Dr Laura Simonds
Lecturer
Qualifications: BSc (Lond), PhD (Gre), CPsychol, AFBPsS
Email: l.simonds@surrey.ac.uk
Phone: Work: 01483 68 6936
Room no: 41 AD 02
Office hours
I am normally in the University Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday between the hours of 9 and 5. Appointments may be made by phone or email.
Further information
Research Interests
My core research interests are:
Mental intrusions (e.g. obsessional thoughts, images and urges) and compulsive activity. My research currently focuses on the role of self-concept, reasoning and doubt in clinical and non-clinical intrusions; shame and self-compassion both as elements of obsessive-compulsive phenomenology and as they relate to treatment-seeking decisions; scrupulosity (religious obsessions); and, family/parental accommodation of obsessive-compulsive problems.
Shame and its relationship with anxiety, depression, self-esteem, anger and risky behaviours in adolescents.
‘Recovery’ in young people. This work involves the conceptualization of the concept of recovery and the development of a measure of recovery that might be used by mental health professionals in evaluating clinical work with young people.
Research Collaborations
NHS Funding: With Mary John and Fiona Warren. Development and initial validation of a measure of recovery for use in specialist mental health services for young people.
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.
Publications
Journal articles
- . (2012) 'A qualitative exploration of the views and experiences of family court magistrates making decisions in care proceedings involving parents with learning disabilities'. Wiley British Journal of Learning Disabilities,
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(2012) 'Obsessive-compulsive disorder in children and adolescents: Parental understanding, accommodation, coping and distress'. Elsevier Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 26 (5), pp. 624-632.Full text is available at: http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/500886/
Abstract
Parental accommodation of pediatric OCD is common and is associated with negative affect in parents. Qualitative accounts of caring for a child with OCD are limited and no studies have assessed differences between mothers and fathers in accommodation, coping and distress. The current study used a mixed methods approach to understand parental accommodation, negative affect and coping. Forty-one mothers and 29 fathers of 43 children with OCD were asked to write narratives about their understanding and management of OCD and to complete measures of accommodation, coping, and distress. Symptom accommodation was high with almost half of the parents watching the child complete rituals or waiting for the child on a daily basis. Analysis of parental narratives indicated a distressing struggle between engaging in and resisting accommodation in order to manage their own and their child’s anger and distress. T-tests and correlation analysis indicated that accommodation did not differ significantly between mothers and fathers but was more strongly associated with negative affect in mothers. Analyses indicated that mothers reported using all types of coping strategy more often than fathers, particularly escape-avoidance, taking responsibility and using social support. Escape-avoidance coping was positively correlated with accommodation and negative affect in both mothers and fathers. Interventions that target parental constructions of OCD and their behavioural and emotional responses to it may assist in reducing the occurrence of accommodation, avoidant coping and parental distress.
- . (2012) 'Obsessive-compulsive disorder in children and adolescents: Parental understanding, accommodation, coping and distress'. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 26 (5), pp. 624-632.
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(2011) 'A narrative analysis investigating the impact of first episode psychosis on siblings' identity'. Taylor & Francis Psychosis, 3 (3), pp. 216-225.Full text is available at: http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/217914/
Abstract
Research investigating the impact and experience of first episode psychosis amongst siblings is limited. This study reports the findings of a narrative analysis of the accounts of four siblings, two male and two female, aged between 17 and 24 years, of young people with a first episode of psychosis. The aim of the analysis was to explore the impact of this experience on siblings’ sense of self and their identity development and the roles they adopt within their families. The analysis focused on the core narrative, tone and genre of each account as well as providing a cross-case analysis. This cross-case analysis indicated an overarching genre of “rite of passage” within which a gender difference was interpreted. The emphasis in the accounts of the two young women was on finding personal meaning whereas, for the two young men, the emphasis was on taking up responsibilities. As found in other studies of serious mental health problems, siblings provide much direct and indirect care for their families. The implications for services providing support to siblings and families in early intervention services are discussed.
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(2010) 'Catholic priests' conceptualisation of scrupulosity: A grounded theory analysis'. Taylor & Francis Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 13 (1), pp. 1-16.Full text is available at: http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/217911/
Abstract
Scrupulosity is a manifestation of obsessive-compulsive disorder concerned with religious themes. It is unclear how religious leaders understand scrupulosity, the support they offer, or how they view collaboration with mental health practitioners. This study was designed to address these issues. Eleven Catholic priests took part in a semistructured interview based on a vignette describing a person with scrupulosity. Data were analysed using a grounded theory approach. Priests understood scrupulosity as a psychological problem that they felt unqualified to deal with but for which they could offer spiritual guidance. Scrupulous individuals were perceived as difficult to develop a supportive relationship with and were sometimes a challenge to priests’ emotional wellbeing. Collaborative working between priests and mental health services was suggested as a way to address these issues, although priests recognised some difficulties in implementing this. Further research, with other religious groups and with people with scrupulosity, would be beneficial in order to expand the current conceptual framework.
