Sensing your body (‘Interoception’) is everywhere in theories of mental health. But when we tested how well hundreds of people sensed their heart and lungs, the link to symptoms was almost nowhere to be found. 💣 🚨New @natmentalhealth.nature.com paper 🚨🎉 asks why 🧵 www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Dr Susannah Pick
@susannahpick.bsky.social
MRC Career Development Fellow. Senior Lecturer, Neuroscience & Psychology of Mental Health, IoPPN, King's College London. Transdiagnostic research on neurological affective & dissociative symptoms. Head of the NEUROADS Lab
A new paper from the HiTOP Revisions Workgroup (and yours truly) on the conceptual and philosophical underpinnings of the framework. Recommended reading for anyone interested in questions of classification and psychopathology! Here’s the journal article: muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/articl...
The NEUROADS lab had a brilliant time at the @bnpa.bsky.social conference over the last few days! Lots of great talks and a perfect opportunity to share and celebrate some of our recent work! Thanks for having us! 🙏
Pleased to share our article reporting routine clinical outcomes of the South London & Maudsley specialist cognitive behavioural therapy service for #FND. Patients reported significant improvements in distress, functioning & cognitive-behavioural symptom responses www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy...
Frontiers | The effectiveness of specialist cognitive behavioural therapy for functional neurological disorder: a service evaluation
IntroductionFunctional neurological disorder (FND) is a common and disabling condition associated with high levels of functional impairment and psychological...
frontiersin.org
Call for abstracts for the Placebo, Hypnosis & Functional Disorders conference in Nancy (France), October 14–16, 2026 🚨 Beautiful location and fascinating talks/discussions about key scientific questions at the mind-body-society interface 💭🧠 Abstract deadline 27/04/26 www.phfd-conf.org/en/
PHFD Conference – PHFD conference
phfd-conf.org
Our new article highlights the presence and possible impact of cognitive symptoms in people with functional seizures or motor symptoms, also showing specific performance difficulties in attention and set-shifting in these #FND subgroups. Grateful to the team and participants🙏 doi.org/10.1017/S003...
Cognition and metacognition in functional motor symptoms and functional seizures: a case–control study | Psychological Medicine | Cambridge Core
Cognition and metacognition in functional motor symptoms and functional seizures: a case–control study - Volume 56
doi.org
Very pleased to see this study published today - excellent qualitative work capturing lived experiences of atypical depression led by former @kingsioppn.bsky.social MSc Affective Disorders student Ruxandra Iona Toma doi.org/10.1192/bjo....
Capturing subjective experiences of atypical depression: qualitative investigation of perceived aetiological factors and gender influences | BJPsych Open | Cambridge Core
Capturing subjective experiences of atypical depression: qualitative investigation of perceived aetiological factors and gender influences - Volume 12 Issue 1
doi.org
Affective science has lost an extraordinary member of our community: Dr. Paul Ekman, who passed peacefully at home at the age of 91 on Monday. Dr. Ekman's pioneering cross-cultural research on the interpretation of facial expressions in emotional terms...(1)
Childhood adversity, low positive affect and psychopathology: a meta-analytic structural equation modeling study www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Childhood adversity, low positive affect and psychopathology: a meta-analytic structural equation modeling study - Nature Mental Health
In this meta-analytic structural equation modeling study, Stoia et al. examined whether positive affect mediates the relationship between childhood adversity and psychopathology.
nature.com
Pleased to have been involved with this study on interoceptive dimensions in adults diagnosed with ADHD: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Interoceptive Abilities in Adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, marked by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Its symptoms …
sciencedirect.com
New paper on heterogeneity among highly suggestible individuals in Int Rev Neurobiol. They're assumed to be a uniform group but the evidence goes against this assumption. I describe the central methodological issues, different models of heterogeneity, lines of evidence and implications t.ly/LbX3t
eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com
📣Our October issue is live! Cover: The cost of eye movements 👀 Also in this issue: ⚠️Social threat & adolescent mental health 🧠How insights from PTSD can inform treatment of functional neurological disorder ⚖️A functional approach to the psychology of inequality Read more: go.nature.com/47fVLZV
Applications are also open for the @kingsioppn.bsky.social and @wellcometrust.bsky.social PhD programme in mental health research for healthcare professionals. I'm in the supervisor pool and welcome enquiries about projects kclmentalhealthphd.co.uk/apply
Funding, Eligibility & How to Apply — PhD Programme in Mental Health Research for Health Professionals
kclmentalhealthphd.co.uk
Applications opening on 8th October for our @kingsioppn.bsky.social MRC DTP PhD studentships for 2026 entry - lots of great projects being offered including one from me and @devinterhune.bsky.social on transdiagnostic dissociative states/symptoms kcl-mrcdtp.com/apply/projec...
