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Jonathan Bisson

Professor Jonathan Bisson

Professor, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences

School of Medicine

Overview

I am a practising psychiatrist and Clinical Professor in Psychiatry at Cardiff University.  I am Director of Traumatic Stress Wales and Health for Health Professionals, national initiatives to improve the health and wellbeing of people affected by traumatic events in Wales and staff working in NHS Wales.  I am Deputy Director of the National Centre for Mental Health and lead its intervention development workstream.

I have conducted many research studies including six randomised controlled trials and five Cochrane systematic reviews that have shaped research and practice in the traumatic stress field.  I was co-chair of the UK’s first PTSD NICE Guideline Development Group and chair the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies’ Treatment Guidelines Committee.  I developed and continue to lead Cardiff University’s Traumatic Stress Research Group.  I developed and was the first director of NHS Veterans Wales and Health and Care Research Wales. 

Publication

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Research

I developed my interest in traumatic stress during my time in the British Army and am an active researcher, clinician and teacher in this area. I founded and lead Cardiff University's Traumatic Stress Research Group. I am passionate about properly developing and evaluating effective new treatments that can be implemented into clinical practice and lead intervention development work within the National Centre of Mental Health.  I work closely with the NHS and collaborate with people across the world. 

My research in the traumatic stress field has signifcantly impacted practice.  For example, my work on  the prevention of psychiatric disorder, in particular post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), following traumatic events contributed to the current guidance regarding best practice following traumatic events.  My research of guided self-help for PTSD led to it being recommended for the first time for the treatment of PTSD in the 2018 NICE and International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS)  guidelines, and my work being cited as an exemplar of NHS research impact.

In recognition of my contributions, I received the 2019 Award for Outstanding Service to ISTSS and the 2021 Lord Ashcroft Research Award and was appointed a Health and Care Research Wales Senior Research Leader in 2018.

My main current research interests can be split into the following themes:

  1. The development and evaluation of interventions to treat more complex presentations of PTSD - This includes research into a guided self help intervention for complex PTSD.
  2. The development and evaluation of more effective and cost-effective interventions following traumatic events – This includes the development and evaluation of a guided self help programme for the treatment of mild to moderate PTSD.
  3. Dissemination of evidence based approaches to the prevention and treatment of mental disorder following traumatic events - This includes the development of training programmes to disseminate evidence-based approaches in collaboration with NHS and international partners.
  4. Development and exploitation of large cohorts of richly phenotyped and genotyped individuals exposed to traumatic events – This includes work on the National Centre for Mental Health and PTSD Registry cohorts along with collaborations with global partners, to improve the social, psychological and biological understanding of PTSD and other trauma-related disorders.

Teaching

I regularly teach, mentor and supervise undergraduates, postgraduates (including PhD and MD students), health and other professionals with excellent feedback. I contribute to MBBCh, BSc and MSc courses.

My main current teaching and training activities are in disseminating evidence-based practice for people involved in traumatic events and for treating people who have PTSD.

Contact Details

Email BissonJI@cardiff.ac.uk
Telephone +44 29206 88486
Campuses Hadyn Ellis Building, Room 3.10, Maindy Road, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