Simon Blackwell
@blackwellse.bsky.social
Post-doctoral researcher in clinical psychology at the University of Göttingen, focussing on positive mental imagery and translational research methods. All tweets are in a personal capacity. He/him.
More info: http://tinyurl.com/sebtrace
More info: http://tinyurl.com/sebtrace
Pinned
Simon Blackwell
@blackwellse.bsky.social
· Sep 16
Leapfrog Information and Resources
www.psych.uni-goettingen.de
I've finally got around to collecting together papers and resources related to the 'leapfrog' design onto a (very basic) webpage, in case these are useful for anyone:
www.psych.uni-goettingen.de/de/trace/tea... /1
www.psych.uni-goettingen.de/de/trace/tea... /1
Reposted by Simon Blackwell
Introduction to the interventions tested in our @trr393.bsky.social consortium to improve #depression and #bipolardisorder
Big thanks to @lisaleehr.bsky.social!
@unimarburg.bsky.social @tudresden.bsky.social @uni-muenster.de @dfg.de @dgps.bsky.social
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Big thanks to @lisaleehr.bsky.social!
@unimarburg.bsky.social @tudresden.bsky.social @uni-muenster.de @dfg.de @dgps.bsky.social
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
What to target? Interventions to modulate key mechanisms underlying the trajectories of affective disorders in the transregional Collaborative Research Center 393 - Der Nervenarzt
Background Affective disorders are associated with an enormous disease burden, necessitating research on the mechanisms of effective treatments. Objectives This article introduces the intervention pro...
link.springer.com
November 28, 2025 at 9:27 AM
Introduction to the interventions tested in our @trr393.bsky.social consortium to improve #depression and #bipolardisorder
Big thanks to @lisaleehr.bsky.social!
@unimarburg.bsky.social @tudresden.bsky.social @uni-muenster.de @dfg.de @dgps.bsky.social
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Big thanks to @lisaleehr.bsky.social!
@unimarburg.bsky.social @tudresden.bsky.social @uni-muenster.de @dfg.de @dgps.bsky.social
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Reposted by Simon Blackwell
Curious about curiosity? Join us in Göttingen in our RTG Curiosity funded by @dfg.de
📢Applications are open for the second cohort of our RTG! Learn more about the opportunities: www.uni-goettingen.de/de/open+posi...
🔔Join our info meeting on Dec 10, 1 p.m. CET. Register via: survey.academiccloud.de/index.php/34...
🔔Join our info meeting on Dec 10, 1 p.m. CET. Register via: survey.academiccloud.de/index.php/34...
Open Positions - Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
Webseiten der Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
www.uni-goettingen.de
November 27, 2025 at 12:27 PM
Curious about curiosity? Join us in Göttingen in our RTG Curiosity funded by @dfg.de
Reposted by Simon Blackwell
🎧New episode alert 🎧
How can Behavioural Activation help people move from feeling stuck to re-engaging with what matters?
Dr Christopher Martell joins us on Practice Matters to talk about BA for depression.
Listen here 👉 https://ow.ly/lwNz50XyySy
…or wherever you get your podcasts.
How can Behavioural Activation help people move from feeling stuck to re-engaging with what matters?
Dr Christopher Martell joins us on Practice Matters to talk about BA for depression.
Listen here 👉 https://ow.ly/lwNz50XyySy
…or wherever you get your podcasts.
November 27, 2025 at 10:33 AM
🎧New episode alert 🎧
How can Behavioural Activation help people move from feeling stuck to re-engaging with what matters?
Dr Christopher Martell joins us on Practice Matters to talk about BA for depression.
Listen here 👉 https://ow.ly/lwNz50XyySy
…or wherever you get your podcasts.
How can Behavioural Activation help people move from feeling stuck to re-engaging with what matters?
Dr Christopher Martell joins us on Practice Matters to talk about BA for depression.
Listen here 👉 https://ow.ly/lwNz50XyySy
…or wherever you get your podcasts.