Projects - MRC DTP
kcl-mrcdtp.com
📢 Interested in a career in neuropsychology?! Join us in @svuh.bsky.social: Early career award candidates will share their awesome neuropsych research! 🧠 #Neuropsychology researchers and clinicians will describe varied, rewarding career journeys. Register👇 www.psychologicalsociety.ie/events/Neuro...
This talk on September 3 at the @kingsioppn.bsky.social on dissociative identity disorder by Martin Dorahy should be excellent. eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com?url=https%3A...
Dissociative identity disorder: History, aetiology, phenomenology, controversy
Guest speaker, Professor Martin Dorahy, will present the history, aetiology and phenomenology of dissociative identity disorder, and some of the historical and current controversies associated with it...
eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com
Are you looking to refocus and specialise your clinical or research career in affective disorders? Looking to learn from from internationally leading clinicians and scientists? If this piques your interest, apply for our MSc in Affective Disorders:
Affective Disorders
Our Affective Disorders course has been created for a broad spectrum of students and mental health professionals who are interested in specialist training from world-class experts. You will study all aspects of affective disorders, ranging from their characterisation and assessment to the challenges in treating these conditions. Our course is designed to be interdisciplinary and its focus is on both biological and psychological aspects. It is therefore suitable for students who seek to broaden their knowledge beyond professional boundaries, such as medicine and psychology.
kcl.ac.uk
Our new paper is out in BP:GOS. A large team including @lillianwieder.bsky.social, @susannahpick.bsky.social, @sunjeevkamboj.bsky.social. We found that #dissociation can be reliably induced using a range of methods and drugs, most notably #mirror-gazing and #ketamine. t.ly/qOme3 t.ly/cK-YI
The Induction of Dissociative States: A Meta-Analysis
Plain Language SummaryWe conducted a meta-analysis of studies that measured state dissociation (e.g., feeling detached from one’s environment) in different clinical groups and in response to different...
bpsgos.org
Very much looking forward to presenting on dissociation at this multidisciplinary #FND symposium at St George's on 5th September. Take a look at the program here: www.citystgeorges.ac.uk/__data/asset... Register through link below: shop.sgul.ac.uk/short-course...
citystgeorges.ac.uk
Please support FND Dimensions by sharing/attending this event celebrating the resilience of people with Functional Neurological Disorder: Stage and Screen - A Musical Concert, Friday 28th March 2025 - University Hall, NTU City Campus, Nottingham #FND 🧠🎵💪
FINALLY! 🥳 Our paper on fear conditioning and childhood adversity has reached its final version of record @eLife! Check it out here: elifesciences.org/articles/91425
Reduced discrimination between signals of danger and safety but not overgeneralization is linked to exposure to childhood adversity in healthy adults
Childhood adversity is associated with aberrant threat learning patterns in a large healthy adult sample as evidenced by empirically testing several theories linking childhood adversity to psychopatho...
elifesciences.org
Sharing article published from our NeuroImage:Clinical issue on #FND. @fndsociety.bsky.social Impaired spatial dynamic functional network connectivity & neurophysiological correlates in functional hemiparesis. #MicheleTinazzi @vcalhoun.bsky.social. Check it out! www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Impaired spatial dynamic functional network connectivity and neurophysiological correlates in functional hemiparesis
The present study investigated spatial dynamic functional network connectivity (dFNC) in patients with functional hemiparesis (i.e., functional stroke…
sciencedirect.com
Sharing our new paper reporting key stakeholder perspectives on outcome measurement in #FND. This work will help ensure that outcome measures are patient-centred and clinically relevant in future. Thanks Sonja Rutten @abw89.bsky.social @timnicholson.bsky.social! 🙏 link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Outcome measurement in functional neurological disorder: A qualitative study on the views of patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals - Journal of Neurology
Background In this qualitative study, we aimed to obtain and synthesise the views of patients with functional neurological disorder (FND), their caregivers, and relevant healthcare professionals (HCPs...
link.springer.com
New FND guidance from the British Psychological Society on the role of neuropsychology/psychology in FND management in children and adults - a one stop shop for scientific, clinical, and policy references in FND, with a focus on the UK but global relevance explore.bps.org.uk/content/repo...
Functional Neurological Disorder: Neuropsychological and psychological management in children and adults | BPS - British Psychological Society
BPS Explore is our easy-to-access central location for you to read and download a wide range of psychological content from practitioners, researchers and working groups.
explore.bps.org.uk
New paper out in J Psychiatric Research today! We systematically reviewed/evaluated currently available #dissociation measures 🧐 Congrats to Sorawit Wainipitapong for leading & many thanks to the team - M Millman, X Huang, L Wieder, @devinterhune.bsky.social www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Assessing dissociation: a systematic review and evaluation of existing measures
sciencedirect.com