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(2009) 'Relationships between magical thinking, obsessive-compulsiveness and other forms of anxiety in a sample of non-clinical children'. British Psychological Society British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 27 (2), pp. 457-471.Full text is available at: http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/217913/
Abstract
Despite the obvious phenomenological similarities between magical thinking and obsessive-compulsiveness, the relationship between them has been the subject of few empirical investigations in samples of children. The present study aimed to examine the relationship between a general epistemic stance towards magical causation and tendencies towards obsessive-compulsiveness in a non-clinical sample of schoolchildren. One-hundred and two children, aged between 5 and 10 years (48 boys, 54 girls), completed questionnaire measures designed to assess magical thinking, obsessive-compulsiveness and other forms of anxiety. School teachers completed a measure of strengths and difficulties for each child. General belief in magical causation was correlated with all types of anxiety, not just obsessive-compulsiveness, with significant correlations shown for boys in the sample, but not girls. General belief in magical causation contributed little to the prediction of obsessive-compulsiveness beyond general anxiety. In this study, a general epistemic stance towards magical causation did not differentiate obsessive-compulsiveness from other anxiety dimensions. The findings are considered in the context of developmental theories of magical and scientific causal reasoning.
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(2008) 'The Hot Flush Beliefs Scale: A tool for assessing thoughts and beliefs associated with the experience of menopausal hot flushes and night sweats'. Elsevier Ireland Ltd MATURITAS, 60 (2), pp. 158-169.Full text is available at: http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/217912/
Abstract
Objectives Approximately 15–20% of women experience their hot flushes and night sweats as problematic. There is some evidence that cognitive appraisals may help explain individual variation, and that cognitive behaviour therapy can alleviate related distress. This paper describes the development of the Hot Flush Beliefs Scale (HFBS), a questionnaire to assess women's appraisals, and reports on the reliability, validity and factor structure of the scale. Methods An initial pool of 63 items was generated from several sources: empirical literature, clinicians’ views, and in-depth interviews, with the aim of reflecting common thoughts and beliefs about flushes and sweats. A total of 103 women, aged 41–64 years completed the initial measure. Principal components analysis and principal axis factoring were applied to the data, with both orthogonal and oblique rotation to determine the most coherent and interpretable solution. Results Exploratory factor analysis culminated in a 27-item measure comprising three dimensions: beliefs about self in social context; beliefs about coping with hot flushes; beliefs about coping with night sweats/sleep. The HFBS was internally consistent, with subscale alphas ranging from 0.78 to 0.93, and test–retest reliability 0.74–0.78. Validity was supported through correlations with other measures of mood and menopause beliefs. Conclusions Preliminary analysis of the HFBS reveals it to be a psychometrically sound instrument. The HFBS has the benefit of being grounded in women's experiences and shows initial promise as a tool to aid further clinical and theoretical understanding of the impact of hot flushes and night sweats.
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(2003) 'The relationship between disgust sensitivity, anxiety and obsessions'. PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD Behavior Research and Therapy, 41 (12), pp. 1397-1409.Full text is available at: http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/267120/
Abstract
300 participants, including volunteers from an obsessional support group, filled in questionnaires relating to disgust sensitivity, health anxiety, anxiety, fear of death, fear of contamination and obsessionality as part of an investigation into the involvement of disgust sensitivity in types of obsessions. Overall, the data supported the hypothesis that a relationship does exist between disgust sensitivity and the targeted variables. A significant predictive relationship was found between disgust sensitivity and total scores on the Obsessive Compulsive Inventory (OCI; Foa, Kozak, Salkovskis, Coles and Amir, 1998) for both frequency and distress of symptomatology. Disgust sensitivity scores were significantly related to health anxiety scores and general anxiety scores and to all the obsessional subscales with the exception of hoarding. Additionally, multiple regression analyses revealed that disgust sensitivity may be more specifically related to washing compulsions: frequency of washing behaviour was best predicted by disgust sensitivity scores. Washing distress scores were best predicted by health anxiety scores, though disgust sensitivity entered in the second model. It is suggested that further research on the relationship between disgust sensitivity and obsessionality could be helpful in refining the theoretical understanding of obsessions
Book chapters
- . (2012) 'Using focused ethnography in psychological research'. in Cooper H (ed.) APA Handbook of Research Methods in Psychology American Psychological Association 2
Teaching
Research Methods and Statistics, Psych D Clinical Psychology and Counselling Psychology
Occasional lecturer for Level 3 Clinical Psychology and Level 2 PIP
Departmental Duties
Research Tutor for Doctorate in Clinical Psychology.
Examinations Officer for Doctorate in Clinical Psychology.
Affiliations
Chartered Psychologist and Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society
Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
Reviewing
Consulting Editor, Archives of Scientific Psychology
This is the American Psychological Association's newest journal. It is "psychology's first open-methods, open-data, open-access journal".
http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/arc/
Statistical Consultant for Arts and Health
http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/journal.asp?issn=1753-3015&linktype=5
