Emily A. Holmes
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Emily A. Holmes (born 1971 in
Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
, England) is a clinical
psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...
and neuroscientist known for her research on mental imagery in relation to psychological treatments for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),
bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...
, and depression. Holmes is Professor of Clinical Neuroscience at
Karolinska Institute The Karolinska Institute (KI; sv, Karolinska Institutet; sometimes known as the (Royal) Caroline Institute in English) is a research-led medical university in Solna within the Stockholm urban area of Sweden. The Karolinska Institute is consist ...
in
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
. She also holds an appointment as Honorary Professor of Clinical Psychology at the
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
. The
British Psychological Society The British Psychological Society (BPS) is a representative body for psychologists and psychology in the United Kingdom. History It was founded on 24 October 1901 at University College London (UCL) as ''The Psychological Society'', the organ ...
awarded Holmes the May Davidson Award in 2007 and Spearman Medal in 2010. Holmes also received the Comenius Early Career Psychologist Award from the European Federation of Psychologists’ Associations in 2011 and the Humboldt Foundation Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award in 2013. In 2014, she received the
American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States, with over 133,000 members, including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. It ha ...
's Award for Distinguished Scientific Early Career Contributions to Psychology "for her groundbreaking research into the role of
imagery Imagery is visual symbolism, or figurative language that evokes a mental image or other kinds of sense impressions, especially in a literary work, but also in other activities such as psychotherapy. Forms There are five major types of sensory ima ...
in emotions and
emotional disorders Emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD; also known as behavioral and emotional disorders) refer to a disability classification used in educational settings that allows educational institutions to provide special education and related services to ...
..that encoding events as mental images—rather than in verbal form—can enhance both the intensity and the duration of emotional consequences."


Biography

Holmes grew up in
Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
, England. She completed a BA in
Experimental Psychology Experimental psychology refers to work done by those who apply experimental methods to psychological study and the underlying processes. Experimental psychologists employ human participants and animal subjects to study a great many topics, in ...
at the University of Oxford in 1993. The following year she obtained a master's degree in
Social Science Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of soc ...
at the Institute of Psychology, Uppsala University in Sweden, where she worked with Gunnar Jansson on haptic/tactile perception in blind individuals. She then attended art college for a year and followed this up by spending several years in New York. During this time she worked at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
running touch tours for visitors who were visually impaired and also with homeless people who were not receiving adequate care or support for mental health conditions. The latter experience began to shape the subsequent direction of her life. Holmes returned to the UK and was accepted onto clinical psychology training. She received her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at
Royal Holloway University of London Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public research university and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It has six schools, 21 academic departm ...
in 2000, under the supervision of Chris Brewin. Her research with Brewin focused on PTSD and intrusive memories. Holmes received her PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience at the
Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
in 2005, mentored by Andrew Mathews. Her research with Mathews demonstrated the powerful role of mental imagery in generating emotional responses. Holmes was awarded the Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship in 2005 in support of her research at the University of Oxford. In 2010, Holmes was awarded a Wellcome Trust Clinical Fellowship and was appointed Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Oxford. From 2012 to 2016 Holmes was a Program Leader at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences unit at Cambridge University. In her family life she has a partner and child. In 2022 she was the guest on an episode of ''
The Life Scientific ''The Life Scientific'' is a BBC Radio 4 science programme, presented by Professor Jim Al-Khalili , in which each episode is dedicated to the biography and work of one living scientist. The programme consists of an interview between Al-Khalili a ...
'' on
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
.


Research

Holmes's major interest is in mental imagery, its effect on emotion, and how it can be used in
cognitive behavior therapy Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a psycho-social intervention that aims to reduce symptoms of various mental health conditions, primarily depression and anxiety disorders. CBT focuses on challenging and changing cognitive distortions (suc ...
to increase the effectiveness of treatments for anxiety and mood disorders. With Andrew Matthews, Holmes outlined three different ways that mental imagery alters emotional experiences. First, mental imagery engages the same neurocircuitry that underlies the processing of sensory signals, which serves to direct attention towards potentially threatening stimuli, for example. Second, as a consequence of the overlapping neurocircuitry, one is able to mentally place oneself in an emotionally arousing situation and experience heightened emotions as if the situation were real. Third, the act of remembering past experiences may bring up emotions as if one were reliving the experience (
autonoetic consciousness Autonoetic consciousness is the human ability to mentally place oneself in the past and future (i.e. mental time travel) or in counterfactual situations (i.e. alternative outcomes), and to thus be able to examine one's own thoughts. One's sense ...
). Holmes leads the Experimental Psychopathology and Cognitive Therapy Research Group (EPaCT) at the University of Oxford. EPaCT members have developed computerized technologies (including computer games) for psychotherapy to modify people's existing cognitive biases, change negative thinking styles, and reduce the impact of intrusive memories. Holmes is part of a research team aimed at developing inexpensive yet effective therapies to help refugees recover from PTSD and other trauma-related psychological disorders.


Representative publications

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References


External links


Faculty Page

Research Group
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, Emily A. 1971 births Living people British women psychologists Clinical psychologists Alumni of the University of Oxford Uppsala University alumni Alumni of the University of Cambridge