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daniel.freeman@psy.ox.ac.uk

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+44 (0)1865 613109
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Daniel Freeman

MA (Cantab) PhD DClinPsy CPsychol FBPsS FBA

Chair of Psychology

Lead, Oxford Cognitive Approaches to Psychosis (O-CAP)
National Institute for Health and Social Care Research (NIHR) Senior Investigator
Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust
Psychological therapies theme co-lead, NIHR Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre
Founder of Oxford VR
Professorial Fellow, Magdalen College Oxford
Fellow, British Psychological Society
Honorary Fellow, British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP)
Fellow, British Academy

My work aims to help improve the lives of people with mental health conditions by developing, testing, and implementing new cognitive-behavioural interventions. A key focus is on paranoia. Over the past decade I have developed the most effective psychological therapy for persecutory delusions: the Feeling Safe programme. This is a translational treatment built upon advances by my research group in the theoretical understanding of paranoia.

I have pioneered the use of virtual reality (VR) to assess, understand, and treat mental health conditions. These treatments are automated: a virtual therapist guides the patient through the program. This means the interventions can be supported by a range of staff, thereby increasing access to effective psychological therapy. gameChange, a ground-breaking VR treatment for people with psychosis, is now being used in mental health services in the UK and USA. Development of gameChange was supported by the inaugural National Institute for Health and Social Care Research (NIHR) Invention for Innovation Mental Health Challenge Award.

My current work includes producing a more accessible version of the landmark Feeling Safe programme (Feeling Safer); conducting a clinical trial of a new automated VR therapy for young patients with psychosis (Phoenix); developing and testing a new automated VR therapy for needle fears; running a large multi-centre clinical trial testing the effects of treating sleep difficulties in patients with psychosis (Sleeping Better); a randomised controlled trial evaluating psychological therapy for patients at crisis with suicidal ideation (RAPID); and carrying out new psychological studies of paranoia, grandiose delusions, and hallucinations. My research has been supported by the NIHR, UK Medical Research Council (MRC), and the Wellcome Trust.

I studied natural sciences at the University of Cambridge and then completed a PhD and a doctorate in clinical psychology (DClinPsy) at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London. I have held a Wellcome Trust Fellowship, a Medical Research Council Senior Clinical Fellowship, and an NIHR Research Professorship. In 2011 I moved to the University of Oxford as Professor of Clinical Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry and set up the Oxford Cognitive Approaches to Psychosis (O-CAP) research group.

I joined the Department of Experimental Psychology in 2023 to hold the Chair of Psychology. I am a Consultant Clinical Psychologist in Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, an NIHR Senior Investigator, founder of the University spinout Oxford VR, Professorial Fellow at Magdalen College Oxford, and Fellow of the British Academy. I am the recipient of the 2020 British Psychological Society Presidents' Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychological Knowledge.

Key publications

Explaining paranoia: cognitive and social processes in the occurrence of extreme mistrust.

Freeman D. and Loe BS., (2023), BMJ Ment Health, 26

mated virtual reality cognitive therapy versus virtual reality mental relaxation therapy for the treatment of persistent persecutory delusions in patients with psychosis (THRIVE): a parallel-group, single-blind, randomised controlled trial in England with mediation analyses.

Freeman D. et al, (2023), Lancet Psychiatry, 10, 836 - 847

mated virtual reality therapy to treat agoraphobic avoidance and distress in patients with psychosis (gameChange): a multicentre, parallel-group, single-blind, randomised, controlled trial in England with mediation and moderation analyses.

Freeman D. et al, (2022), Lancet Psychiatry, 9, 375 - 388

Comparison of a theoretically driven cognitive therapy (the Feeling Safe Programme) with befriending for the treatment of persistent persecutory delusions: a parallel, single-blind, randomised controlled trial.

Freeman D. et al, (2021), Lancet Psychiatry, 8, 696 - 707

Effects of different types of written vaccination information on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in the UK (OCEANS-III): a single-blind, parallel-group, randomised controlled trial.

Freeman D. et al, (2021), Lancet Public Health, 6, e416 - e427

Sleep disturbance and psychiatric disorders.

Freeman D. et al, (2020), Lancet Psychiatry, 7, 628 - 637

mated psychological therapy using immersive virtual reality for treatment of fear of heights: a single-blind, parallel-group, randomised controlled trial.

Freeman D. et al, (2018), Lancet Psychiatry, 5, 625 - 632

The effects of improving sleep on mental health (OASIS): a randomised controlled trial with mediation analysis.

Freeman D. et al, (2017), Lancet Psychiatry, 4, 749 - 758

Persecutory delusions: a cognitive perspective on understanding and treatment.

Freeman D., (2016), Lancet Psychiatry, 3, 685 - 692

Efficacy of cognitive behavioural therapy for sleep improvement in patients with persistent delusions and hallucinations (BEST): a prospective, assessor-blind, randomised controlled pilot trial.

Freeman D. et al, (2015), Lancet Psychiatry, 2, 975 - 983

Effects of cognitive behaviour therapy for worry on persecutory delusions in patients with psychosis (WIT): a parallel, single-blind, randomised controlled trial with a mediation analysis.

Freeman D. et al, (2015), Lancet Psychiatry, 2, 305 - 313

Learning How to Improve the Treatment of Persecutory Delusions: Using a Principal Trajectories Analysis to Examine Differential Effects of Two Psychological Interventions (Feeling Safe, Befriending) in Distinct Groups of Patients.

Jenner L. et al, (2026), Schizophr Bull, 52

The social media scale for depression in adolescence.

Twivy E. et al, (2025), Int J Adolesc Youth, 30

Supporting Patients with Psychosis in the Community To Stand Up and Move More: Perspectives of Community Mental Health Staff.

