Inpatient Care and Crisis Management
My research focuses on the way that people access, experience and are supported within acute and crisis mental health services. I am particularly interested in how services can be designed to reduce psychological harm, foster relational safety and respond more effectively to people with complex needs. My work enables me to recognise the pressures my clients face during times of distress and crisis and to recommend appropriate and meaningful support.
The Assessment and Treatment of Executive Functioning Difficulties
Many people experience executive functioning difficulties, often due to a brain injury, cognitive impairment or neurodivergence (e.g. ADHD/autism). Such difficulties can have a hidden yet profound effect on a person’s ability to function day to day, leading to low self-esteem, exhaustion and burnout. My research focuses on understanding executive functioning difficulties and exploring strategies that can be used to support planning, problem‑solving, decision‑making and flexible thinking to improve quality of life. My work enables me to offer therapy that is neuroaffirmative and tailored to each person’s unique strengths and needs.
Self-reference and Emotional Blunting in Depression
My research focuses how people process information about themselves during periods of low mood. Understanding these patterns of emotional blunting and self-criticism allows me to help clients gently challenge unhelpful thinking styles and build a more compassionate, grounded relationship with themselves.
Publications:
McIvor, L., Payne‐Gill, J., & Beck, A. (2023). Associations between violence, self‐harm and acute psychiatric service use: Implications for inpatient care. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 30(3), 451-460.
McIvor, L., Payne-Gill, J., Winter, H., Pollard, C., & Beck, A. (2023). Consistency of violence: implications for effective inpatient psychiatric care. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 50(3), 461-475.
Sonigra, K. R., McIvor, L., Payne-Gill, J., Smith, T., & Beck, A. (2023). A preliminary evaluation of Crisis Plus: a model for working with frequent users of psychiatric crisis and inpatient services. Mental Health Review Journal, 28(4), 350-361.
McIvor, L., & Atnas, C. (2022). Reflections on developing a group intervention within a Home Treatment Team. Clinical Psychology Forum 355, 23.
McIvor, L. (2022). Using Parallel Assessments of Neuropsychological Status to explore Conceptual Flexibility. https://www.the-bns.org/blog
Burgess, J. & McIvor, L. (2022, September). Using parallel assessments of neuropsychological status to explore conceptual flexibility [Webinar]. British Neuropsychological Society and Hogrefe joint webinar, Tunbridge Wells, Kent.
McIvor, L., Sui, J., Malhotra, T., Drury, D., & Kumar, S. (2021). Self‐referential processing and emotion context insensitivity in major depressive disorder. European Journal of Neuroscience, 53(1), 311-329.
McIvor, L., Sui, J., Malhotra, T., & Kumar, S. (2019). Altered Self-referential Emotional Processing in Depression. Poster Presented at: British Association for Cognitive Neuroscience: Annual Meeting 2019 Sep 2nd- Sep 3rd; Cambridge, England.