Dr Susannah Pick is an experimental psychologist and cognitive-affective neuroscientist with research interests spanning the interface of neuroscience, mental and physical health. Susannah is an MRC Senior Research Fellow and Honorary Senior Lecturer in the Department of Psychological Medicine at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King's College London.

In 2022, she established the Neurological Affective and Dissociative Symptoms lab, to develop various projects on aetiological factors, mechanisms and treatments across several interconnected neuropsychiatric symptoms and disorders.

Susannah is currently leading a programme of research on the psychobiological aetiology and mechanisms of functional neurological disorder (FND), particularly functional (dissociative) seizures and functional motor symptoms.

This work examines the influence of altered interoception, affective and autonomic reactivity on FND symptoms, as well as the possible underlying neural mechanisms. The project uses multimodal methods including clinical interviews, laboratory-based cognitive and physiological testing, neuroimaging and remote measurement technologies, comparing FND samples to both healthy and clinical controls.

Other ongoing projects include developing and/or evaluating interventions for FND, examining clinical outcomes within local neuropsychiatry services, and investigating patients’ experiences of living with FND. Dr Pick is also running studies on major depression subtypes, dissociative states and disorders, and mental health outcomes in other neurological disorders.

Prior to her current role, Susannah completed her PhD in the Department of Psychology at King's using experimental and qualitative methods to examine emotional processing and psychosocial risk factors in functional/dissociative seizures.

She held a Post-Doctoral Research Associate post in the Section of Cognitive Neuropsychiatry at the IoPPN (2017-2021), where she extended her research experience in FND and related disorders. Projects included a feasibility trial of a neurostimulation for treatment of functional weakness, development of a new pathophysiological model of FND, and using novel experimental methods to investigate mechanisms underlying functional neurological symptoms.

Dr Pick also co-led an international working group (FND-COM) to develop guidelines for outcome measurement in FND and won the British Neuropsychiatry Association Lishman prize for her experimental work during this time. Before commencing her PhD, Susannah completed her undergraduate and initial postgraduate training at Cardiff and Liverpool universities respectively and held research posts at University College London and within the NHS.

Dr Pick has extensive experience of teaching and/or supervising research across a range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes at the IoPPN and formerly at other institutions, including Birkbeck, University of London.

Susannah welcomes enquiries regarding PhD opportunities.

Research Interests

• Functional neurological (‘conversion’) disorder
• Dissociative (non-epileptic) seizures
• Dissociative symptoms/states/disorders
• Mind-body / cognition-emotion interactions
• Affective neuroscience
• Disorders of consciousness/awareness
• Affective disorders
• Neuropsychiatric disorders

Teaching

Dr Pick teaches and supervises students on a range of programmes at King's College, including the BSc in Psychology and the following MSc programmes: Affective Disorders, Mind-Body Interface, Mental Health Studies, Psychiatric Research, Clinical Neuropsychiatry, Clinical Psychotherapy, Neuroscience, Clinical Neuroscience.