I am a clinical psychologist with a background in international project management. I previously worked for the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in the Middle East and later returned to university to study psychology through postgraduate diploma, MSc and DClinPsy. My current role is to co-ordinate KCL input to the African Mental Health Research Initiative (AMARI) by running training and mentoring schemes for our partner African research fellows. Alongside this capacity-building and capacity-strengthening work I also have research interests in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and the psychology of technology use.  

 

Research Interests 

• Capacity-building and capacity-strengthening (particularly in sub-Saharan Africa) 
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder 
• Psychology of technology use 

Expertise and Public Engagement

• I have spoken on capacity strengthening and the AMARI project for a range of organisations, including: African Academy of Sciences DELTAS conference; UK Academy of Medical Sciences; University of Zurich Cultural Clinical Psychology group. 
• I am a UK chartered clinical psychologist (registration: PYL33714).

Key publications

Merritt, C., Jack, H., Mangezi, W., Chibanda, D., & Abas, M. (in press). Positioning for success: Building capacity in academic competencies for early-career researchers in sub-Saharan Africa. Global Mental Health. 

Chibanda, D., Abas, M., Musesengwa, R., Sorsdahl, K., Mangezi, W., Bandawe, C., Cowan, F., Araya, R., Gomo, E., Gibson, L., Merritt, C., Weiss, H., Hanlon, C., & Lund, C. (in press). Mental health research capacity building in sub-Saharan Africa: The African Mental Health Research Initiative. Global Mental Health. 

Merritt, C., De Zoysa, N., & Hutton, J. (2017). Younger men’s experience of heart attack (myocardial infarction). British Journal of Health Psychology, 22, 589-608. 

Lee, C., Furnham, A., & Merritt, C. (2017). Effect of directness of exposure and trauma type on Mental Health Literacy of PTSD. Journal of Mental Health, 26, 257-263. 

Murray, H., Merritt, C., & Grey, N. (2016). Clients’ experiences of returning to the trauma site during PTSD treatment: an exploratory study. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 44, 420-430. 

Murray, H., Merritt, C., & Grey, N. (2015). Returning to the scene of the trauma in PTSD treatment – why, how and when? The Cognitive Behaviour Therapist, 8, e28. 

Merritt, C., Tharp, I., & Furnham, A. (2014). Trauma type affects recognition of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder among online respondents in the UK and Ireland. Journal of Affective Disorders, 164, 123-129. 

Merritt, C., & Tharp, I. (2013). Personality, risk taking and self-efficacy in parkour (free-running). Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 14, 608-611.