Dr Fiona Eccles
Senior LecturerResearch Overview
My research is focussed on the psychological impact of living with chronic illness, particularly neurological conditions (for example Parkinson’s, Huntington's disease, multiple sclerosis or dystonia). We hope to develop psychological therapies to support people with neurological conditions. We are currently investigating a guided self-help intervention to reduce anxiety for people with the Huntington's disease gene expansion (led by Maria Dale at Leicestership Partnership NHS Trust).
I am also interested in the impact of being a family member of someone with one of these neurological conditions and how we can help support the family's wellbeing too. I use both quantitative and qualitative approaches in my work.
Current Research
- Investigating the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on people with Parkinson's and their families (led by Professor Jane Simpson)
- Investigating the feasibility of a guided self-help intervention for anxiety for people with the Huntington's gene expansion (led by Dr Maria Dale at Leicstershire Partnership NHS Trust)
- Exploring the feasibility of using a compassion-focused intervention for people with Parkinson's
I currently supervise trainees' theses which explore the experiences of people and their families living with the following conditions:
- Dystonia
- Parkinson's
- Huntington's disease
- Functional neurological conditions including functional seizures (sometimes called non-epileptic attacks)
Research Interests
Neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, Huntington's disease or multiple sclerosis, and to some extent dystonia, which affect both physical health and cognitive functioning can present numerous challenges both to individuals and their families and our work is concerned with the psychological effects of living with these types of conditions. We are interested in aspects such as how people “live well” with their conditions and also how they “make sense” of the illness as well as difficulties encountered such as anxiety and low mood. In the future we are hoping to develop more psychological approaches to help people manage some of psychological difficulties that arise when living with these conditions.
Current Teaching
I lead the research strand of teaching for the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology and in particular teach some of the quantitative methods and general research skills.
Guided self-help for anxiety among Huntington’s disease gene expansion carriers: a randomised controlled feasibility
01/01/2022 → 31/12/2023
Research
Assessing the well-being implications of the COVID-19 restrictions on individuals affected by Parkinson's
09/03/2021 → 08/09/2022
Research
Minds & Movement: Psychological Guidance for People with Motor Neurodegenerative Disorders
01/09/2018 → 01/01/2021
Research
Producing guidance on psychological approaches to the understanding and treatment of psychological difficulties in adults with motor neurodegenerative conditions
01/05/2018 → 31/12/2022
Research
Huntington Study Group (HSG) Annual Meeting 2021 - "Unmasking HD"
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
European Huntington's Disease Network online conference 2021
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
European Huntington's Disease Network Plenary Meeting 2021
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Psychological wellbeing for people with Parkinson’s
Public Lecture/ Debate/Seminar
British society of gerontology: 50th Conference
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
British society of gerontology: 50th Conference
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
British Society of Gerontology 2021 50th Anniversary Conference
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Disability and Rehabilitation (Journal)
Publication peer-review
Working psychologically with people with multiple sclerosis
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Impact of lockdown on people affected by Parkinson’s
Public Lecture/ Debate/Seminar
Parkinson's and COVID
Public Lecture/ Debate/Seminar
Working psychologically with people with motor neurone disease and Huntington’s disease
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Working psychologically with people with Parkinson’s
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Disability and Rehabilitation (Journal)
Publication peer-review
Disability and Rehabilitation (Journal)
Publication peer-review
Impact of lockdown for people with Parkinson’s
Invited talk
Impacts of lockdown on wellbeing for people with Parkinson’s.
Public Lecture/ Debate/Seminar
Parkinson's UK conference 2020
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Parkinson's UK Excellence Network (External organisation)
Membership of network
European Huntington's Disease Network (External organisation)
Membership of network
British Psychology Society (External organisation)
Member of an organisation
- Clinical Psychology