Peter M Mcevoy

• BSc(Hons), MPsych (Clin), PhD.
• Professor at Curtin University

Background Western Australia's response to the COVID-19 pandemic was swift and effective in implementing public health protections and preventing the spread of the virus for the first 2 years. However, healthcare staff continued to be at increased risk of mental health concerns. Aims To investigate the longitudinal patterns of post-traumatic stres...

ABSTRACT Many trauma-affected voice hearers report comorbid posttraumatic stress and voices (auditory verbal hallucinations) that are directly (voices repeat phrases spoken by perpetrators) or indirectly (voice content and trauma are thematically similar) related to their trauma. Models of PTSD and positive symptoms of psychosis are insufficient in...

Objective The relationship between self‐reported interpersonal difficulties and eating disorder symptoms is well‐established. The Interpersonal Relationships in Eating Disorders (IR‐ED) is a new measure of eating‐specific interpersonal difficulties (food‐related isolation, avoidance of body evaluation, foot‐related interpersonal tension). This stud...

Objective People who hear voices (auditory verbal hallucinations) often have post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Cognitive behavioural therapies (CBT) have yielded inconsistent findings when treating voices and PTSD symptoms in voice hearers. Preliminary evidence suggests imagery rescripting (ImRs) is associated with large reductions in...

Objective Interpersonal problems have been identified as a plausible mechanism underlying the onset and maintenance of eating disorders. The Interpersonal Relationships in Eating Disorders (IR‐ED) scale is the first eating disorders‐specific measure of interpersonal problems, which was developed in a nonclinical sample. The aims of the current stud...

Objective Shame is a powerful self‐conscious emotion that is often experienced by individuals with eating disorders (EDs). While the association between EDs and shame is well‐established, there is limited research investigating the contribution of pre‐treatment shame to clinical outcomes. Method Participants ( N = 273) received outpatient cognitiv...

PROSPERO (CRD42023408899).

Anxiety and related disorders are a significant public-health burden with rising prevalence in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. As demand for effective anxiety treatment increases, so too does the need for strategies to bolster treatment outcomes. Research on the mechanisms of exposure therapy, the frontline behavioral treatment, will be critical...

Objective Eating disorders (EDs) often co‐occur with social anxiety disorder (SAD). However, little research has examined the influence of SAD symptoms on ED treatment outcomes in the context of individual outpatient cognitive‐behavior therapy for eating disorders (CBT‐ED). It is plausible that SAD symptom severity could improve as a result of ED t...

Background Suicidal behaviors are prevalent among college students; however, students remain reluctant to seek support. We developed a predictive algorithm to identify students at risk of suicidal behavior and used telehealth to reduce subsequent risk. Methods Data come from s everal waves of a prospective cohort study (2016–2022) of college stude...

Objectives: Post-traumatic stress is common among people who hear voices (auditory verbal hallucinations), many of whom hear trauma-related voices, whereby voice content is related to past trauma. Preliminary evidence suggests that imagery rescripting (ImRs) may more effectively reduce post-traumatic stress and voices compared to treatments that a...

Background: A range of traumas have been linked to voices (auditory verbal hallucinations) and unusual perceptual experiences (UPEs) in other perceptual-sensory domains. Models of PTSD and positive symptoms of psychosis are insufficient in explaining the relationship between trauma and voices. The trauma-related voices (TRV) model was developed to...

Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is a transdiagnostic risk factor for many psychological problems, so it is essential to measure RNT validly and reliably across different cultural contexts. The 10-item brief version of the Repetitive Thinking Questionnaire (RTQ-10) has strong psychometric properties and predicts a range of emotional symptoms. Alt...

Background. Many trauma-affected voice hearers report comorbid post-traumatic stress and voices (auditory verbal hallucinations) that are directly (voices repeat phrases spoken by perpetrators) or indirectly (voice content and trauma is thematically similar) related to their trauma. Models of PTSD and positive symptoms of psychosis are insufficient...

