Dr Kate Woodcock BSc, PhD, PGCHET

Dr Kate Woodcock

School of Psychology
Reader in Applied Clinical Psychology
Lead of People and Culture for the School of Psychology

Contact details

Telephone
+44 (0)121 414 6036
Email
k.a.woodcock@bham.ac.uk
View my research portal
Address
School of Psychology
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Dr Kate Woodcock’s research interests can be summarised as aiming to investigate and explain human behaviour by considering multiple potential influences at different levels of explanation. For example, people’s genes, their brain structure, their brain functioning, cognitive, physiological and emotional functioning can all affect people’s behaviour both individually and in an interactive way. In addition to this, all individuals exist within a specific environment, as does each level of their functioning (for example a person may behave differently in quiet, relaxed surroundings compared to noisy, chaotic surroundings; and the same cognitive process may have different effects depending on which other cognitive processes are engaged). The environment in the broad sense of the term is therefore also an extremely important factor to consider when aiming to explain human behaviour. Finally, Kate is extremely interested in ultimately being able to bring about a behavioural change when such a change is desired by the individual in question.

Kate Woodcock's personal website

Qualifications

  • PhD in Psychology
  • Postgraduate Certificate of Higher Education Teaching
  • BSc Honours in Psychology

Biography

Dr Kate Woodcock carried out her PhD research at the School of Psychology, University of Birmingham between 2005 and 2008. She worked as a Cerebra Research fellow at the Cerebra Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders from December 2008 until February 2011, before taking up an International Outgoing Marie Curie Fellowship, which she had designed under the European Union’s seventh framework programme. The Marie Curie Fellowship took Kate to Beijing, China until March 2013 and then brought her back to the University of Birmingham until February 2014.  In March 2014, Kate took up her first lectureship position at the School of Psychology, Queen’s University Belfast. In September 2017, Kate returned to the School of Psychology, University of Birmingham to take up a senior lectureship.

Teaching

Kate is a research tutor on the Clinical Psychology Doctoral programme and teaches clinical research methods on the clinical psychology master’s and doctoral programmes.

Postgraduate supervision

Kate is currently principally supervising a PhD student based at Queen’s University Belfast, who is due to complete in autumn 2018.  She is also co-supervising a further PhD student who began at Queen’s University Belfast in September 2017. Kate has funding for PhD projects in areas relevant to the impact of executive functioning and/or emotion regulation on the behaviour and mental health of children and adolescents, due to begin at various points between 2018 and 2022. Interested students can enquire about these opportunities with Kate via email.

Research

Neurodevelopmental disorders, challenging behaviour, mental health, executive functioning, emotion regulation

Other activities

  • Member of the international executive committee of the Society for the Study of Behavioural Phenotypes (September 2016 – ongoing)
  • Member of the editorial advisory board of the Journal of Intellectual Disability Research (August 2016 – ongoing)
  • Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (July 2015 – ongoing)
  • Co-opted governor of Story Wood Primary School (September 2015 – ongoing)
  • External examiner of clinical psychology doctoral theses, University of Manchester (June 2017 – ongoing) 

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Stiehl, KAM, Krammer, I, Schrank, B, Pollak, I, Silani, G & Woodcock, KA 2023, 'Children’s perspective on fears connected to school transition and intended coping strategies', Social Psychology of Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-023-09759-1

Krammer, I, Schrank, B, Pollak, I, Stiehl, K, Nater, U & Woodcock, K 2023, 'Early Adolescents’ Perspectives on Factors That Facilitate and Hinder Friendship Development With Peers at the Time of School Transition', Journal of School Psychology, vol. 98, pp. 113-132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2023.03.001

Bozhilova, N, Welham, A, Adams, D, Bissell, S, Bruining, H, Crawford, H, Eden, K, Nelson, L, Oliver, C, Powis, L, Richards, C, Waite, J, Watson, P, Rhys, H, Wilde, L, Woodcock, K & Moss, J 2023, 'Profiles of autism characteristics in thirteen genetic syndromes: a machine learning approach', Molecular Autism, vol. 14, no. 1, 3. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13229-022-00530-5

