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About Dr Taylor-Kerr

Core Qualifications and Clinical Experience:

I completed my 18 month Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapy (CBT) at Kings College, London, in 2003, and have since been practicing CBT in a wide range of conditions including the Anxiety Disorders, Depression, disorders of regulation and affect and impulse control e.g. Bipolar Disorder. My work involves provision of CBT in all the Mood Disorders as specified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (e.g. DSM-IV) as well as Anxiety Disorders.

I completed my clinical focused Doctorate in Psychology in the Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, London in 2007. The paradigm used in my thesis was clinical neuropsychology, and I examined external and internal emotional and cognitive processing differences and their relationship to anxiety between unipolar and bipolar disorder. I had a publication from this work:

  • Kerr, N., et al (2005). Patterns of attentional deficits and emotional bias in bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 44, 343-356.

I have also been involved in other clinical psychology research which has examined differences in social cognition between bipolar disorder and unipolar depression, and in the effectiveness of CBT in bipolar disorder: 

  • Kerr, N, Dun​bar, R.I.M. & Bentall, R. (2003) Exploring theory of mind in individuals with bipolar disorder. Journal of Affective Disorders, 73, 253-259.
  • Lam, D., McCrone, P., Wright, K., Kerr, N. (2005) Cost-effectiveness of relapse-prevention cognitive therapy for bipolar disorder: 30-month study, British Journal of Psychiatry, 186: 500-506.
  • Lam, D., Watkins, E.R., Hayward, P., Bright, J., Wright, K., Kerr, N., Parr-Davis, G., Sham, P. (2003) A Randomised Controlled Study of Cognitive Therapy for Relapse Prevention for Bipolar Affective Disorder: Outcome of the First Year. Archives of General Psychiatry, 60:145-152.

I have endeavored to obtain a broad knowledge base in clinical research from working in areas covering neuropsychology, behavioural psychology, treatment studies and in brain imaging studies. I feel it enhances provision of CBT when there is an additional background knowledge of neuro-behavioural and neuro-psychological concepts from which to draw from. Other academic papers from studies that I have been involved in include:

  • Hassel, S., Ladouceur, C., Fissell, K., Almeida, J., Kerr, N, Kupfer, D. J., Phillips, M.L. (2008) Elevated striatal and decreased dorsolateral prefrontal cortical activity in response to emotional stimuli in euthymic bipolar disorder: no associations with psychotropic medication load, Bipolar Disorders, 10,8, 916-27.

  • Almeida, JRC, Akkal, D, Kerr, N, Banihashemi, L, Hassel, S, Kupfer, DJK, Phillips, ML. (2009) Reduced gray matter volume in ventral prefrontal cortex but not amygdala in bipolar disorder: significant effects of gender and trait anxiety. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging.171,1, 54-68.

I was awarded Chartered Scientist status with the British Psychological Society in 2010 for my research work which followed on from my PhD work. I have been an associate editor of the tCBT Journal and an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society (AfBPS).

I have worked with Chartered Psychologists at Kings College, London, in teaching and research of abnormal psychology, and worked in Improved Access to Psychological Treatments (IAPT) services as well as in NHS settings. In addition to working with adults, I have worked as a child and adolescent clinical psychologist in a specialist community mental health team (CAMHS). The work I did there included consulting with schools about issues such as school refusal/school phobia, working with the courts, working with educational psychologists with regard to treating children with emerging mental health problems; helping identify and treating emerging mental health problems in pre-school settings; identifying and treating emerging personality disorders; providing therapy to anxious and depressed children, providing therapy for children with ADHD, family work; hosting support groups for teenagers with Asperger's Syndrome and who suffer from tics http://www.lifespanpsychologyservices.com . I endorse family work as I have recognised through my extensive work with adults that many problems in adults stemmed from childhood. As such, I think it's highly important to work with children and their families to identify and help rectify issues that might affect and influence a child's emotional well-being in the short and longer term. Quite often, parents and siblings of affected children might also benefit from family work.

I am currently supervised by an accredited British Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapist (BABCP) and am working towards BABCP accreditation.

Summary of my career :

Whilst I was completing my Doctorate in Psychology, in 2001 I decided to study for a diploma in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy in order to obtain a more advanced clinical based knowledge of depression and anxiety. I then decided to pursue a psychology career with a stronger clinical focus as this more closely reflected my broader interests in human functioning. Following this, I worked for a number of years providing CBT in the Condition Management Programme organised by the Department of Health, and in an IAPT initiative, as well as for Anxiety UK. I have been a child and adolescent clinical psychologist in a community mental health team in 2013. Between 2008-2010 I worked as a post-doctoral researcher for two years performing a meta-analysis of brain imaging studies in depression.This research is on-going under a collaborative strategy. My research examines emotional processing and social reasoning differences between differing mood disorders using fMRI and neuropsychological experimentation.

Professional Registration Details

  • Chartered Scientist of the British Psychological Society (CSci)
  • Associate Fellow British Psychological Society (AfBPS)
  • Chartered Psychologist of the British Psychological Society (CPsychol)
  • HCPC Registered Clinical Psychologist (PYL28323)
  • General Member of the Division of Clinical Psychology (DCP) of the
  • British Psychological Society (BPS)

Professional Training

Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule ADOS-2 Training. I am qualified where appropriate, to use all editions of the instrument in clinical practice. 

EMDR Parts 1 -3. I am qualified to use EMDR in trauma an anxiety conditions.

EMDR Advanced Parts 1-2 Child and Adolescent 

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