Reposted by Simon Blackwell
I am very excited to share our new preprint, spearheaded by the brilliant @lunahuestegge.bsky.social, w/ @peterkok.bsky.social and others: ‘An attempt to push mental imagery over the reality threshold using non-invasive brain stimulation’
doi.org/10.31234/osf...
doi.org/10.31234/osf...
OSF
doi.org
November 27, 2025 at 10:53 AM
I am very excited to share our new preprint, spearheaded by the brilliant @lunahuestegge.bsky.social, w/ @peterkok.bsky.social and others: ‘An attempt to push mental imagery over the reality threshold using non-invasive brain stimulation’
doi.org/10.31234/osf...
doi.org/10.31234/osf...
Reposted by Simon Blackwell
Zwei Bochumer Sonderforschungsbereiche gehen in die jeweils dritte Förderphase: Es geht um Plasmaforschung und ums Extinktionslernen, also einmal Gelerntes wieder loszuwerden.
Verlängerung für zwei Bochumer Sonderforschungsbereiche
Plasmaforschung und Extinktionslernen: Beide Sonderforschungsbereiche starten in ihre jeweils dritte Förderphase.
news.rub.de
November 21, 2025 at 9:13 AM
Zwei Bochumer Sonderforschungsbereiche gehen in die jeweils dritte Förderphase: Es geht um Plasmaforschung und ums Extinktionslernen, also einmal Gelerntes wieder loszuwerden.
Reposted by Simon Blackwell
🔥 New paper, led by my PhD student @selindem.bsky.social: preregistered single-case experimental study showing the positive impact of using the GPNS feedback system on the therapeutic alliance.
Open access: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Open access: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Does structured, psychometrically based feedback discussion cause improvements of the therapeutic alliance? A single-case experimental study
Routine outcome monitoring and feedback (ROM) systems have been established to enhance therapeutic outcomes, prevent drop-outs and facilitate data-driven personalization in psychotherapy. However, ...
www.tandfonline.com
November 20, 2025 at 1:18 PM
🔥 New paper, led by my PhD student @selindem.bsky.social: preregistered single-case experimental study showing the positive impact of using the GPNS feedback system on the therapeutic alliance.
Open access: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Open access: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Simon Blackwell
You did it! 💪
New study on the importance of positive emotions after successful exposures in adult patients with anxiety disorders.
Ergo: Let's celebrate our patients and their willingness to confront anxiety-inducing stimuli! 🎉
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
New study on the importance of positive emotions after successful exposures in adult patients with anxiety disorders.
Ergo: Let's celebrate our patients and their willingness to confront anxiety-inducing stimuli! 🎉
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Joy beyond fear: Positive emotions after exposure in patients with anxiety disorders and their link to threat expectancy and treatment outcome
Exposure-based CBT is effective in treating anxiety disorders, but individual responses vary substantially, underlining the need to identify and boost…
www.sciencedirect.com
November 20, 2025 at 9:34 AM
You did it! 💪
New study on the importance of positive emotions after successful exposures in adult patients with anxiety disorders.
Ergo: Let's celebrate our patients and their willingness to confront anxiety-inducing stimuli! 🎉
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
New study on the importance of positive emotions after successful exposures in adult patients with anxiety disorders.
Ergo: Let's celebrate our patients and their willingness to confront anxiety-inducing stimuli! 🎉
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Simon Blackwell
✨Wunderbare Neuigkeiten: Die Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft fördert unser neues Netzwerk SNEPP – das Scientific Network for Experimental Psychopathology and Psychotherapy!
www.uni-goettingen.de/de/3240.html...
www.uni-goettingen.de/de/3240.html...
Presseinformationen - Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
Webseiten der Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
www.uni-goettingen.de
November 17, 2025 at 3:14 PM
✨Wunderbare Neuigkeiten: Die Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft fördert unser neues Netzwerk SNEPP – das Scientific Network for Experimental Psychopathology and Psychotherapy!
www.uni-goettingen.de/de/3240.html...
www.uni-goettingen.de/de/3240.html...
