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Last updated 18th April 2024

Mike is Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Huddersfield and Honorary Consultant Clinical Psychologist in Research at the South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (SWYPFT). He was Associate Director of Research in SWYPFT until he retired from the NHS in 2022.

He graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Psychology at the University of Leeds and trained as a clinical psychologist at the University of Leeds between 1983 and 1985. He then completed a PhD at the University of Leeds in 1994 whilst working full time as a clinical psychologist which included the development of the Health Anxiety Questionnaire (HAQ) and investigated patients' responses to medical reassurance.  He completed a post graduate certificate in Cognitive Therapy at the Newcastle Cognitive Therapy Centre in 1997 and was accredited as a CBT therapist with the BABCP.  He worked in NHS and community mental health services for over 40 years, mainly as a consultant clinical psychologist which included over ten years as an NHS psychological therapies clinical service manager. During this time he led work setting up a routine outcome monitoring system , including generating one of the first datasets to include measures every session which enabled research into sudden gains, shapes of change and the relationship between early response to therapy and outcome. 

Mike's research has been focused on psychological therapies process and outcome research in routine NHS services and self-help/self-management of mental health. This includes the development and evaluation of self-help interventions for people with common mental health problems and those with more severe and long term mental health problems. His research has involved a range of methodological approaches, including RCTs, practice based evidence and qualitative research. He was founding Director of the Centre for Applied Research in Health between 2016 and 2019 and a founding member of the Northern Talking Therapies Practice Research Network.

Mike has worked on training courses for cognitive behavioural therapists and graduate primary care mental health workers and has led projects supporting healthcare practitioners to provide self help support for people with depression and anxiety problems in their routine work.  He led the development of the Self Help Access in Routine Primary Care (SHARP) project, which includes a training programme and resources to help healthcare practitioners support people with mild to moderate common mental health problems.  The SHARP website contains brief, CBT based self-help leaflets to help people to understand and deal with depression and anxiety. 

He has also led the development of the Self Management After Therapy (SMArT) intervention, provided by Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners in NHS Talking Therapies services, which supports people to stay well after therapy for depression. 

His work supporting access to self help for anxiety and depression is summarised in REF impact case studies from 2014 and 2021.

Qualifications

BSc Psychology (Leeds)

MSc Clinical Psychology (Leeds)

PhD (Leeds)

PG Certificate in Cognitive Therapy (University of Durham, Newcastle Centre for Cognitive Therapy)

CPsychol (Chartered Psychologist)

Memberships

AFBPS

Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC). Membership number PYL16076

British Association of Cognitive and Behavioural Psychotherapies (BABCP)

Current/recent research grants

2021-26. Community-based Behavioural Activation Training (ComBAT) for Depression in Adolescents. NIHR Programme Grants for Applied Research. Co-investigator. 

2021- 2024: NIHR (RfPB): Increasing Physical Activity in a Medium Secure Service: Development and Feasibility of a Physical ACTivity Intervention (IMPACT). Co-investigator.

2022-3. Evaluation of 'Past Times' project to combat lonliness in older people. Health Community Lottery Grant. Lead applicant and co-investigator. Report. 

2021-22. Automated analysis of University Student Mental Health under COVID-19 using Machine Learning. University of Huddersfield URF funding. Co-investigator. Published paper.

2021-22. Understanding how adults with mental health difficulties experienced and coped with the lockdown. University of Huddersfield RIF rapid response COVID-19 related seed funding. Co-investigator. Published paper.

2018-2021: NIHR (HS&DR). The Effectiveness of Sexual Assault Referral centres with regard to Mental Health and Substance Misuse: A National Mixed methods study. Co-Investigator.  The MIMOS study. Report.

2015-2020. NIHR Programme Grant for Applied Research. Peer support for discharge from Inpatient to community mental health care: The ENRICH research programme. Co-investigator. Report