Matthias Schwannauer
Head of School and Professor of Clinical Psychology

Contact details
- Tel: +44 (0)131 651 3954
- Email: headofschool.health@ed.ac.uk
Address
- Street
-
Room 2.14, Doorway 6, Medical Quad, Teviot Place
- City
- Edinburgh
- Post code
- EH8 9AG
Background
Matthias Schwannauer graduated with first degrees in Philosophy and Psychology from the University of Marburg in 1994. In 1998 he completed his applied clincial psychology training at the University of Marburg with internships in Marburg, Frankfurt, Berlin and Edinburgh. His first position as a qualified clinical psychologist was in the Adolescent Mental Health Services in Greater Glasgow NHS. He moved to NHS Lothian and the University of Edinburgh in January 2000. During this time he was able to carry out his research into psychological interventions for bipolar disorders. This research involved the implementation of a randomised controlled trial of Cognitive Interpersonal Therapy and an investigation of the role of interpersonal and cognitive factors in mood regulation in bipolar disorders and the recovery process.
From 2009 he was Head of Clinical & Health Psychology and Programme Director for the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology training programme at the University of Edinburgh. He further works as a Consultant Clinical Psychologist in the Early Psychosis Support Service at CAMHS Lothian.
He took up the role as Head of School for Health and Social Science in 2019.
Postgraduate teaching
- Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (Child and Adoelscent Clinical Psychology, Developmental Psychopathology and interpersonal and developmental factors in individuals with Psychosis and Bipolar Disorders)
- MSc dissertations for projects related to the developmental psychopathology of mental health and well being in Chidren and Young People
- Psychological Therapies Research (CBT, IPT, MBT, CBASP), structured case series, pilot trials
Open to PhD supervision enquiries?
Yes
Research summary
His current research interests include the application of attachment theory, reflective function and psychological processes of affect regulation to further our understanding of the development, adaptation to and recovery from major mental health problems in adolescence, in particular psychosis and recurrent mood disorders.
He is particularly interested in the psychology of onset and recovery of severe mental health problems in young adults with regard to current developmental models of psychiatric disorders and the advancement of specific psychological interventions.
Matthias is Principal Investigator of a number of randomised controlled trials to develop and evaluate psychological interventions for severe mental health problems. He is further involved in a number of service developments and evaluations using an implementation science framework.
Current research interests
Our research group Developmental Psychopathology is focused on investigating developmental trajectories of mental health and well being in children and young people and the development of current psychological models of emotional distress and mental health. We are further focused on the development and evaluation of psychological interventions for young people with significant mental health difficulties and emotional distress. He is further a memer of the Edinburgh Child and Adolescent Research Network (ECAP), which brings together child psychologists based in Clinical Psychology, Psychology and Education. In collaboration with two Early Intervention services in Scotland for psychotic disorders we are currently engaged in a follow up study of young adults who experience a first psychotic episode. We further conduct a study in the developmental and interpersonal aspects of psychosis comprising the longitudinal assessment of known vulnerability factors as well as a detailed qualitative investigation of specific developmental factors. Focusing On Clozapine Unresponsive Symptoms (FOCUS): a randomised controlled trial is funded by the National Institute for Health Research via the Health Technology Assessment program for four years.-
Thalamo-cortical circuits during sensory attenuation in emerging psychosis: a combined magnetoencephalography and dynamic causal modelling study
In:
Schizophrenia (Heidelberg, Germany), vol. 9, pp. 25
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41537-023-00341-4
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
A Digital Intervention to Improve Mental Health and Interpersonal Resilience in Young People Who Have Experienced Technology-Assisted Sexual Abuse: Protocol for a Nonrandomized Feasibility Clinical Trial and Nested Qualitative Study
In:
JMIR Research Protocols, vol. 12, pp. e40539
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2196/40539
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
The experiences of practitioners working with young people exposed to online sexual abuse
(14 pages)
In:
Frontiers in psychiatry, vol. 14, pp. 1-14
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1089888
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Mitigating the impact of air pollution on dementia and brain health: Setting the policy agenda
In:
Environmental Research, vol. 215
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2022.114362
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Review article (Published) -
Investigating temporal and prosodic markers in clinical high-risk for psychosis participants using automated acoustic analysis
In:
Early Intervention in Psychiatry
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/eip.13357
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print) -
Hippocampal structural alterations in early-stage psychosis: Specificity and relationship to clinical outcomes
In:
NeuroImage: Clinical, vol. 35, pp. 103087
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nicl.2022.103087
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print) -
The EMPOWER blended digital intervention for relapse prevention in schizophrenia: a feasibility cluster randomised controlled trial in Scotland and Australia
(10 pages)
In:
The Lancet Psychiatry, vol. 9, pp. 477-486
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(22)00103-1
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Digital smartphone intervention to recognise and manage early warning signs in schizophrenia to prevent relapse: the EMPOWER feasibility cluster RCT
(174 pages)
In:
Health Technology Assessment, vol. 26, pp. 1-174
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3310/HLZE0479
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Computerised cognitive training during early-stage psychosis improves cognitive deficits and gamma-band oscillations: A pilot study
In:
Schizophrenia Research, vol. 243, pp. 217-219
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2022.04.001
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Letter (Published) -
Correction to: Characterising cognitive heterogeneity in individuals at clinical high-risk for psychosis: a cluster analysis with clinical and functional outcome prediction (European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, (2022), 272, 3, (437-448), 10.1007/s00406-021-01315-2)
(2 pages)
In:
European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience, vol. 272, pp. 535-536
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-021-01330-3
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Comment/debate (Published)