Reposted by Simon Blackwell
New paper in CPS 🎉: We developed and validated a novel trial-by-trial belief update task, which allowed us to examine the association with depression quite precisely: dep symptoms were related to a slower update of established negative beliefs following pos info. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Intraindividual Trajectories of Belief Updating in Relation to Depressive Symptoms: Reduced Integration of Positive Performance Feedback - Sebastian Meyerhöfer, Charlotte Ottenstein, Lukas Kirchner, L...
Previous research suggests that depression is related to difficulties with revising established negative expectations. However, it is not yet clear how precisel...
journals.sagepub.com
November 14, 2025 at 7:10 AM
New paper in CPS 🎉: We developed and validated a novel trial-by-trial belief update task, which allowed us to examine the association with depression quite precisely: dep symptoms were related to a slower update of established negative beliefs following pos info. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
This looks to be a must-read for anyone interested in imagery rescripting: an account by Arnoud Arntz of their updated imagery rescripting protocol, including very extensive supplements with therapist resources:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Imagery Rescripting: an update of the treatment protocol
Imagery Rescripting (ImRs) is a transdiagnostic technique to treat aversive memories of real (traumatic) experiences, or of aversive fantasies, such a…
www.sciencedirect.com
November 14, 2025 at 6:24 AM
This looks to be a must-read for anyone interested in imagery rescripting: an account by Arnoud Arntz of their updated imagery rescripting protocol, including very extensive supplements with therapist resources:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Very interesting to read this case study reporting use of visuo-spatial interference (Tetris) to reduce intrusive memories in the context of an adolescent with trauma:
formative.jmir.org/2025/1/e79708
(with apologies for the "head-clutching" image that appears as the thumbnail for this page).
formative.jmir.org/2025/1/e79708
(with apologies for the "head-clutching" image that appears as the thumbnail for this page).
A Brief Technique to Reduce Flashbacks of Sexual Trauma in an Adolescent: Proof-of-Concept Case Study Using Imagery Interference
Background: Trauma exposure, including sexual harm, is prevalent in adolescents. A key resulting symptom relates to re-experiencing mental images of trauma, such as intrusive memories and flashbacks. ...
formative.jmir.org
November 13, 2025 at 9:35 AM
Very interesting to read this case study reporting use of visuo-spatial interference (Tetris) to reduce intrusive memories in the context of an adolescent with trauma:
formative.jmir.org/2025/1/e79708
(with apologies for the "head-clutching" image that appears as the thumbnail for this page).
formative.jmir.org/2025/1/e79708
(with apologies for the "head-clutching" image that appears as the thumbnail for this page).
Reposted by Simon Blackwell
🚀 New paper (open access) out in Cognitive Therapy & Research: we (@herzog.bsky.social, @evalottabrakemeier.bsky.social, @hudsongolino.bsky.social and me) ask whether group‑level symptom‑change networks in CBT actually capture what happens inside each patient. #Psychology #CBT
Must We Always Go Idiographic? - Cognitive Therapy and Research
Purpose While psychological change processes are increasingly assumed to be “non-ergodic”, prompting a shift toward idiographic approaches, the assumption of ergodicity is often accepted a priori rath...
link.springer.com
November 11, 2025 at 9:11 AM
🚀 New paper (open access) out in Cognitive Therapy & Research: we (@herzog.bsky.social, @evalottabrakemeier.bsky.social, @hudsongolino.bsky.social and me) ask whether group‑level symptom‑change networks in CBT actually capture what happens inside each patient. #Psychology #CBT
Reposted by Simon Blackwell
Driving cognitive change: a guide to behavioural experiments in cognitive therapy for anxiety disorders and PTSD
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Driving cognitive change: a guide to behavioural experiments in cognitive therapy for anxiety disorders and PTSD
Behavioural experiments are experiential exercises used in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy to drive cognitive change by testing patients’ idiosyncratic, emotionally linked beliefs. In this paper, we ...
www.tandfonline.com
November 11, 2025 at 11:12 AM
Driving cognitive change: a guide to behavioural experiments in cognitive therapy for anxiety disorders and PTSD
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Simon Blackwell
November 6, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Reposted by Simon Blackwell
What if therapy focused not on thoughts or voices, but images in our mind's eye?