Pollak, I, Mitic, M, Birchwood, J, Dörfler, S, Krammer, I, Rogers, J, Judith Schek, E, Schrank, B, Stiehl, K & Woodcock, K 2022, 'A systematic review of intervention programs promoting peer relationships among children and adolescents: methods and targets used in effective programs', Adolescent Research Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40894-022-00195-4

Chung, J, Lowenthal, R, Mevorach, C, Silvestre de Paula, C, Cristina T. V. Teixeira, M & Woodcock, K 2022, 'Cross-cultural comparison of the contexts associated with emotional outbursts', Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-022-05708-7

Reynard, S, Dias, J, Mitic, M, Schrank, B & Woodcock, K 2022, 'Digital interventions for emotion regulation in children and early adolescents: systematic review and meta-analysis', JMIR Serious Games, vol. 10, no. 3, e31456. https://doi.org/10.2196/31456

Chung, J, Mevorach, C & Woodcock, K 2022, 'Establishing the transdiagnostic contextual pathways of emotional outbursts', Scientific Reports, vol. 12, no. 1, 7414. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-11474-4

Chung, J, Bhatoa, R, Fitzpatrick, R & Woodcock, K 2022, 'The role of emotion regulation and choice repetition bias in the ultimatum game', Emotion. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0001167

Diendorfer, T, Seidl, L, Mitic, M, Mittmann, G, Woodcock, K & Schrank, B 2021, 'Determinants of social connectedness in children and early adolescents with mental disorder: a systematic literature review', Developmental Review, vol. 60, 100960. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2021.100960

Blackwell, S, Zylberberg, A, Scerif, G, Miller, S & Woodcock, KA 2021, 'Understanding the psycho-social context for a new early intervention for resistance to change that aims to strike a beneficial balance between structure and flexibility', BMC Psychiatry, vol. 21, no. 1, 621. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-021-03519-1

Mitmann, G, Woodcock, K, Dörfler, S, Krammer, I, Pollak, I & Schrank, B 2021, '“TikTok is my life and SnapChat is my ventricle”: a mixed-methods study on the role of online communication tools for friendships in early adolescents', The Journal of Early Asolescence. https://doi.org/10.1177/02724316211020368

Chapter

Oliver, C, Ellis, K, Agar, G, Bissell, S, Chung, JCY, Crawford, H, Pearson, E, Wade, K, Waite, J, Allen, D, Deeprose, L, Edwards, G, Jenner, L, Kearney, B, Shelley, L, Smith, K, Trower, H, Adams, D, Daniel, L, Groves, L, Heald, M, Moss, J, Richards, C, Royston, R, Tarver, J, Welham, A, Wilde, L & Woodcock, K 2022, Distress and challenging behavior in people with profound or severe intellectual disability and complex needs: Assessment of causes and evaluation of intervention outcomes. in AJ Esbensen & EK Schworer (eds), Contemporary Issues in Evaluating Treatment Outcomes in Neurodevelopmental Disorders. International Review of Research in Developmental Disabilities, vol. 62, Academic Press Inc., pp. 109-189. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.irrdd.2022.05.004

Review article

Schwartz, L, Caixàs, A, Dimitropoulos, A, Dykens, E, Duis, J, Einfeld, S, Gallagher, L, Holland, A, Rice, L, Roof, E, Salehi, P, Strong, T, Taylor, B & Woodcock, K 2021, 'Behavioral features in Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS): consensus paper from the International PWS Clinical Trial Consortium', Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, vol. 13, no. 1, 25. https://doi.org/10.1186/s11689-021-09373-2

D.O.T. Co-I team 2021, 'Towards an integrated model of supportive peer relationships in early adolescence: a systematic review and exploratory meta-analysis', Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 12, 589403. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.589403, https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/kry65

Woodcock, K & Blackwell, S 2020, 'Psychological treatment strategies for challenging behaviours in neurodevelopmental disorders: what lies beyond a purely behavioural approach?', Current Opinion in Psychiatry, vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 92–109. https://doi.org/10.1097/YCO.0000000000000571

View all publications in research portal

Expertise

behaviour problems; challenging behaviour; neurodevelopmental disorders/ genetic syndromes/ autism spectrum disorder; intellectual disability; psychological interventions; digital interventions