Polly Waite

My research mainly focuses on the development, maintenance and psychological treatment of anxiety disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and related disorders (such as body-focused repetitive behaviours; BFRBs) in adolescence. This is with the ultimate aim of developing targeted, developmentally appropriate treatments with optimal outcomes. 

I use a broad range of methods (including experimental and qualitative methods, clinical trials and systematic reviews), with adolescents from both clinical and community settings (such as schools). 

My current research projects and interests include the following:

• Understanding key cognitive, behavioural and emotional maintenance factors in adolescent anxiety disorders (particularly panic disorder and generalised anxiety disorder (GAD)), OCD and BFRBs and how they relate to specific symptoms.
• The development of developmentally sensitive self-report measures to improve their identification, and measure key processes that are targeted in psychological treatment.
• The development of brief cognitive behavioural treatments and evaluation of acceptability and effectiveness through feasibility and randomised controlled trials. 

Within the NIHR Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) 'Mental Health in Development' theme, I lead on research for an integrated research and clinical assessment and treatment centre for children and adolescents with anxiety disorders and depression, the Anxiety and Depression in Young People (AnDY) Research Clinic – Oxford, in collaboration with Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS): https://andyoxford.mhid.org.uk/. 

During the Covid-19 pandemic, I co-led the Co-SPACE project with Professor Cathy Creswell, tracking the mental health of children and adolescents over the course of the pandemic. More information and findings from the project can be found here: http://cospaceoxford.org. 

My work has been supported by the NIHR, MRC, UKRI, The Wellcome Trust and the Westminster Foundation. As a Clinical Psychologist, I am HCPC-registered and teach and train on a number of national training courses, including Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (DClinPsy) and CYP-IAPT courses.