The Bivalent Fear of Evaluation (BFOE) Model suggests that fears of negative and positive evaluation are core cognitive vulnerability and maintenance factors for social anxiety disorder The aim of this study was to experimentally assess cognitive and emotional effects of positive and negative feedback in social anxiety. False positive or negative f...

We are continuing to do valuable clinical research into voice hearing at Perth Voices Clinic, and trying to make this research accessible to all, especially people with lived experience and clinicians. Please find attached our latest lay summary from our publication “A narrative review of psychological theories of PTSD, voice hearing, and other psy...

Background and objectives: Theoretical models of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) propose that individuals who self-injure may find their attention more strongly captured by negative emotion, and that this intensifies distress which leads to episodes of NSSI. Elevated perfectionism is associated with NSSI, and when an individual is highly perfectio...

Background Improving the delivery of cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) for social anxiety disorder (SAD) requires an in-depth understanding of which cognitive and behavioural mechanisms drive change in social anxiety symptoms (i.e., social interaction anxiety) during and after treatment. The current study explores the dynamic temporal association...

Objective: Few studies have investigated the role of generic relational factors, such as group cohesion and working alliance, in group cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) for social anxiety disorder (SAD). The aim of this study was to examine the temporal associations among working alliance, group cohesion, and an index of a CBT-specific factor, hom...

Background Repetitive negative thinking is conceptualized to be a transdiagnostic process linked to the development and maintenance of psychopathology. Prior research distinguishes between disorder-specific exemplars (worry, rumination) and transdiagnostic measures of repetitive negative thinking with differences across disorders reported. However,...

Background The popularity of penile augmentation procedures is increasing, but investigation into men’s experiences with these procedures and impacts on psychological well-being is lacking Objectives To investigate men’s experiences with non-surgical medical penile girth augmentation and the impacts these procedures have on their psychological wel...

Background The popularity of penile augmentation procedures is increasing, but little is known about the motivations and psychological characteristics of men who seek these procedures. Objectives To investigate the motivations and psychological characteristics of men seeking a penile girth augmentation using valid psychological measures. Methods...

Background: Most voice hearers report childhood trauma. Many voice hearers report comorbid post-traumatic stress symptoms and that the content of their voices (auditory verbal hallucinations) is directly (voices repeat phrases spoken by perpetrators) or indirectly (voice content and trauma is thematically similar) related to their trauma. The fact...

Recurrent, negative self-imagery is common in social anxiety disorder (SAD). Imagery rescripting (ImRs) is an effective therapeutic technique that aims to target past aversive memories to modify their associated meanings, and update the encapsulated negative schematic beliefs. The current study aimed to extend previous research by investigating the...

This third edition provides a thorough real-world exploration of the scientist-practitioner model, enabling clinical psychology trainees to develop the core competencies required in an increasingly interdisciplinary healthcare environment. The book has been comprehensively revised to reflect shifts towards transdiagnostic practice, co-design princi...

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate carer variables on paediatric eating disorders. We examined whether carer self-compassion, the tendency to treat oneself with kindness during distress and disappointments, was associated with lower carer expressed emotion, and, in turn, whether lower carer expressed emotion would be associated with...

After assessing a client a treatment plan is required. The chapter outlines the practical steps in proceeding from a case formulation to a treatment plan. Since many techniques are modified for application in many different clinical problems and psychological disorders, we will concentrate on providing a description of particular procedures that ar...

This third edition provides a thorough real-world exploration of the scientist-practitioner model, enabling clinical psychology trainees to develop the core competencies required in an increasingly interdisciplinary healthcare environment. The book has been comprehensively revised to reflect shifts towards transdiagnostic practice, co-design princi...

The chapter describes how the clinical psychologist can work in rural and remote settings. The specific rewards and challenges are outlined. The chapter reviews the effectiveness of therapy at a distance and developments in the delivery of clinical psychology services. Consideration is given to the relevant legislation and regulations, and provides...

