Contact information
Research groups
Eleanor Leigh
BSc (Hons), DClinPsy, DPhil
Associate Professor
- MRC Clinician Scientist Fellow
- Clinical Psychologist
I am an Associate Professor and MRC Clinician Scientist Fellow at the Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford and Honorary Associate Professor at UCL. I am also an Honorary Clinical Psychologist at Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust.
Our work is focused on improving our understanding and treatment of common mental health problems in adolescence, with an emphasis on cognitive behavioural approaches. To do this, I use a broad range of methods, including experimental and prospective methods, meta-analysis, and clinical trial designs.
My current research looks at: cognitive and behavioural mechanisms of adolescent anxiety; psychological therapies for adolescent social anxiety disorder; improving access to treatment with the use of digital therapy; how social anxiety affects academic achievement; the peer environment and anxiety in adolescence; and parental influences on the maintenance of anxiety in youth.
My work is or has been supported by the Medical Research Council, the Wellcome Trust, and the NIHR. Previously, I worked as a Clinical Psychologist at National & Specialist Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) at The Maudsley Hospital, London. I teach and train on a number of national training courses, including Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (DClinPsy) and CYP-IAPT courses. I am on the advisory board of JCPP Advances and the Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry.
For more information about our work please see our website: https://camy.web.ox.ac.uk
For information for young people on how to overcome social anxiety, you might be interested in our new book in the Overcoming For Teenagers series published by Little, Brown: https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/eleanor-leigh/overcoming-social-anxiety-and-building-self-confidence/9781472147417/
Recent publications
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Social anxiety and paranoid beliefs in adolescents
Journal article
Kingston J. et al, (2024), JCPP Advances
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Cognitive Processes in Adolescents with Generalised Anxiety Disorder: Exploring Intolerance of Uncertainty, Cognitive Avoidance, and Positive Beliefs About Worry
Preprint
Shipp L. et al, (2024)
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Social Anxiety Symptoms and Their Relationship with Suicidal Ideation and Depressive Symptoms in Adolescents: A Prospective Study
Journal article
Chiu K. et al, (2024), JCPP Advances
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Understanding the relationship between social camouflaging in autism and safety behaviours in social anxiety in autistic and non-autistic adolescents.
Journal article
Lei J. et al, (2024), J Child Psychol Psychiatry, 65, 285 - 297
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Exploring the Association between Social Camouflaging and Self- Versus Caregiver-Report Discrepancies in Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms in Autistic and Non-Autistic Socially-Anxious Adolescents
Journal article
Lei J. et al, (2024), Autism: the international journal of research and practice