PANDA (Psychological interventions for ANxiety and related Disorders in Adolescence)

polly.waite@psy.ox.ac.uk

Dr Polly Waite

The PANDA research group's work 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 cognitive behavioural treatments with optimal outcomes.

We use a broad range of methods (including quantitative and qualitative methods, clinical trials and systematic reviews) with adolescents, families, clinicians and other stakeholders.

Our 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.

Our research involves young people recruited through the community (such as schools) and clinical populations recruited through the AnDY Research Clinic - Oxford and other clinical services. Polly Waite co-leads the research programme in the AnDY Research Clinic - Oxford, which is a collaboration between the Oxford Health BRC ‘Mental Health in Development’ theme, the University of Oxford, and Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and partners the AnDY Research Clinic – Reading. The team in the AnDY Research Clinic - Oxford are also part of the PANDA research group.

In addition, we collaborate with Prof Clare Mackay (@TheTrichProf), Department of Psychiatry, on our work on BFRBs.