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Rebecca Watson

Postdoctoral Researcher

My research focuses on child and adolescent mental health difficulties, particularly common mental conditions such as depression and anxiety. 

I am currently working as a postdoctoral research on a knowledge mobilisation project, Co-RAY (Resources made for And by Young people in the COVID-19 context), which aims to support young people’s mental health and wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic by producing a set of evidence-informed multimedia resources. 

I recently completed my PhD, under the supervision of Professor Shirley Reynolds, Dr Ciara McCabe and Professor Kate Harvey.  My PhD research focused on the symptom of anhedonia in adolescent depression, focusing on its conceptualisation, assessment and treatment. This work used qualitative methods to explore young people's experiences of this symptom in a clinical service and in the community, and quantitative methods to develop and validate a new self-report scale to assess the symptom of anhedonia in adolescents.

I am also interested in translating research to non-specialist audiences, and improving the links between policy and research. Further to this, I have an interest in exploring ways to improve the mental health and wellbeing of vulnerable groups in low-middle income settings.