The iMAPS-2 trial tested an imagery-focused therapy for psychosis; helping people make sense of vivid, distressing mental images.
iMAPS is:
safe ✅
acceptable ✅
ready for a full-scale RCT 👇
🧵 THREAD
The iMAPS-2 trial tested an imagery-focused therapy for psychosis; helping people make sense of vivid, distressing mental images.
iMAPS is:
safe ✅
acceptable ✅
ready for a full-scale RCT 👇
🧵 THREAD
November 6, 2025 at 7:41 AM
What if therapy focused not on thoughts or voices, but images in our mind's eye?
The iMAPS-2 trial tested an imagery-focused therapy for psychosis; helping people make sense of vivid, distressing mental images.
iMAPS is:
safe ✅
acceptable ✅
ready for a full-scale RCT 👇
🧵 THREAD
The iMAPS-2 trial tested an imagery-focused therapy for psychosis; helping people make sense of vivid, distressing mental images.
iMAPS is:
safe ✅
acceptable ✅
ready for a full-scale RCT 👇
🧵 THREAD
Interesting study finding that autistic adults with social anxiety don't seem to show the bias for observer-perspective mental imagery in social situations that is typically found in studies with non-autistic adults with social anxiety: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
November 5, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Interesting study finding that autistic adults with social anxiety don't seem to show the bias for observer-perspective mental imagery in social situations that is typically found in studies with non-autistic adults with social anxiety: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Reposted by Simon Blackwell
📢 Submissions are now open for the 2026 Autobiographical Processing & Psychopathology Conference, at the University of Plymouth 🌊 on 23rd - 24th June 2026 🎉!
📌Visit the #APP2026 website for more details: www.plymouth.ac.uk/whats-on/aut...
📬Join our mailing list: stats.sender.net/forms/bqxQO0...
📌Visit the #APP2026 website for more details: www.plymouth.ac.uk/whats-on/aut...
📬Join our mailing list: stats.sender.net/forms/bqxQO0...
Autobiographical Processing and Psychopathology Conference 2026
What's on at the University of Plymouth: Autobiographical Processing and Psychopathology Conference 2026. Special interest meeting. University of...
www.plymouth.ac.uk
November 4, 2025 at 1:28 PM
📢 Submissions are now open for the 2026 Autobiographical Processing & Psychopathology Conference, at the University of Plymouth 🌊 on 23rd - 24th June 2026 🎉!
📌Visit the #APP2026 website for more details: www.plymouth.ac.uk/whats-on/aut...
📬Join our mailing list: stats.sender.net/forms/bqxQO0...
📌Visit the #APP2026 website for more details: www.plymouth.ac.uk/whats-on/aut...
📬Join our mailing list: stats.sender.net/forms/bqxQO0...
Making a Christmas pudding (late, I know) using my grandmother's recipe, which calls for 1/8 th pint of stout. This year I used a stout brewed using cake; if I can use some of this pudding to make a next stout, potential is there for setting up an infinite stout-pudding loop...
November 1, 2025 at 10:54 AM
Making a Christmas pudding (late, I know) using my grandmother's recipe, which calls for 1/8 th pint of stout. This year I used a stout brewed using cake; if I can use some of this pudding to make a next stout, potential is there for setting up an infinite stout-pudding loop...
Reposted by Simon Blackwell
📢 Call for Papers – BABCP 2026 Annual Conference
Submissions are now open! Share your work, connect with peers, and shape the future of the psychological professions.
Posters, panels, symposia & more → https://babcp.com/submissions/
#CallForPapers #BABCP2026
Submissions are now open! Share your work, connect with peers, and shape the future of the psychological professions.
Posters, panels, symposia & more → https://babcp.com/submissions/
#CallForPapers #BABCP2026
October 30, 2025 at 12:01 PM
📢 Call for Papers – BABCP 2026 Annual Conference
Submissions are now open! Share your work, connect with peers, and shape the future of the psychological professions.
Posters, panels, symposia & more → https://babcp.com/submissions/
#CallForPapers #BABCP2026
Submissions are now open! Share your work, connect with peers, and shape the future of the psychological professions.
