Dr Majella Byrne

Principal Clinical Psychologist (HCPC Registration Number: PYL03289)

Background

Dr Majella Byrne is a Clinical Psychologist with the Psychological Interventions Clinic for Outpatients with Psychosis where she sees clients for Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for psychosis (CBTp), provides clinical supervision in CBTp to psychological therapists in training, assistant psychologists and qualified clinical psychologists. Dr Byrne is the training lead for the clinic.  Dr Byrne provides teaching and training on Masters and Doctoral programmes within and outside of the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London.  She is a member of the British Psychological Society (BPS) and Division of Clinical Psychology (DCP), and the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP).

Dr Byrne graduated from University College Dublin with a BA (1991) and MA (1994) degree in psychology. She later completed an MSc in Applied Statistics at Napier University Edinburgh (1998) and a PhD on young people at increased genetic risk for psychosis at the University of Edinburgh (2000). Dr Byrne spent four years working at the University of Aarhus, Denmark as an Assistant Professor in Psychiatric Epidemiology. She then completed the Postgraduate Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London.  Dr Byrne completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy at Oxford University in 2013.  Dr Byrne worked as a clinical psychologist within a service for young people at high risk of developing psychosis in the community and in a prison setting for 9 years prior to joining the clinic.

Research

Dr Byrne’s research interests include the epidemiology of risk factors for psychosis, early detection and intervention in psychosis, CBT and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy approaches for psychosis.

