Sophie Li

• B.Psych(Hons), M.Psych(Clinical), PhD
• Postdoctoral Research Fellow at The Black Dog Institute

Background Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a serious mental health disorder that when left untreated can lead to significant social, occupational, educational, and functional impairment. Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) is the recommended first-line psychological treatment for SAD and has been shown to be efficacious in face-to-face and online fo...

Background Long wait times impede timely access to mental health treatment for anxiety and depression for adolescents. However, there is limited quantitative research on current wait times for the treatment of anxiety and depression for adolescents in Australia and the impact of wait times on adolescent help-seekers. Aims This study examined adole...

Objective This paper reviews the literature evaluating psychological treatments to improve sleep quality in young adult university students. Method Participants (N = 6179) were young adult (aged 18–30 years) university students. Databases (PubMed, PsychInfo, EMBASE and Medline) were searched for randomized controlled trials evaluating psychologica...

Associations between screen time and mental health may be driven by increased use in young people with heightened symptoms as a means of modifying negative mood. However, the direct effect of technology use on mood remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the effect of active and passive social media use on an induced sad or neutral mood by...

Aim: This trial evaluated the efficacy of a CBT smartphone application (ClearlyMe®) for reducing depressive symptoms in adolescents when delivered with and without guidance and when compared to an active control. Design: An online three-arm, parallel-group randomised controlled trial. Ethical approval was provided by the University of New South Wal...

Objectives Intrusive thoughts and images in Health Anxiety are poorly understood. The current study aims to explore the rates and nature of health‐related intrusive thoughts and images in people with and without Health Anxiety. Design We used a cross‐sectional interview and survey design recruiting 82 participants (Health Anxiety: n = 37; control:...

Introduction: Sleep difficulties are common amongst university students and are associated with mental illness and reduced wellbeing. This paper reports a pilot study of Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) tailored specifically for university students. It was hypothesized that the intervention would be feasible, acceptable, and improve...

Background Sleep is necessary for healthy development and mental wellbeing. Despite this, many children do not get the recommended duration of sleep each night, and many experience sleep problems. Although treatable, existing interventions for sleep disturbance are time-consuming, burdensome for families, and focus on providing behavioural strategi...

Background: Wait times are reported to impede adolescents access to mental health treatment for anxiety and depression. However, there is limited quantitative research on current wait times for the treatment of anxiety and depression for Australian adolescents' and the impact of these on young help-seekers. Aims: This study examined Australian adol...

Objectives: To evaluate the impact of eLearning by allied health professionals on improving the knowledge and confidence to manage people with medically unexplained chronic fatigue states (FS). Methods: Using a parallel randomized controlled trial design, participants were randomized 1:1 to a 4-week eLearning or wait-list control group. Knowledg...

Background This study aimed to examine the impact of a web-based positive psychology program delivered universally to secondary school students during school closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in New South Wales, Australia. Methods Using a quasi-experimental design conducted in 2020, 438 students aged 12–15 years (73% male) from 4 secondary...

There is a strong relationship between the symptoms of insomnia and depression, however, little is understood about the factors that mediate this relationship. An understanding of these underlying mechanisms may inform the advancement of existing treatments to optimise reductions in insomnia and depression when they co-occur. This study examined ru...

Background Rates of depression are increasing among adolescents. A novel way to reduce depression is by improving sleep. We evaluated whether an app‐based intervention for insomnia improved sleep and depression, and whether changes in insomnia mediated changes in depression. Methods We conducted a 2‐arm single‐blind randomised controlled trial at...

Unlabelled: This paper outlines a systematic review and meta-analyses to identify, describe, and evaluate randomised and non-randomised controlled trials of psychological programs targeting the mental health, professional burnout, and/or wellbeing of school classroom teachers. Eighty-eight unique studies were identified for inclusion in the review...

Background Depression is a leading cause of disability in adolescents, however few receive evidence-based treatment. Despite having the potential to overcome barriers to treatment uptake and adherence, there are very few CBT-based smartphone apps for adolescents. To address this gap, we developed ClearlyMe®, a self-guided CBT smartphone app for ado...

