Dr Alyson Dodd

Associate Professor

Department: Psychology

Alyson is an Associate Professor. Her research investigates the links between emotion regulation and mental health.

Alyson’s research expertise is in the psychological mechanisms underlying mood dysregulation, particularly in mania risk and bipolar disorder. Her methodological expertise is quantitative research, particularly survey and questionnaire design, development and psychometric evaluation of measures (psychological mechanisms and outcomes), and randomised controlled trials of psychological interventions. She is particularly interested in the links between emotion regulation and mental health, and how this may be a transdiagnostic risk factor. Her research in this area has been funded by the National Institute of Health Research.

Alyson is also interested in young peoples' mental health and well-being. She is on the leadership team for SMaRteN, a UKRI-funded mental health network focused on student mental health and well-being. She is Principal Investigator on a British Academy/Leverhulme funded project focused on understanding what quality of life means to students, and how we can measure this. Alyson is also a partner on the Office for Students Challenge Competition project BRinging Innovation to Graduate mental Health TogethER (BRIGHTER).

Alyson is a Chartered Psychologist and Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society, and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Alyson supervises undergraduate and postgraduate project and research internship/placement students in the Department of Psychology, leads the psychopathology component of the undergraduate module Social, Developmental and Psychopathology (Level 5), and is Module Tutor for the Research Internship module (Level 6).

Campus Address

Room 151
Northumberland Building

Email Alyson

Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

Psychological mechanisms underpinning the development and maintenance of mania risk and bipolar disorder
Emotion regulation and psychopathology
Student mental health and wellbeing
Development/evaluation of process and outcome measures
Psychological interventions for emotion regulation and mood difficulties

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Key Questions: Research Priorities for Student Mental Health, Sampson, K., Priestley, M., Dodd, A., Broglia, E., Wykes, T., Robotham, D., Tyrrell, K., Ortega Vega, M., Byrom, N. 10 May 2022, In: BJPsych Open
The role of tenacious versus flexible goal pursuit in the vulnerability to bipolar disorder, Dempsey, R., Eardley, K., Dodd, A. 1 Apr 2022, In: Current Psychology
‘You’re on the waiting list’: an interpretive phenomenological analysis of young adults’ experiences of waiting lists within mental health services in the UK, Punton, G., Dodd, A., McNeill, A. 18 Mar 2022, In: PLoS One
Are context-specific measures of positive emotion regulation more predictive of mania risk and mood symptoms than trait measures?, McGrogan, C., Dodd, A., Smith, M. 1 Sep 2021, In: Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy
Mental Well-Being in UK Higher Education During Covid-19: Do Students Trust Universities and the Government?, Defeyter, M., Stretesky, P., Long, M., Furey, S., Reynolds, C., Porteous, D., Dodd, A., Mann, E., Kemp, A., Fox, J., McAnallen, A., Concalves, L. 26 Apr 2021, In: Frontiers in Public Health
Mood monitoring in bipolar disorder: Is it always helpful?, Palmier‐Claus, J., Lobban, F., Mansell, W., Jones, S., Tyler, E., Lodge, C., Bowe, S., Dodd, A., Wright, K. 1 Jun 2021, In: Bipolar Disorders
Psychological therapy for mood instability within bipolar spectrum disorder: a randomised, controlled feasibility trial of a dialectical behaviour therapy-informed approach (the ThrIVe-B programme), Wright, K., Dodd, A., Warren, F., Medina-Lara, A., Dunn, B., Harvey, J., Javaid, M., Jones, S., Owens, C., Taylor, R., Duncan, D., Newbold, A., Norman, S., Warner, F., Lynch, T. 1 Jul 2021, In: International Journal of Bipolar Disorders
Self-Regulatory Goal Motivational Processes in Sustained New Year Resolution Pursuit and Mental Wellbeing, Dickson, J., Moberly, N., Preece, D., Dodd, A., Huntley, C. 17 Mar 2021, In: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Student mental health research: moving forwards with clear definitions, Dodd, A. 4 May 2021, In: Journal of Mental Health

Professional Activity

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Invited talk: Emotion regulation and mania 2019
Invited talk: Emotion regulation and mania 2019
Invited talk: Understanding what helps or hinders personal recovery; the role of beliefs about mood swings 2018

PGR Supervision

Claire McGrogan Emotion regulation in context: Moderators of responses to positive affect, mania risk, and mood symptoms. Start Date: 01/10/2017 End Date: 28/09/2021