This third edition provides a thorough real-world exploration of the scientist-practitioner model, enabling clinical psychology trainees to develop the core competencies required in an increasingly interdisciplinary healthcare environment. The book has been comprehensively revised to reflect shifts towards transdiagnostic practice, co-design princi...

Clinical psychology trainees embarking on a professional career are faced with the prospect of work that, daily, has ethical questions and challenges to respond to people from varied cultures and social groups. The chapter describes how to provide a culturally-sensitive clinical psychology practice. It evaluates the current evidence-base antecedenc...

Supervision is a critical opportunity for a clinical psychology trainee to receive feedback to develop their skills. The chapter begins by describing ways to make the most of this opportunity. Practical steps are outlined that include, goal setting for supervision sessions, planning agendas, ways to learn from sessions recordings, and accounting fo...

The chapter outlines an evidence-based approach for clinical psychologists to select and provide group treatments. The process begins with selecting the appropriate treatment programme and then selecting the appropriate patients for the group. The chapter will identify principles for selection and assessment as well as how the use of interpersonal...

The chapter describes how to manage ruptures in the therapeutic alliance. It opens by outlining a conceptual model to understand the ruptures and proceeds to consider the ways that ruptures may manifest at different points in psychotherapy. One way to respond to some ruptures in alliance in via enhancing motivation and therefore the technique of Mo...

Clinical psychologists may work in a variety of settings, but the challenges of working in private practice can be beyond the experience of a trainee. Thus the chapter outlines the conduct in a private practice. It describes the important role of promotion and community education to engage with key stakeholders. The chapter highlights the added val...

Clinical psychological practice is founded upon the therapeutic relationship. A science-informed practice then requires that the elements used to build that relationship have an evidence base. Thus, the chapter reviews the empirical foundations of the therapeutic relationship and what steps can be taken to build a therapeutic alliance that correlat...

Case formulation links the client and his or her problems with the treatment. It captures both the strengths and the weaknesses in a complete summary of the client. The chapter introduces case formulation by first describing a behavioural case formulation and how a functional analysis can be conducted. The illustration of a behavioural formulation...

Clinical psychology is at an exciting point in time. We describe the current state of clinical psychology, framing it in terms of a trajectory from the foundation of the scientist-practitioner model to present developments. The chapter outlines how the how core competencies of clinical psychology practice are framed by the question, “How would a sc...

The chapter outlines low intensity psychological Interventions (LIPIs). These are treatments that have low usage of a specialist’s therapist time (e.g., 5–8 sessions), or uses the time in a manner that reaches a large number of people. Low intensity does not refer to the client’s experience. Even though the contact with the specialist is less, the...

Clinical psychologists, even those who work in solo practices, are part of a larger health care delivery system. The chapter frames the evidence-based practice of a clinical psychologist in the broader context by outlining the evolving parameters of service delivery and how the field is aiming to provide integrated, patient-centred care that is com...

This third edition provides a thorough real-world exploration of the scientist-practitioner model, enabling clinical psychology trainees to develop the core competencies required in an increasingly interdisciplinary healthcare environment. The book has been comprehensively revised to reflect shifts towards transdiagnostic practice, co-design princi...

The science-informed approach to clinical practice is founded upon ongoing quality improvement and involves key skills that allow clinical psychologists to confidently provide services in a competitive health care market. Thus, programme evaluation is a core clinical psychology competency but needs to be provided via a co-design framework. The chap...

The evidence-based practice of clinical psychology may begin with a review of efficacy studies, but it cannot end there. It needs to translate these data to the patient who presents for treatment. The chapter begins with a discussion of the principles whereby a clinical psychologist can seek to match evidence-based treatments to a client’s clinical...

Case management skills are critical to the effective, efficient and ethical delivery of clinical psychological services. The chapter will outline how case management involves the combination of practice-based evidence with management and documentation tasks. We outline the key management and documentation tasks associated with specific phases of th...

