Research groups
Colleges
Collaborators
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Cathy Creswell
Professor of Developmental Clinical Psychology
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Rebecca Davis
DPhil Candidate
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Lydia Munns
Postdoctoral Researcher
Alex Lau-Zhu
PhD, DClinPsy, CPsychol
MRC Clinician Scientist Fellow
- Specialist Clinical Psychologist, Oxford Health
- Committee for Children Junior Research Fellow, Linacre College
Accepting DPhil applications for next academic cycle
I am a Medical Research Council Clinician Scientist Fellow at the Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford. I work as a Clinical Psychologist at Oxford Health Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services specialising in complex trauma (Horizon), and hold a scientific affiliation at Imperial College London. I also hold a Committee for Children Junior Research Fellowship at Linacre College.
My research program applies cognitive science to drive therapeutic innovations, translating between the laboratory and the clinic. I have expertise in mental imagery and autobiographical thinking. Current work includes mechanistic and intervention studies exploring (1) "flashforward" images in anxiety; (2) intrusive memories of trauma; and (3) emotional imagery in autism. The overarching clinical focus is youth mental health (ages 13-24), as it presents exciting opportunities for prevention and early intervention.
I take an interdisciplinary perspective within and outside of psychology (linking with, for example, psychiatry, neuroscience, ethics, arts, etc) and draw from a range of methods: experimental psychopathology, cognitive paradigms, systematic reviews, qualitative research, single cases, trial designs, and more recently longitudinal approaches and experience sampling. I am also keen to support diversity in academic and clinical psychology careers.
My work has received funding from the Medical Research Council, Oxford University Press John Fell Funds, National Institute of Health Research, NHS Health Education England, and the Cambridge International Trust.
Brief Bio & Previous Appointments
My clinical-academic career has been based in the UK although I grew up between Peru and China.
2013-24: Research Tutor and Clinical Psychologist, OXICPT, Oxford Health NHS
2019-22: Clinical Psychologist in training (BABCP accreditation), University of Oxford
2016-18: Postdoctoral Research Associate, SGDP IOPPN, King’s College London
2013-16: Cambridge International Scholar, MRC CBU, University of Cambridge
2012-13: Low-Intensity Therapist, Sutton & Merton IAPT, London
2011-12: Assistant Psychologist, Traumatic Stress Clinic, London
2008-11: BSc (Hons) Psychology, University College London (Global Excellence & Ernest Hecht Scholar)
2007-8: General Studies in Liberal Arts, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Peru
Key publications
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Intrusive memories and voluntary memory of a trauma film: Differential effects of a cognitive interference task after encoding.
Journal article
Lau-Zhu A. et al, (2019), J Exp Psychol Gen, 148, 2154 - 2180
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Specificity of Episodic Future Thinking in Adolescents: Comparing Childhood Maltreatment, Autism Spectrum, and Typical Development.
Journal article
Lau-Zhu A. et al, (2024), Res Child Adolesc Psychopathol
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Emotional Mental Imagery Abnormalities in Monozygotic Twins With, at High-Risk of, and Without Affective Disorders: Present in Affected Twins in Remission but Absent in High-Risk Twins.
Journal article
Di Simplicio M. et al, (2019), Front Psychiatry, 10
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Boosting exposure and response prevention with imagery-based techniques: A case study tackling sexual obsessions in an adolescent
Journal article
Lau-Zhu A. et al, (2022), Cognitive Behaviour Therapist, 15
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Attachment patterns and autobiographical episodic memory functioning: A systemic review of adult studies to advance clinical psychological science.
Journal article
Lau-Zhu A. et al, (2023), Clin Psychol Rev, 101
Recent publications
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'Flashforward' mental imagery in adolescents: exploring developmental differences and associations with mental health.
Journal article
Lau-Zhu A. et al, (2024), Behav Cogn Psychother, 1 - 18
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Specificity of Episodic Future Thinking in Adolescents: Comparing Childhood Maltreatment, Autism Spectrum, and Typical Development.
Journal article
Lau-Zhu A. et al, (2024), Res Child Adolesc Psychopathol
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Cultural Adaptations, Efficacy, and Acceptability of Psychological Interventions for Mental Health in Adults? with Refugees and Asylum-Seeker Status: A Systematic Review
Journal article
McDermott L. et al, (2024), Trauma, Violence, & Abuse
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“I'm a man now”: Using Narrative Therapy to support an adult with Down syndrome transition to a new life
Journal article
Lau-Zhu A. and Mann J., (2023), British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 51, 577 - 585
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A Compassion-Focused Therapy group for young people who live in foster, adoptive or kinship care: Initial development, reflections, and ways forward
Journal article
Lau-Zhu A. and Vella L., (2023), Adoption and Fostering, 47, 400 - 414