Rate My Professor Katie Douglas

Associate Professor Katie Douglas is a registered clinical psychologist in the Department of Psychological Medicine at the University of Otago, Christchurch. She holds a BSc(Hons) from the University of Otago, a Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Psychology (PGDipClinPsych) from the University of Canterbury, a PhD from the University of Otago, and membership in the New Zealand College of Clinical Psychologists (MNZCCP). Her research focuses on the cognitive, psychological, and hormonal aspects of mood disorders. She develops and evaluates interventions including cognitive training programmes, psychological therapies, and environmental interventions such as light therapy. Douglas has extensive experience leading clinical trials of novel treatments, including large-scale randomised controlled trials of culturally-adapted cognitive remediation programmes for people with depression and bipolar disorder. As principal investigator, she has received ten major research grants, including the prestigious Sir Charles Hercus Fellowship from the Health Research Council of New Zealand in 2018.

Douglas chairs the Australasian Society for Bipolar and Depressive Disorders and is a founding member of the Early-to-Mid-Career Researcher Subcommittee of the International Society for Bipolar Disorders. She serves as Deputy Editor for BJPsych Open, Specialty Editor for Bipolar Disorders, and on the International Editorial Board for Frontiers in Psychiatry. Additional roles include membership on the University of Otago Christchurch Research Committee and the Executive Committee of the New Zealand Special Interest Group in Neuropsychology. Her current research interests include biological, hormonal, and cognitive aspects of mood and anxiety disorders; cognitive interventions for mood disorders; cognitive and biological impacts of earthquake-related PTSD; the influence of childhood trauma on mental health outcomes; and women's mental health. In clinical practice, she delivers therapy in treatment trials for mood disorders and has previous experience in health psychology and forensic psychology settings. She supervises PhD and master's students. Key publications include Van Rheenen et al. (2026), 'Consensus on subdomains and measures of relevance to affective and social cognition research on bipolar disorder (CAS-BD)', Bipolar Disorders; Sylvia et al. (2026), 'Examining stepped care as an innovation in the delivery of psychological treatments for bipolar disorder', Bipolar Disorders; and others in leading journals on mood disorders and cognitive interventions.