Objective The COVID-19 pandemic has had a severe impact on mental health. There is an urgent need to deliver low-intensity cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) tailored to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic. The aim was to engage in a qualitative study of participants’ views surrounding anxiety and depression during the pandemic and feedback on the...

Background Repetitive thinking (RT) has been defined as prolonged, recurrent thought about oneself and one’s experiences. Recent studies have shown that various measures of RT load onto a common factor and predict symptoms of depression and anxiety. The relationship with mania symptoms, however, remains underexplored. The current study examined the...

Objective: Using the Emotional Cascade Model as a theoretical framework, this study tested whether the relationship between perfectionism and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) operates through rumination and negative affect. Additionally, we tested whether the associations between perfectionism and both rumination and negative affect are moderated b...

Background and Objectives Test anxiety, particularly cognitive test anxiety, is negatively associated with academic performance. Previous research has demonstrated that higher levels of perfectionistic concerns predict higher levels of cognitive test anxiety but has not explored potential mediators of this relationship. This study investigated whet...

Introduction/Background: Cognitive behaviour therapy often focuses on improving emotion regulation skills, so the assessment of emotion regulation is important. People regulate both negative and positive emotions, and their ability to do this successfully is a cornerstone of adaptive psychological functioning. However, until recently, few measures...

Perfectionism is a transdiagnostic process which may be implicated in the onset and maintenance of non-suicidal self-injury. No study has evaluated whether reported differences in perfectionism between individuals with and without a history of self-injury represent genuine group differences or measurement artefacts. The present study reports an inv...

People regulate both negative and positive emotions, and their ability to do this successfully is a cornerstone of adaptive psychological functioning. However, few measures have been available to assess emotion regulation ability across both valence domains. The Perth Emotion Regulation Competency Inventory (PERCI) was recently developed for this p...

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a severe impact on mental health worldwide, with increased rates of anxiety and depression widely documented. The aim of this study was to examine unguided low intensity cognitive behaviour therapy for anxiety and depression during the pandemic. A sample of 225 individuals in Australia and the United Kingdom (M age 37....

Background The coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has required telehealth to be integrated into the delivery of evidence-based treatments for eating disorders in many services, but the impact of this on patient outcomes is unknown. Objective The present study examined the impact of the first wave of COVID-19 and rapid transition to telehealth on eati...

People regulate both negative and positive emotions, and their ability to do this successfully is a cornerstone of adaptive psychological functioning. However, few measures have been available to assess emotion regulation ability across both valence domains. The Perth Emotion Regulation Competency Inventory (PERCI) was recently developed for this p...

Purpose of the Review Delivery of psychological therapies via telehealth has increased with the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therapists may be hesitant in moving to telehealth when delivering therapies targeting memories of traumatic experiences. This paper collates the clinical experiences of clinicians and clients who have delivered or rec...

Background : LGBQ+ people (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Queer) are at-risk of discrimination and developing mental health issues within general populations. Limited research has assessed their mental health in emergency services occupations, a population which are known to experience poorer mental health. The current study explores the extent to which s...

Background: Difficulties in emotion regulation are a key risk factor for affective disorders. The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) is a 10-item measure of two emotion regulation strategies, cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. It is widely used tool in the United States, however, most psychometric studies of the ERQ have so far b...

The challenge of developing valid frameworks for understanding the nature of mental disorders is formidable but critical to all aspects of clinical research and practice. As the numbers of diagnoses, theories, and manuals have grown over time, so too has interest in commonalities in aetiological, maintenance, and change processes. This article firs...

Emergency services personnel have an elevated risk of developing mental health conditions. Most research in this area is cross-sectional, which precludes inferences about temporal and potentially causal relationships between risk and protective factors and mental health outcomes. The current study systematically reviewed prospective studies of risk...