Diamond R. et al, (2025), Community Ment Health J

n Automated Virtual Reality Cognitive-Behavioural Preventive Intervention for Adults with Agoraphobic Symptoms: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Adapted gameChange in Hong Kong.

Chan ATY. et al, (2025), Psychother Psychosom, 1 - 13

Increasing physical activity and reducing sedentary behaviour in patients diagnosed with non-affective psychosis: a cross-sectional UK study identifying cognitions to target in treatment.

Diamond R. et al, (2025), EClinicalMedicine, 90

psychometric evaluation of the German Revised-Green et al. Paranoid Thoughts Scale (R-GPTS) in clinical and non-clinical groups.

Rek S. et al, (2025), BMC Psychiatry, 25

Computerised adaptive testing across the paranoia continuum.

Freeman D. et al, (2025), BMJ Ment Health, 28

e people noticing excessive mistrust in others and how do they understand it? A survey of a UK representative adult population.

Slaoui G. et al, (2025), Psychol Med, 55

Multisite randomised controlled trial of a novel dialogical therapy in comparison to treatment as usual in adults with distressing and persistent auditory hallucinations: study protocol for the Talking With Voices (TWV-II) trial.

Longden E. et al, (2025), Trials, 26

The Oxford Paranoia Defence Behaviours Questionnaire (O-PDQ): assessing paranoia-related safety-seeking behaviours.

Lambe S. et al, (2025), Behav Cogn Psychother, 53, 224 - 237

Real-world waitlist randomised controlled trial of gameChange VR to treat severe agoraphobic avoidance in patients with psychosis: a study protocol.

Freeman D. et al, (2025), BMJ Open, 15

Sleep disruption and its psychological treatment in young people at risk of psychosis: A peer methods qualitative evaluation.

Waite F. et al, (2025), Br J Clin Psychol

6-month supported online program for the treatment of persecutory delusions: Feeling Safer.

Freeman D. et al, (2025), Psychol Med, 55

Efficacy of a 6-month supported online programme (Feeling Safer) for the treatment of persecutory delusions: protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

Freeman D. et al, (2025), BMJ Open, 15

Prior Expectations of Volatility Following Psychotherapy for Delusions: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Sheffield JM. et al, (2025), JAMA Netw Open, 8

Developing a qualitative and quantitative ambulatory assessment-based feedback system within cognitive behavioural interventions for people with persecutory beliefs.

Bringmann LF. et al, (2025), Internet Interv, 40

Mdivi-1 Inhibits Late Phase NF-kB Activation in Pro-inflammatory Microglia in Association with Suppressed Mitochondria Donut Formation

Polster B. et al, (2025), ANESTHESIA AND ANALGESIA, 140, 570 - 570

Potential research priorities for understanding and treating severe paranoia (persecutory delusions): a priority-setting partnership between patients, carers, mental health staff, and researchers.

Sher DA. et al, (2024), BMJ Ment Health, 27

Supporting movement and physical activity in people with psychosis: A qualitative exploration of the carer perspective.

Diamond R. et al, (2024), Int J Soc Psychiatry, 70, 1525 - 1532

Theory driven psychological therapy for persecutory delusions: trajectories of patient outcomes.

Jenner L. et al, (2024), Psychol Med, 54, 1 - 9

Exploring stigma, shame, and safety behaviours in social anxiety and paranoia amongst people diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Aunjitsakul W. et al, (2024), Behav Cogn Psychother, 52, 581 - 595

andomized controlled experiment testing the use of virtual reality to trigger cigarette craving in people who smoke.

Rovira A. et al, (2024), Sci Rep, 14

Developing an Automated Virtual Reality Therapy for Improving Positive Self-Beliefs and Psychological Well-Being (Phoenix VR Self-Confidence Therapy): Tutorial.

Rosebrock L. et al, (2024), JMIR Serious Games, 12

andomised controlled test in virtual reality of the effects on paranoid thoughts of virtual humans' facial animation and expression.

Wei S. et al, (2024), Sci Rep, 14

Study protocol for an adaptive, multi-arm, multi-stage (MAMS) randomised controlled trial of brief remotely delivered psychosocial interventions for people with serious mental health problems who have experienced a recent suicidal crisis: Remote Approaches to Psychosocial Intervention Delivery (RAPID).

Pyle M. et al, (2024), Trials, 25

Developing psychological treatments for psychosis.

Freeman D., (2024), Br J Psychiatry, 224, 147 - 149

Myeloid Cell Association with Spinal Cord Injury-Induced Neuropathic Pain and Depressive-like Behaviors in LysM-eGFP Mice.

Richards JH. et al, (2024), J Pain, 25

mated VR therapy for improving positive self-beliefs and psychological well-being in young patients with psychosis: a proof of concept evaluation of Phoenix VR self-confidence therapy.

Freeman D. et al, (2024), Behav Cogn Psychother, 52, 277 - 287

Daydreaming and grandiose delusions: development of the Qualities of Daydreaming Scale.

Isham L. et al, (2024), Behav Cogn Psychother, 52, 262 - 276

Disentangling the Consequences of Systemic Racism and Clinical Paranoia to Promote Effectiveness of a Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention for Persecutory Delusions in Minoritized Individuals: A Case-Example

Moussa-Tooks AB. et al, (2024), Clinical Case Studies, 23, 106 - 126

Understanding and Treating Persecutory Delusions.

Freeman D., (2024), Schizophr Bull, 50, 233 - 235

Measuring dissociation across adolescence and adulthood: developing the short-form Černis Felt Sense of Anomaly scale (ČEFSA-14).

Černis E. et al, (2024), Behav Cogn Psychother, 52, 163 - 177

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