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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

Kew, B. M., Monk, N. J., Conner, T. S., Frampton, C., Mulder, R. T., Porter, R. J., Carter, J. D., Jordan, J., McIntosh, V. V. W., & Douglas, K. M. (2025). Symptom overlap between depression and borderline personality disorder: A network analysis. Personality & Mental Health, 19, e70019. doi: 10.1002/pmh.70019 Journal - Research Article

Eggleston, K., Thwaites, B., Douglas, K. M., Porter, R. J., & Crowe, M. T. (2025). Experiences of functioning in mood disorders: Systematic review and qualitative meta-synthesis. Journal of Psychiatric & Mental Health Nursing. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1111/jpm.13155 Journal - Research Other

Douglas, K. M., Odering, Z. A., Jordan, J., Crowe, M. T., Lacey, C. J., Frampton, C. M., Averill, I. R. E., Smith-Hamel, C., … Porter, R. J. (2025). Impact of activation therapy for inpatients with major depression: Primary and secondary outcomes from a randomised controlled trial. Bipolar Disorders. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1111/bdi.70021 Journal - Research Article

Verdolini, N., Huber, R. S., Morton, E., Van Rheenen, T., Fries, G., Dean, O., … Douglas, K. M. (2025). Targeting the training and educational priorities of bipolar disorder-focused early and mid-career researchers and clinicians. Bipolar Disorders. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1111/bdi.70008 Journal - Research Other

Crowe, M., Jordan, J., Porter, R., Douglas, K., Lacey, C., Thwaites, B., & Sillifant, B. (2025). The feasibility of delivering two brief psychotherapies for the treatment of depression in primary care. Counselling & Psychotherapy Research, 25, e12906. doi: 10.1002/capr.12906 Journal - Research Article

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