Samantha Bowe is the Clinical Assistant Director at the Psychosis Research Unit (PRU) and a Clinical Psychologist. She is also a joint Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Psychosis (CBTp) Training Programme Lead at the Psychological Therapies Training Centre (PTTC) at GMMH NHS Trust.
In her role at PRU, Samantha works across research trials providing clinical leadership, psychological therapies to research participants, clinical supervision and training to PRU research trial therapists. She manages the team of PRU research trial therapists, evaluates the quality of the therapies delivered on research trials using competency measures and has a role in maximising therapist adherence to treatment protocols. She contributes to PRU research activities such as dissemination of findings.
Since joining PRU in 2014, Samantha has worked on the following trials: FOCUS (Focusing On Clozapine Unresponsive Symptoms), RESPECT (Reducing Self-stigma in Psychosis by engagement in Cognitive Therapy), COMPARE (Cognitive behavioural therapy or Medication for Psychosis – A Randomised Evaluation), BART (Bipolar At-Risk Trial), PRODIGY (Prevention of Long-Term Social Disability in Young People with Emerging Psychological Difficulties), Managing Adolescent first episode Psychosis Study (MAPS), Talking with Voices (TwV) and the Study of Trauma and Recovery (STAR).
Samantha is passionate about reducing distress associated with psychosis and experiences of trauma, improving quality of life and reducing stigma and discrimination. She is also interested in preventing the development of serious mental health problems and increasing access to evidence based psychological treatments for psychosis.
She has extensive experience of working with young people at high-risk of developing psychosis. She provided regional training to Early Intervention teams to assess and identify people considered to be at high risk of developing psychosis. This ‘Train the Trainers’ approach was funded by Health Education England (HEE) and involved training staff to use the Comprehensive Assessment of At-Risk Mental States assessment measure (CAARMS).
In her role at the PTTC, she had a lead role in setting up the training pathways for the CBTp Advanced Postgraduate Certificate and the Postgraduate Diploma in CBTp. These training courses have been funded by HEE to increase access to psychological interventions recommended in the NICE guidelines for Schizophrenia.
Samantha completed her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology Training in 2002 at Leeds University. In 2007, she was awarded a distinction in her Post Graduate Diploma in Cognitive Therapy, from Bolton, Salford and Trafford NHS Trust.
Since qualifying as a Clinical Psychologist Samantha has worked in a Community Mental Health Team, an Early Intervention team and an At-Risk of psychosis service for young people. In 2007 she was appointed as Clinical Lead for EDIT services in GMW Trust, running an ‘at-risk of psychosis’ service in Salford and setting up the Wigan EDIT service in 2008.
In 2007, Salford EDIT service was awarded 1st Prize in the North West NHS Innovation Awards for Service Developments. In 2007 it was also Highly Commended by Care Services Improvement Partnership (CSIP) for a Positive Practice Awards for High Impact Changes in Mental Health.
In her spare time, Samantha enjoys socialising, exercising and trips to the theatre. Reading fiction and travel are also favourite pastimes.