Dr. Jan Scott, MB, BS, M.D., FRCPsych is now Professor of Psychological Medicine at the University of Newcastle. She is a Distinguished Founding Fellow of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy (one of 8 individuals worldwide). Her research focuses on combined treatment strategies (using pharmacotherapy and Cognitive Therapy) in the treatment of individuals with bipolar disorders, chronic and/or severe depressions, and treatment resistant psychosis. More recently, she has begun to research the development of age appropriate services to meet the needs of adolescents and young adults with early onset bipolar disorders or at high risk of developing recurrent mood disorders. This approach especially examines the application of staging models (like those used in general medicine) to inform diagnosis and treatment. Additional research focuses on mechanisms of action of psychological treatments, the prediction and management of medication non-adherence and studies of the short- and long-term prognosis of bipolar disorders.
Previous posts include a training scholarship with Professor Aaron T Beck in Philadelphia, USA; The Royal College of Psychiatrists Travelling Fellowship (allowing secondments to University of Wisconsin in Madison and to Johns Hopkin University in Baltimore). Professor Scott has also spent time working with Eugene Paykel in Cambridge, UK and Eduard Vieta and his team in Barcelona, Catalunya. Her current visiting appointments include The University of Sydney, NTNU in Trondheim (Norway) and a Brazilian science without borders fellowship (Porto Alegre and Sao Paulo).