Rate My Professor Paul Skirrow

Associate Professor Paul Skirrow, specializing in clinical neuropsychology, is based in the Department of Psychological Medicine at the University of Otago, Wellington, Faculty of Medicine. An English-trained clinical psychologist, he holds qualifications of MPhil, DClinPsychol, and PGDipClinNeuropsych, having completed his neuropsychology training in Scotland in 2010. In the early 2000s, Skirrow was part of the team that developed the first post-intensive care unit rehabilitation programmes in the UK. His research on memory, delusions, and acute posttraumatic stress disorder-related symptoms following intensive care, published in Critical Care Medicine (2001), has garnered over 1,000 citations and been included in multiple iterations of NICE guidelines, contributing to post-ICU rehabilitation becoming standard practice worldwide. He also worked on services for adults with intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorders, helping establish the first services for Asperger syndrome prior to the UK Autism Act 2009, with his work featured in NICE guidelines such as NG54, CG142, and CG170. Moving to New Zealand in 2012, Skirrow held leadership roles in brain injury rehabilitation at Te Whatu Ora and served nearly five years as Strategic Advisor to the New Zealand College of Clinical Psychologists, contributing to parliamentary submissions, subcommittee presentations, and over 50 media appearances on mental health, disability, and psychology.

Promoted to Associate Professor in 2024, Skirrow leads New Zealand's first postgraduate Neuropsychology training programme at the University of Otago, Wellington—a part-time, remote two-year course resulting in registration with the New Zealand Psychologists Board, which enrolled 21 students from diverse backgrounds in its inaugural year and received strong feedback. His research specializations include applied neuropsychology in the New Zealand context, psychological aspects of concussion, traumatic brain injury, and stroke rehabilitation, cognitive and psychological impacts of acquired and developmental neurological conditions including neurotoxin exposure, and bi-cultural, person-centred, co-designed approaches to rehabilitation and service design. Key publications encompass 'Rehabilitation after critical illness: a randomized, controlled trial' (Critical Care Medicine, 2003; 565 citations), 'The not guilty verdict: Psychological reactions to a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome in adulthood' (Autism, 2009; 289 citations), 'Post-traumatic stress disorder-related symptoms in relatives of patients following intensive care' (Intensive Care Medicine, 2004; 449 citations), and recent contributions such as 'Post-COVID-19 neurocognitive screening in routine pilot aeromedical evaluations' (Aerospace Medicine & Human Performance, 2025) and 'Clinicians’ perspectives on the validity of neuropsychological memory tests for use in Aotearoa New Zealand' (New Zealand Journal of Psychology, 2025). He is open to collaborations with researchers, clinicians, and PhD students, including those with lived experience of neurological conditions.