Fiona Challacombe

I am an Associate Professor at the Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford. I am also a member of the research staff for the Oxford Doctorate in Clinical Psychology and an Honorary Consultant Clinical Psychologist at Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust.

My work is primarily focused on advancing the understanding and treatment of mental health problems in the perinatal context, that is during pregnancy and the postnatal period.  This includes understanding mechanisms of influence of perinatal mental health problems on child outcomes via observational and epidemiological studies; adaptation of interventions for perinatal mental health difficulties with the aim of optimising outcomes for parent and child; interventions to target mechanisms of intergenerational transmission of difficulties. A further theme of my work is the development and evaluation of interventions to support parental mental health in the context of high-risk pregnancies and complex birth outcomes.  

Current research investigates the effectiveness of time-intensive treatments for perinatal OCD and anxiety disorders; patterns of service use and outcomes in perinatal treatments using linked maternity and mental health data; evaluation of maternal mental health services; examining the impact of parental mental health problems on child development using cohort data; national evaluation of maternal mental health services; interventions to prevent anxiety and depression following severe pregnancy complications such as hyperemesis gravidarum and preterm prelabour rupture of membranes (PPROM).

I also work on the Oxford Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, supervising clinical doctoral trainees on their research.