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Contact Details

Phone
+64 3 372 6739
Email
katie.douglas@otago.ac.nz
Position
Research Associate Professor
Department
Department of Psychological Medicine (Christchurch)
Qualifications
BSc(Hons)(Otago) PGDipClinPsych(Canterbury) PhD(Otago) MNZCCP
Research summary
Mood disorders

Research

Katie is a Research Associate Professor and a Registered Clinical Psychologist. Her current research interests include:

  • Biological, hormonal, and cognitive aspects of mood and anxiety disorder
  • Cognitive interventions for mood disorders
  • Cognitive and biological impact of earthquake-related PTSD
  • Influence of childhood trauma on mental health outcomes
  • Women’s mental health

Katie has been awarded seven major research grants as Principal Investigator, including the prestigious Sir Charles Hercus Fellowship from the Health Research Council of New Zealand (2018). Katie has extensive experience in clinical trial methodology and is currently involved in several clinical trials being conducted through the Clinical Research Unit within the Department, and within the Canterbury DHB. She is currently leading an innovative randomised controlled trial of group-based Cognitive Remediation in mood disorders.

Katie is the Deputy Chair of the Australasian Society of Bipolar and Depressive Disorders, a founding member of the Early to Mid-Career Researcher subcommittee of the International Society of Bipolar Disorders (ISBD), a member of the ISBD Taskforce Targeting Cognition, and a member of the executive committee of the New Zealand Special Interest Group in Neuropsychology.

Katie currently supervises several PhD students in the areas of cognitive functioning in mood and anxiety disorders and women’s mental health.

In her clinical work, Katie delivers therapy in treatment trials of mood disorders within the Department of Psychological Medicine. She has previous experience working clinically in health psychology and forensic psychology settings.

Publications

Ward, J. A., Kew, B. M., Jordan, J., Porter, R. J., & Douglas, K. M. (2026). Medical student mental health and the role of rumination. New Zealand Medical Journal/Te ara tika o te hauora hapori, 139(1635), 125-131. doi: 10.26635/6965.7338 Journal - Research Other

Douglas, K. M., Sukhapure, M., Porter, R. J., Fenton, A., & Eggleston, K. (2026). Changes in facial emotion processing and depression and anxiety symptoms with polycystic ovary syndrome treatment: A longitudinal, naturalistic study. Archives of Women's Mental Health, 29(3), 87. doi: 10.1007/s00737-026-01725-y Journal - Research Article

Allott, K., Bryce, S., Douglas, K., Stainton, A., Wood, S. J., & Bowie, C. R. (2026). Formulating cognitive functioning to guide personalised treatment for people diagnosed with mental disorders. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 153(5), 573-587. doi: 10.1111/acps.13811 Journal - Research Article

Van Rheenen, T. E., Lewandowski, K. E., Pinkham, A., Varo, C., Caruana, G., Gruber, J., … Porter, R. J., … Douglas, K., … Miskowiak, K. W. (2026). Consensus on subdomains and measures of relevance to affective and social cognition research on bipolar disorder (CAS-BD); Outcomes and recommendations from an International Society for Bipolar Disorders Targeting Cognition Taskforce Study. Bipolar Disorders, 28(2), e70083. doi: 10.1111/bdi.70083 Journal - Research Article

Sylvia, L. G., Gold, A. K., Morton, E., Douglas, K. M., Birabwa-Oketcho, H., Miklowitz, D. J., … Murray, G. (2026). Examining stepped care as an innovation in the delivery of psychological treatments for bipolar disorder: Perspectives from members of the International Society of Bipolar Disorders Psychological Interventions Task Force. Bipolar Disorders, 28(2), e70097. doi: 10.1111/bdi.70097 Journal - Research Article

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