitioners and researchers on how best to screen for alcohol use and problems in young people. This research will potentially change clinical practice internationally. To further advance the field, I then co-produced, with input from c.1,600 young people, reliable and valid items which outperformed existing measures to assess the continuum of alcohol-related risk and harm. This work is important because there is consistent evidence that higher alcohol consumption in late adolescence continues into adulthood, and is also associated with alcohol problems including dependence. This means that having efficient measures to assess drinking among young people potentially offers opportunities for early interventions.