Background Many university students have difficulties with sleep; therefore, effective psychological treatments are needed. Most research on psychological treatments to improve sleep has been conducted with middle-aged and older adults, which means it is unclear whether existing psychological treatments are helpful for young adult university studen...

This paper outlines a systematic review and meta-analyses to identify, describe, and evaluate randomised and non-randomised controlled trials of psychological programs targeting the mental health, professional burnout, and/or wellbeing of school classroom teachers. Eighty-eight unique studies were identified for inclusion in the review, and of thos...

Exposure therapy is the preferred treatment for specific phobia (SP), with evidence supporting its efficacy whether delivered over multiple sessions or as a single session, such as One-Session Treatment. In this meta-analysis, we compared the efficiency and effectiveness of single- and multi-session exposure for SP. PsycINFO, Embase, MEDLINE, and C...

There has been significant disruption to the lives and mental health of adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study was to assess the psychological and lifestyle impact of the pandemic on Australian adolescents, using an online survey, administered during the outbreak. Self-report surveys were administered online to a sample...

Adolescence is associated with heightened vulnerability to symptoms of depression and anxiety. In-person and computerised cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) are effective treatment options, yet uptake and engagement remain low. Smartphone delivery of CBT offers an alternative, highly accessible method of delivering CBT. However, there is no freely...

BACKGROUND Digital, self-guided cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) interventions circumvent many barriers to in-person therapy for young people; although adherence to these interventions is low. The absence or insufficient disclosure of recommendations or instructions for appropriate use may account for this. OBJECTIVE This systematic review synt...

Background: Digital, self-guided cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) interventions circumvent many barriers to in-person therapy for young people (aged 12-24 years), although adherence to these interventions is low. The absence or insufficient disclosure of recommendations or instructions for appropriate use may account for this. As such, many youn...

This paper outlines a systematic review and meta-analyses to identify, describe, and evaluate randomised and non-randomised controlled trials of psychological programs targeting the mental health, professional burnout, or wellbeing of school classroom teachers. Eighty-two unique studies were identified for inclusion in the review, and of those 39 w...

Objectives: Fatigue is a prominent symptom of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). However, the pathways contributing to elevated fatigue in GAD are poorly understood. Sleep disturbance, also prominent in GAD, only partially explains elevated fatigue in GAD. Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is a cognitive feature of both GAD and sleep disturbance...

Background Since the COVID-19 outbreak, few studies have investigated the positive psychological consequences on young people. This study examined resilience, positive experiences, and coping strategies reported by Australian adolescents during COVID-19. Methods Self-report surveys were administered online to a sample of 760 Australian adolescents...

The present study assessed the circumstances under which size estimation biases in spider phobia occur, and whether such biases are modifiable by treatment. Women with (n = 67) and without (n = 33) spider phobia approached a spider during a behavioral approach test (BAT). They provided size estimates of the spider both during and shortly after the...

Background: Since the COVID-19 outbreak, few studies have investigated the positive psychological consequences on young people. This study examined resilience, positive experiences, and coping strategies reported by Australian adolescents during COVID-19. Methods: Self-report surveys were administered online to a sample of 760 Australian adolescent...

Objective Past studies have found that various psychiatric symptoms fluctuate over the menstrual cycle. Sleep disturbance is a transdiagnostic feature of psychiatric conditions and is associated with several symptoms that exhibit menstrual fluctuations. Although some evidence indicates that subjective sleep quality changes over the menstrual cycle...

Objectives: Women's greater prevalence of anxiety disorders compared to men is widely assumed to be partly due to gender differences in cognitive and behavioural factors that perpetuate anxiety, such as repetitive negative thinking (RNT) and avoidance. However, past studies assessing this assumption have not controlled for gender differences in ba...

Objective: There has been significant disruption to the lives and mental health of adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the exact nature of the effects is not known. The purpose of this study was to assess the psychological and lifestyle impact of the pandemic on Australian adolescents, using an online survey, administered during and after...

Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is a transdiagnostic feature of psychiatric disorders. Women report greater RNT than do men, yet the association between uniquely female characteristics, such as fluctuating sex hormones during the menstrual cycle, and RNT has not been established. Here we examined changes in RNT and anxiety symptoms across the me...

BACKGROUND Insomnia and sleep disturbance are pervasive and debilitating conditions affecting up to 40% of adolescents. Women and girls are at greater risk of insomnia, yet differences in treatment responsiveness between genders has not been investigated. Additionally, while women report greater symptom severity and burden of illness than men, this...

Background Insomnia and sleep disturbance are pervasive and debilitating conditions affecting up to 40% of adolescents. Women and girls are at greater risk of insomnia, yet differences in treatment responsiveness between genders have not been adequately investigated. Additionally, while women report greater symptom severity and burden of illness th...

E-mental health programmes have great potential to provide young people with access to mental health support. However, it is commonly reported that adherence to these programmes is low. Low adherence can be problematic, particularly if young people do not receive the full benefits of a programme. In a research trial setting, non-adherence to treatm...

Background Ovarian hormones have been implicated as a potential source of variability in the effectiveness of exposure therapy for anxiety disorders in women. Additionally, preclinical studies in healthy women indicate that ovarian hormones are related to cognitive modes of emotion regulation, like cognitive restructuring. The purpose of the curren...

Subjective, disabling fatigue is a common complaint and a key feature of numerous medical conditions, and is a transdiagnostic feature of psychiatric disorders. Despite physical and mental fatigue being associated with functional impairment and reduced quality of life, little is understood about its underlying mechanisms or modulating factors. Wome...

In vivo exposure therapy for specific phobia is an effective treatment, yet up to 80% of individuals with specific phobia go untreated. This appears to be due to an unwillingness to confront the feared stimulus and a lack of appropriate service provision. One‐session treatment (OST) for specific phobias is an efficacious form of in vivo exposure th...

Preclinical studies have demonstrated that conditioned fear extinction is impaired in females with low endogenous levels of the sex hormone estradiol, due to menstrual fluctuations or hormonal contraceptive use. As fear extinction is a laboratory model of exposure therapy for anxiety and trauma disorders, here we assessed the hypothesis that treatm...

Introduction Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a serious and debilitating illness that affects between 0.2%–2.6% of the world’s population. Although there is level 1 evidence of the benefit of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) and graded exercise therapy (GET) for some people with CFS, uptake of these interventions is low or at best untimely. This...

Increased prevalence, severity, and burden of anxiety, trauma-related and stress-related disorders in women compared with men has been well documented. Evidence from a variety of fields has emerged suggesting that sex hormones, particularly oestradiol and progesterone, play a significant part in generation of these sex differences. In this Series p...

Many people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) have poor emotion recognition, with negative emotions more frequently impaired. They can also display abnormal affective responses to emotionally charged material, however, the mechanisms underpinning such deficits are unclear. This study examined whether affective responsivity can be improved by focusi...

This study examined whether severe traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) interfere with normal facial mimicry when observing facial expressions. A total of 21 adults with severe TBI and 20 control participants viewed angry and happy facial expressions taken from the Ekman and Friesen (197631. Ekman , P. and Friesen , W. 1976. Pictures of facial affect,...

Although the existence of empathy deficits in people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) is generally well accepted, it has been a topic of limited investigation. The current study examined the relationship between self-reported emotional and cognitive empathy and psychophysiological responding to emotionally evocative pictures in 20 patients with se...

People with traumatic brain injury (TBI) often find social situations challenging because they can no longer respond to the emotional state of the people they are with. Many also lack emotional empathy in their social interactions. But are these problems related? The present study addressed this question by examining psychophysiological indices of...

A series of experiments studied the effects of the interval between extinction trials on the loss of context conditioned freezing responses. Rats were shocked in one context (A) but not in another (B) and subjected to extinction trials in context A. In Experiment 1, massed trials produced more rapid loss than spaced trials. A shift from spaced to m...