Prof Aimee Spector

Professor of Old Age Clinical Psychology

Clinical, Edu & Hlth Psychology

Div of Psychology & Lang Sciences

Joined UCL: 1st Jul 2004

Research summary

My research broadly focuses on the development and evaluation of psychosocial interventions and outcome measures for people with dementia. For my PhD, I developed and evaluated a novel treatment for dementia called Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST), which is now recommended by UK government guidelines (NICE, 2018) and is the primary psychosocial intervention offered by UK memory clinics. My recent research has taken a more global focus, for example I lead an MRC funded implementation trial of CST in Brazil, India and Tanzania; and work closely with colleagues from Hong Kong University (through a formal strategic partnership), where we have looked at neuropsychological mechanisms of CST through neuroimaging. Other intervention research has included evaluation of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Mindfulness and Compassion Focused Therapy to manage mood problems in dementia, as well as several training programmes for dementia care staff. I have developed and published a range of outcome measures including measures of dementia knowledge, sense of competence, hope and resilience, and independence and engagement.

Website: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/international-cognitive-stimulation-therapy

Teaching summary

I am part of the staff team on the Clinical Psychology Doctorate (DClinPsy), where I coordinate the Older Adults, Central Themes and special neuropsychology modules. I am the deputy mental health lead on the Medicine MBBS BSc. I regularly supervise MSc students and DClinPsy trainees for their major research, and teach at UCL on the DClinPsy, BSc Psychology and MSc Cognitive Neuroscience. I am open to applications for PhD students.