Dr Merritt Millman is a postdoctoral research associate in the NEUROADS Lab at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience. She has a mixed background in both science and the arts, with a BSc in Psychology from McGill University (Montreal) and an MA in Choreography from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance (London). In 2022 she completed her PhD at Goldsmiths, University of London, with her research focusing on understanding depersonalisation–derealisation disorder from a body-based perspective, developing new approaches to treatment. She is particularly interested in mind–body–brain interactions and disorders involving dissociative and somatic symptoms. In her postdoctoral role she is working with Dr Susannah Pick on an MRC-funded project investigating psychobiological mechanisms in functional seizures and functional motor symptoms. 

Research interests: 

- Dissociation    

- Depersonalisation–derealisation disorder

- Interoception

- Mind–brain–body interactions 

- Neuropsychiatry 

- Embodied cognition  

- Dance/movement therapy

Public engagement: 

Liveness Workshop 1 – August 2021

NEUROLIVE at Siobhan Davies Studios – London, UK

https://neurolive.info/Workshop-1

On Edge: Is this for real? - 14 November 2019
Science Gallery - London, UK
Dance performance and talk describing the choreographic process for MA Choreography thesis (“(dis)association: A performative investigation into separation, dissociation, and detachment”)

Publications: 

Millman, L.S.M., Hunter, E.C.M., David, A., Orgs G., & Terhune, D.B. (2022). Assessing responsiveness to direct verbal suggestions in depersonalization-derealization disorder. Psychiatry Research, 315, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2022.114730

Yang, J., Millman, L.S.M., David, A.S., & Hunter, E.C.M. (2022) The Prevalence of Depersonalization-Derealization Disorder: A Systematic Review. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, https://doi.org/10.1080/15299732.2022.2079796

Millman, L.S. Merritt; Richardson, Daniel C. and Orgs, Guido. 2022. Continuous and collective measures of real-time audience engagement. In: Matthew Reason; Lynne Conner; Katya Johanson and Ben Walmsley, eds. Routledge Companion to Audiences and the Performing Arts. Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 293-307. ISBN 9780367470753 https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/31677/

Millman, L.S.M., Hunter, E.C.M., Orgs, G., David, A.S., & Terhune, D.B. (2021). Symptom variability in depersonalization-derealization disorder: A latent profile analysis. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.23241

Millman, L.S.M., Terhune, D.B., Hunter, E.C.M., & Orgs, G. (2020). Towards a neurocognitive approach to dance movement therapy for mental health: A systematic review. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 28:24-38. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.2490