drhollybear.bsky.social
Holly Bear
@drhollybear.bsky.social
570 followers 56 following 9 posts
🔬Researcher at University of Oxford 🧠 Evaluating mental health interventions, implementation & sustainability 🌍 Passionate about improving adolescent mental health 📍 Oxford, UK
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drhollybear.bsky.social
Holly Bear @drhollybear.bsky.social · 10d
This fully funded MRC iCASE DPhil offers the chance to:
✨ Work at the intersection of AI, youth mental health & lived experience
🌍 Collaborate with global partners
🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Co-design digital health interventions with young people
@minafazeloxford.bsky.social @iammirela.bsky.social
drhollybear.bsky.social
Holly Bear @drhollybear.bsky.social · 10d
🚨 Interested in a fully funded DPhil at Oxford?
🌏 We’re recruiting for an MRC iCASE studentship on conversational AI for youth mental health.

Join an amazing team using youth voice to shape global digital health.

⏳ Deadline: 2 Dec 2025
💡 Get in touch to chat!

🔗 More info: tinyurl.com/4ua4j46h
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drhollybear.bsky.social
Holly Bear @drhollybear.bsky.social · May 19
💭 Raises big Qs about real-world relevance, ethics of incentivisation, and how to build truly engaging digital mental health tools.
#MentalHealthApps #IntrinsicMotivation #DigitalHealth #ImplementationScience #BJPsychOpen
drhollybear.bsky.social
Holly Bear @drhollybear.bsky.social · May 19
💸 Extrinsic rewards (money, course credit) may boost initial sign-up but not sustained engagement.

🌱 It’s intrinsic motivation (curiosity, usefulness, enjoyment, growth) that likely drives long-term use.

⚠️ Incentives in trials must reflect what’s feasible at the point of real-world implementation.
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drhollybear.bsky.social
Holly Bear @drhollybear.bsky.social · May 19
📱 New paper out today in BJPsych Open asks: are financial incentives helping or hindering mental health app research?

📄 Read it here:
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
@minafazeloxford.bsky.social @oxchildpsych.bsky.social @oxfordpsychiatry.bsky.social
Incentivising participation in mental health app research: lessons learned from a mixed methods randomised controlled trial | BJPsych Open | Cambridge Core
Incentivising participation in mental health app research: lessons learned from a mixed methods randomised controlled trial - Volume 11 Issue 3
www.cambridge.org
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drhollybear.bsky.social
Holly Bear @drhollybear.bsky.social · Apr 3
Proud to be part of this work with @emmasoneson.bsky.social @minafazeloxford.bsky.social big thanks to BBC South Today & Radio Oxford for shining a light on young people’s mental health 💙
oxchildpsych.bsky.social
Oxford Child & Adolescent Psychiatry @oxchildpsych.bsky.social · Apr 3
It's been a busy 48 hours for our senior postdocs @drhollybear.bsky.social & @emmasoneson.bsky.social, who were invited by BBC South Today & Radio Oxford to talk about the latest Oxfordshire Director of Public Health Annual Report on Children & Young People's #mentalhealth.

Links below👇
Photo shows a behind-the-scenes shot from the BBC South Today filming, with a desktop computer showing multiple camera angles. The largest angle is a closeup of Holly smiling. Photo shows a behind-the-scenes shot from the BBC South Today filming, as a wide angle of Holly and host Tom sat on a rounded sofa posed to discuss the Director of Public Health Report. Screenshot from a news article (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c7vn6821e6eo) that shows Emma smiling outdoors in Somerville College, and text including a quote from Emma bout the importance of inequalities in mental health.
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Reposted by Holly Bear
oxwell.bsky.social
OxWell Study @oxwell.bsky.social · Mar 25
What teens see and do online matters.

New research from our team looks at how digital experiences relate to mental health & what we can do about it.

A must-read for parents, educators, and mental health researchers and policymakers.
drhollybear.bsky.social
Holly Bear @drhollybear.bsky.social · Mar 25
Our latest paper is now out in Current Psychology:
🔗 link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Based on data from over 14,000 adolescents we found: It’s not just how much time young people spend online-it’s what they’re doing & what they’re exposed to that matters.
Isolation despite hyper-connectivity? The association between adolescents’ mental health and online behaviours in a large study of school-aged students - Current Psychology
Smartphone use has risen rapidly amongst adolescents over the last decade, as has the rates of common mental disorders. This has raised widespread concerns about direct links between adolescents’ gene...
link.springer.com
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drhollybear.bsky.social
Holly Bear @drhollybear.bsky.social · Mar 25
Digital life is deeply embedded in adolescence—but with coordinated support from👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 home,🏫 school &🏛️ policy, we can help create healthier online environments that protect & empower young people. @minafazeloxford.bsky.social @drskripka.bsky.social @oxwell.bsky.social @oxchildpsych.bsky.social
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drhollybear.bsky.social
Holly Bear @drhollybear.bsky.social · Mar 25
📌 Viewing self-harm content
📌 Seeking help online
📌 Posting content they later regretted
- were associated with higher symptoms of anxiety, depression, & loneliness.
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drhollybear.bsky.social
Holly Bear @drhollybear.bsky.social · Mar 25
Our latest paper is now out in Current Psychology:
🔗 link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Based on data from over 14,000 adolescents we found: It’s not just how much time young people spend online-it’s what they’re doing & what they’re exposed to that matters.
Isolation despite hyper-connectivity? The association between adolescents’ mental health and online behaviours in a large study of school-aged students - Current Psychology
Smartphone use has risen rapidly amongst adolescents over the last decade, as has the rates of common mental disorders. This has raised widespread concerns about direct links between adolescents’ gene...
link.springer.com
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Reposted by Holly Bear
oxchildpsych.bsky.social
Oxford Child & Adolescent Psychiatry @oxchildpsych.bsky.social · Dec 13
Lots of celebrations this week, incl.:

👉 a Secret Santa Sock Exchange 🔁🧦
👉 the Departmental Christmas Party (a screening of 'Paddington in Peru'!) 🐻🇬🇧
👉 a team murder mystery event at Oxford Castle 👀🏰

We also said 'bye for now' to Shona, our lovely group administrator who's off to go have a baby 👶
Photo of Shona sitting in front of a TV screen with a fireplace projected onto it, holding a hand-knitted blanket and sitting behind a bookshelf filled with books and soft toys. The Oxford Child & Adolescent Psychiatry team exchanging socks during their monthly meeting. The Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Group at the murder mystery Christmas party in the Oxford Castle. Members of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry examining the 'murdered' Victorian era mannequin during the murder mystery party.
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