Posters, panels, symposia & more → https://babcp.com/submissions/
#CallForPapers #BABCP2026
Reposted by Simon Blackwell
Excited to see this article is out! A thoroughly researched article on imagery extremes. If you read carefully, a couple of my most recent thoughts about hyperphantasia are also featured :-)
This includes... 1/4
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
This includes... 1/4
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
Some People Can’t See Mental Images. The Consequences Are Profound
Research has linked the ability to visualize to a bewildering variety of human traits—how we experience trauma, hold grudges, and, above all, remember our lives.
www.newyorker.com
October 29, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Excited to see this article is out! A thoroughly researched article on imagery extremes. If you read carefully, a couple of my most recent thoughts about hyperphantasia are also featured :-)
This includes... 1/4
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
This includes... 1/4
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
Submissions for #BABCP2026 in Warwick are now open! Main submission deadline is 30th January (27th February for posters, open papers, and 3-minute talks). Check out the website for more details, including speakers confirmed so far… /1
babcp.com/events/2026-...
@babcp.com @drjodaniels.bsky.social
babcp.com/events/2026-...
@babcp.com @drjodaniels.bsky.social
BABCP Annual Conference 2026 – BABCP
babcp.com
October 29, 2025 at 9:26 AM
Submissions for #BABCP2026 in Warwick are now open! Main submission deadline is 30th January (27th February for posters, open papers, and 3-minute talks). Check out the website for more details, including speakers confirmed so far… /1
babcp.com/events/2026-...
@babcp.com @drjodaniels.bsky.social
babcp.com/events/2026-...
@babcp.com @drjodaniels.bsky.social
Reposted by Simon Blackwell
1: In 2023, I wrote this paper arguing that research on active ingredients of CBT, and by extension on their mechanisms, is not close to improving therapy outcomes.
I just read a paper on inhibitory learning improving outcomes of exposure. Egg on my face?
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
I just read a paper on inhibitory learning improving outcomes of exposure. Egg on my face?
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Identifying active ingredients in cognitive-behavioral therapies: What if we didn't?
Identifying active ingredients of psychological interventions is a major goal of psychotherapy researchers that is often justified by the promise that…
www.sciencedirect.com
October 27, 2025 at 10:17 PM
1: In 2023, I wrote this paper arguing that research on active ingredients of CBT, and by extension on their mechanisms, is not close to improving therapy outcomes.
I just read a paper on inhibitory learning improving outcomes of exposure. Egg on my face?
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
I just read a paper on inhibitory learning improving outcomes of exposure. Egg on my face?
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Great to see this use of mental imagery to augment post-stroke behavioural activation for depression:
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Augmenting behavioural activation with mental imagery improves post-stroke depressive symptoms
Depression affects approximately 30% of stroke survivors. Behavioural activation (BA) is a depression intervention based on completing positively reinforcing activities. However, post-stroke cognit...
www.tandfonline.com
October 27, 2025 at 11:38 AM
Great to see this use of mental imagery to augment post-stroke behavioural activation for depression:
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Very interesting qualitative systematic review of the content of mental imagery in mood and anxiety disorders:
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
October 27, 2025 at 8:39 AM
Very interesting qualitative systematic review of the content of mental imagery in mood and anxiety disorders:
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Reposted by Simon Blackwell
Excited to see this paper out led by Dr Carla Dance where we looked at the role of imagery in worry with people who experience #aphantasia: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
More of Carla's research on imagery and aphantasia is here: www.researchgate.net/profile/Carl...
More of Carla's research on imagery and aphantasia is here: www.researchgate.net/profile/Carl...
The role of mental imagery in worry: Insights from aphantasia
Worry is characterised by thinking about prospective negative future outcomes, and is a key cognitive feature of anxiety. The influential Cognitive Av…
www.sciencedirect.com
October 26, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Excited to see this paper out led by Dr Carla Dance where we looked at the role of imagery in worry with people who experience #aphantasia: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
More of Carla's research on imagery and aphantasia is here: www.researchgate.net/profile/Carl...
More of Carla's research on imagery and aphantasia is here: www.researchgate.net/profile/Carl...