Testimonial – Katie Glazenbrook

Dr Katie Glazebrook, Clinical Psychologist, LYPFT.

I completed an undergraduate degree in Psychology at the University of Birmingham in 2008 with my dissertation on attachment and social intimacy in young adults with learning disabilities. I then progressed to complete a Masters in Psychological Research Methods and clinically based PhD at the University of Nottingham. My thesis explored attachment in young people referred to CAMHs who have self-harmed.

During my three-year PhD, I worked one-day per week as a Research Assistant on a randomized controlled trial, delivering a Cognitive Behaviour Therapy-based intervention in schools. Whilst completing my final year of my PhD, I applied to do Clinical Psychology training. I was accepted onto the Clinical Psychology doctorate at University College London. The course is three years and involved a completing range of different clinical placements, including six months at an IAPT service, six months with the psychological medicine team at Great Ormond Street, six months at a community learning disabilities service and a year working on an adolescent inpatient unit. Alongside this, I completed a thesis using data from a large twin study to explore the impact of genetic factors on quality of parenting and adolescent attachment security.

I currently work as a clinical psychologist for the Community Perinatal Mental Health Team at the Leeds and York Partnership Foundation Trust. In my current role, I have been part of a 90-day service evaluation project of the use of a parent-infant bonding questionnaire, which included an audit of the team’s use of the measure, focus groups with staff and interviews with mothers who had completed the measure. Since qualifying, I have also been involved in supporting trainee Clinical Psychologists with their theses and in helping to supervise service evaluation projects.

Recently, the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) has released some new funding programmes. I am applying to the Clinical Academic Research Partnership (CARP), a 1–5-year funding scheme run in partnership between the NIHR and the Medical Research Council (MCR).

“I am passionate about integrating research into clinical settings, but the demands of my clinical job mean I have found it hard to undertake or lead on any substantial research projects, therefore schemes like the CARP are an exciting prospect. I am committed to supporting women in the perinatal period because I appreciate the challenges that come during this time and because I see the benefit from offering therapeutic intervention for the woman, their baby, and the wider family. I hope to conduct meaningful research in perinatal mental health, the results of which can inform future interventions or service development.”