Objective: The present study investigated the relative importance of various factors found to be negatively associated with depressive symptoms in older adults and assessed the potential moderating effect of sociodemographic characteristics for each factor. Method: Depressive symptoms were measured with the Center of Epidemiological Studies Depress...

Suicide is a leading cause of morbidity, yet a significant challenge to receiving adequate support is an unwillingness to disclose mental health issues. The current study explores reasons for nondisclosure among emergency personnel, a population at risk of developing mental health problems. Twenty-nine police, ambulance, and fire and rescue agencie...

Background: The Bivalent Fear of Evaluation Model proposes that the fears of positive and negative evaluation each uniquely contribute to social anxiety severity. However, the debate continues as to whether these are distinct constructs, and, if so, the degree of influence each has on social anxiety severity. This study used a longitudinal evaluati...

Background: Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is effective for most patients with a social anxiety disorder (SAD) but a substantial proportion fails to remit. Experimental and clinical research suggests that enhancing CBT using imagery-based techniques could improve outcomes. It was hypothesized that imagery-enhanced CBT (IE-CBT) would be superior...

Rumination is central to understanding the onset and maintenance of non-suicidal self-injury. Yet, no study has evaluated whether reported differences in rumination between people with and without a history of self-injury represent genuine group differences. The present study reports an investigation into the measurement invariance of three common...

This chapter provides a more historical background on the study of worry. It summarizes the theories and research that inspired Borkovec and colleagues’ foundational ideas. The chapter contrasts models of distal processes and models of proximal processes, a distinction that has been applied to other psychopathologies. At the heart of the cognitive...

Background Perfectionism is elevated across a range of psychopathologies and has shown to impede treatment outcomes. There is also evidence suggesting elevated perfectionism may contribute to the onset and maintenance of non-suicidal self-injury. There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that Internet-delivered cognitive-behavioural therapy fo...

The construct of perfectionism has been argued to consist of two factors, perfectionistic concerns and perfectionistic strivings. Though perfectionistic concerns are consistently associated with adverse outcomes, the evidence for perfectionistic strivings is mixed. Item cross-loadings of the two-factor model of perfectionism raise questions about w...

The integrated aetiological and maintenance (IAM) model of social anxiety disorder (SAD) conceptualises four social-evaluative cognitive processes (anticipatory processing, attention to the self, attention to threat in the environment, and post-event processing) as facets of a social-evaluative threat detection construct. The current study tested t...

The aim of the present study was to document clinicians’ and community members’ perspectives on the cultural adaptation of cognitive–behavioral therapy (CBT) to Chinese migrants with depression. Thirty-four participants, recruited using snowballing and purposive sampling, participated in 12 individual semistructured interviews and 5 focus groups. T...

Purpose of review: This review describes imagery rescripting (ImRs) and its clinical application to anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Variations in ImRs delivery, clinical evidence, and theories of potential mechanisms of change are also reviewed. Finally, we propose a future research agenda. Recent findings: There is so...

Objective(s): The metacognitive model suggests that beliefs about cognition maintain repetitive negative thinking (RNT), a transdiagnostic process that underlies commonly comorbid, emotional disorders. To date, there has been the limited application of metacognitive therapy (MCT) to adolescents. This study aimed to evaluate a six-session group tra...

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a complex behavior that serves many functions and may be motivated by several factors. Although previously limited to the context of personality disorders, consideration of how general personality traits might be related to NSSI warrants examination. Our aims were to investigate whether clusters based upon the Big...

Intolerance of uncertainty is a dispositional trait associated with a range of psychological disorders, but the influence of methodological factors on theses associations remains unknown. The first aim of this meta-analysis was to quantify the strengths of the association between IU and symptoms of generalised anxiety disorder, social anxiety disor...

Aim: The Clinical Impairment Assessment (CIA 3.0) is the most widely used instrument assessing psychosocial impairment secondary to eating disorder symptoms. However, there is conflicting advice regarding the dimensionality and optimal method of scoring the CIA. We sought to resolve this confusion by conducting a comprehensive factor analytic study...

