Honorary Cognitive Behaviour Therapist, NHS Norfolk and Norfolk & Waveney Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust.

Qualifications and professional memberships

• PhD, “Pragmatic Evaluation of Computer-aided Self-Help for Depression/Anxiety”. Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, University of London, Jan 2009.
• BA (Hons), Adult Behavioural Psychotherapy (upper 2:1), Sheffield Hallam University, July 2000
• BN (Hons), Nursing Studies (upper 2:1), University of Nottingham, July 1998.
• ENB 650 & ENB Higher Award for Specialist Practitioner in Mental Health, Sheffield Hallam University, July 2000.
• Registered Nurse in Mental Health, UK Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC), 1998-current.

Research interests

Computerised psychotherapy, cognitive behaviour therapy, self-help, phobic anxiety disorders, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, generalised anxiety, dementia, medical education, clinical supervision.

• Support for computerised therapy for patients with depression/anxiety: a factorial randomised controlled comparison of brief vs. enhanced support given by clinicians vs. assistants. (funded by NIHR Research for Patient Benefit Programme with NHS Norfolk).
• Development of a novel computer-based therapy for social anxiety in psychosis: preliminary investigations of feasibility and effectiveness (funded by NIHR Research for Innovation, Speculation & Creativity Programme with Norfolk & Waveney Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust)
• Combining in-sequence computerised and person-delivered CBT for depression/anxiety: pilot study of patient experiences and therapeutic processes (student project Doctorate in Clinical Psychology Programme)
• Projective Immersive Simulated Controlled Environments System (PISCES): Development and beta-test of a novel virtual environments system for psychological treatment of anxiety disorders (with industry – Xenodu Ltd).
• Guided self-help vs. therapist-delivered CBT for obsessive compulsive disorder (with University of Manchester).
• Validation of the English-version of the Computerised Assessment and Reference Diagnostic System (CARDS) for dementia (with King’s College London)

Selected publications

1. Cuijpers, P., Marks, I.M., van Straten, A., Kavanagh, K., Gega, L. & Andersson, G. (2009) Computer-aided psychotherapy for anxiety disorders: A meta-analytic review. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (in press).
2. Gega, L., Kenwright M, Mataix-Cols D, Cameron R, Marks I M. (2005) Screening people with anxiety/depression for suitability for guided self-help. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 34(1): 16-21.
3. Gega, L., Marks, I.M., Mataix-Cols, D. (2004) Computer-Aided CBT Self-Help for Anxiety and Depressive Disorders: Experience of a London Clinic and Future Directions. Journal of Clinical Psychology / In Session, 60, 147-157.
4. Gega, L., Norman, I. & Marks, I. (2007) Computer-aided vs. tutor-delivered teaching of exposure therapy for phobia/panic: a randomised controlled trial with pre-registration nursing students. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 44 (3), 147-157.
5. Giora A, Gega L, Landau S, Marks I M (2005) Adult recall of having been bullied in attenders of an anxiety disorder unit and attenders of a dental clinic: a pilot controlled study. Behaviour Change, 22(1), 44-49.
6. Marks, I. M., Cavanagh, K. & Gega, L. (2007) Computer-aided psychotherapy: revolution or bubble? British Journal of Psychiatry,191,47-473.
7. Marks, I.M., Kavanagh, K. & Gega, L. (2007) Hands-on Help: Computer-aided Psychotherapy. Maudsley Monographs No. 49. Psychology Press, Hove.
8. Marks, I.M., Mataix-Cols, D., Kenwright, M., Cameron, R., Hirsch, S. & Gega, L. (2002) Pragmatic evaluation of computer-aided self-help for anxiety and depression. British Journal of Psychiatry, 183, 57-65.
9. Mataix-Cols D, Cowley A J, Hankins M, A, Schneider A, Bachofen M, Kenwright M, Gega L, Cameron R, Marks I M. (2005) Reliability and validity of the Work and Social Adjustment Scale in phobic disorders. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 46, 223 – 228.
10. Mataix-Cols, D., Cameron, R., Gega, L., Kenwright, M. & Marks, IM. (2006) Effect of referral source on outcome with cognitive-behavior therapy self-help. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 47: 241-245.

Lectures, seminars, skills workshops, tutorials, supervision and assessments on the following courses/programmes:

• MB/BS Medical Degree
• PGDip in CBT for Primary Care Mental Health
• MSc Psychosocial Aspects of Health
• Doctorate in Clinical Psychology

Other contributions:

• Royal College of Psychiatrists Continuing Professional Development Online Module – Computerised Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (cCBT)

• Deputy Lead, Unit 12 (Psychiatry – “The Mind”), MB/BS, School of Medicine, Health Policy & Practice, University of East Anglia (UEA), Norwich.