Background: Successful management of bipolar disorder (BPD) typically involves individuals undertaking a complex array of self-management tasks (e.g., taking medication, monitoring symptoms, following a regular sleep routine). Many people with BPD doubt they can successfully undertake these tasks. This low sense of self-efficacy may lead to the pe...

Objective Interventions for carers of individuals with eating disorders are often time and resource intensive, which may be a barrier for service providers or attendees. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a very brief, two‐session psychoeducation and communication skills‐based intervention for carers of individuals with eating disorders....

The aim of this review is to highlight the important role of mental imagery in contemporary cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). In this narrative review, we define mental imagery based on cognitive science research, present the rationale for the incorporation of mental imagery within CBT, and outline four key applications of mental imagery within CB...

Objective The aim of this review is to highlight the important role of mental imagery in contemporary cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). Method In this narrative review, we define mental imagery based on cognitive science research, present the rationale for the incorporation of mental imagery within CBT, and outline four key applications of mental...

Purpose of Review This review describes (a) key features of the metacognitive model as they relate to anxiety and related disorders, (b) central components of metacognitive therapy (MCT), (c) the current empirical status of MCT, (d) recent developments, (e) controversies and (f) future research directions. Recent Findings Evidence is accumulating...

Background and objectives: Perfectionism is associated with the development and maintenance of several disorders. Given the importance of perfectionism understanding the biased information processes that underpin it is critical. The present study tested the hypothesis that heightened concern over mistakes subscale scores of the Frost Multidimension...

Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is a transdiagnostic process associated with numerous emotional disorders. Most measures of RNT are disorder-specific, limiting utility in comorbid populations. Transdiagnostic measures of RNT have been developed in adults and are associated with anxiety and depression. However, a transdiagnostic measure is needed...

An extended theory of planned behaviour including psychological distress was used to predict blood glucose monitoring in young adults with type 1 diabetes. Participants completed two surveys, a week apart (n = 167). Attitudes and perceived behavioural control were significantly associated with intention but subjective norm was not. Intention predic...

Clinical reports suggest that interpersonal problems are associated with the onset and maintenance of eating pathology, but existing measures of such problems have limited links to eating pathology. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop an eating-specific measure of interpersonal problems. The new measure, the Interpersonal Relationships...

Objective Perfectionism is a transdiagnostic factor across eating disorders, anxiety, and depression. Previous research has shown anxiety mediates the relationship between perfectionism and eating disorders in adults. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between anxiety/depression, perfectionism and eating disorder symptoms in...

Objective Long waitlists are common in eating disorder services and can have a detrimental impact on patients. We examined the effect on waitlist length, attendance, and eating disorder symptoms, of a 75–90 min single session intervention (SSI), attended a median of 16 days after referral to a specialist eating disorders clinic. Method Sequential...

Background: The effectiveness of psychotherapies for social anxiety disorder (SAD) is typically evaluated using self- and clinician-reported symptom change, while biomarkers of treatment response are rarely measured. The current study aimed to compare biomarkers of response following two brief group interventions for SAD. Methods: This randomize...

Objective Clinical perfectionism is involved in the etiology and maintenance of eating disorders. Limited research has examined the factor structure of the Clinical Perfectionism Questionnaire (CPQ) in clinical eating disorder samples. The aim of this research was to examine the validity and reliability of the CPQ in a mixed eating disorder sample....

Existing literature suggests that anticipatory processing and post-event processing—two repetitive thinking processes linked to social anxiety disorder (SAD)—might be better conceptualized as facets of an underlying unidimensional repetitive thinking construct. The current study tested this by examining potential factor structures underlying antici...

This project will explore the psychological, social and cultural influences related to satisfaction with injection augmentation phalloplasty (IAP) interventions, and hence help us to better understand the experiences of individuals considering phalloplasty interventions. The current study aims to identify, across a range of psychological and physic...