Publications

1. Butler,  L., Johns, LC., Byrne, M., Joseph, C., O’Donoghue, E., Jolley, S., Morris, E., Oliver, JE. (2016).  Running  Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Groups for Psychosis in Community Settings. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science. Accepted for publication Dec 2015.
2. Johns LC, Oliver JE, Khondoker M, Byrne M, Jolley S, Wykes T, Joseph C, Butler L, Craig T, Morris EM. (2015). The feasibility and acceptability of a brief Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) group intervention for people with psychosis: The ‘ACT for life’ study.  J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry. 2016 Mar;50:257-263.  Epub 2015 Oct 8.
3. Fusar-Poli P, Díaz-Caneja CM, Patel R, Valmaggia L, Byrne M, Garety P, Shetty H, Broadbent M, Stewart R, McGuire P. (2015). Services for people at high risk improve outcomes in patients with first episodes psychosis.  Acta Psychiatr Scand. E-pub. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/acps.12480/epdf
4. Valmaggia LR, Day FL, Kroll J, Laing J, Byrne M, Fusar-Poli P, McGuire P. (2015).  Bullying victimization and paranoid ideation in people at ultra high risk for psychosis.  Schizophr Res. Oct, 168 (1-2): 68-73.
5. Valmaggia, LR, Byrne, M., Day, F., Broome, M., Johns, L., Howes, O., Power, P., Badger, S., Fusar-Poli, McGuire, P.  Reduced duration of untreated psychosis and need for admission in patients who engage in the prodromal phase (2015). British Journal of Psychiatry. Aug;207(2):130-4.
6. Campbell, C.A., Albert, I., Jarrett, M., Byrne, M., Roberts, A., Phillip, P., Huddy, V., Valmaggia, L. Treating Multiple Incident Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in an Inner City London Prison: The Need for an Evidence Base (2015) Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 6 p. Feb 20:1-6.
7. Fusar-Poli, P., Frascarelli, M., Valmaggia, L., Byrne, M., Stahl, D., Rocchetti, M., Codjoe, L., Weinberg, L., Tognin, S., Xenaki, L., McGuire, P. Antidepressant, antipsychotic and psychological interventions in subjects at high clinical risk for psychosis: OASIS 6-year naturalistic study (2015) Psychological Medicine, 45 (6), pp. 1327-1339.
8. Brandizzi, M., Valmaggia, L., Byrne, M., Jones, C., Iwegbu, N., Badger, S., McGuire, P., Fusar-Poli, P. Predictors of functional outcome in individuals at high clinical risk for psychosis at six years follow-up (2015) Journal of Psychiatric Research, Jun;65:115-23
9. Byrne, M., Henagulph, S., McIvor, R.J., Ramsey, J., Carson, J.  The impact of a diagnosis of personality disorder on service usage in an adult Community Mental Health Team (2014) Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 49 (2), pp. 307-316.
10. Goghari, V.M., Brett, C., Tabraham, P., Johns, L., Valmaggia, L., Broome, M., Woolley, J., Bramon, E., Howes, O., Byrne, M., McGuire, P. Spatial working memory ability in individuals at ultra high risk for psychosis (2014) Journal of Psychiatric Research, 50 (1), pp. 100-105.
11. Valmaggia, L.R., Day, F.L., Jones, C., Bissoli, S., Pugh, C., Hall, D., Bhattacharyya, S., Howes, O., Stone, J., Fusar-Poli, P., Byrne, M., McGuire, P.K. Cannabis use and transition to psychosis in people at ultra-high risk (2014) Psychological Medicine, 44 (12), pp. 2503-2512.
12. Fusar-Poli, P., Byrne, M., Badger, S., Valmaggia, L.R., McGuire, P.K. Outreach and support in South London (OASIS), 2001-2011: Ten years of early diagnosis and treatment for young individuals at high clinical risk for psychosis (2013) European Psychiatry, 28 (5), pp. 315-326.
13. Oliver, J.E., Joseph, C., Byrne, M., Johns, L.C., Morris, E.M.J. Introduction to Mindfulness and Acceptance-based Therapies for Psychosis (2013) Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Mindfulness for Psychosis, pp. 1-11.
14. Codjoe, L., Byrne, M., Lister, M., McGuire, P., Valmaggia, L. Exploring perceptions of wellness in black ethnic minority individuals at risk of developing psychosis (2013) Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 41 (2), pp. 144-161.
15. Masillo, A., Day, F., Laing, J., Howes, O., Fusar-Poli, P., Byrne, M., Bhattacharyya, S., Fiori Nastro, P., Girardi, P., McGuire, P.K., Valmaggia, L.R.  Interpersonal sensitivity in the at-risk mental state for psychosis (2012) Psychological Medicine, 42 (9), pp. 1835-1845.
16. Demjaha, A., Valmaggia, L., Stahl, D., Byrne, M., McGuire, P.  Disorganization/cognitive and negative symptom dimensions in the at-risk mental state predict subsequent transition to psychosis (2012) Schizophrenia Bulletin, 38 (2), pp. 351-359.
17. Fusar-Poli, P., Byrne, M., Valmaggia, L., Day, F., Tabraham, P., Johns, L., McGuire, P. Social dysfunction predicts two years clinical outcome in people at ultra high risk for psychosis (2010) Journal of Psychiatric Research, 44 (5), pp. 294-301.
18. Cooper, C., Morgan, C., Byrne, M., Dazzan, P., Morgan, K., Hutchinson, G., Doody, G.A., Harrison, G., Leff, J., Jones, P., Ismail, K., Murray, R., Bebbington, P., Fearon, P. Perceptions of disadvantage, ethnicity and psychosis (2008) British Journal of Psychiatry, 192 (3), pp. 185-190.
19. Byrne, M., Agerbo, E., Bennedsen, B., Eaton, W.W., Mortensen, P.B. Obstetric conditions and risk of first admission with schizophrenia: A Danish national register based study (2007) Schizophrenia Research, 97 (1-3), pp. 51-59.
20. Øgendahl, B.K., Agerbo, E., Byrne, M., Licht, R.W., Eaton, W.W., Mortensen, P.B. Indicators of fetal growth and bipolar disorder: A Danish national register-based study (2006) Psychological Medicine, 36 (9), pp. 1219-1224.
21. Whyte, M.-C., Brett, C., Harrison, L.K., Byrne, M., Miller, P., Lawrie, S.M., Johnstone, E.C. Neuropsychological performance over time in people at high risk of developing schizophrenia and controls (2006) Biological Psychiatry, 59 (8), pp. 730-739.
22. Eaton, W.W., Byrne, M., Ewald, H., Mors, O., Chen, C.-Y., Agerbo, E., Mortensen, P.B. Association of schizophrenia and autoimmune diseases: Linkage of Danish national registers (2006) American Journal of Psychiatry, 163 (3), pp. 521-528.
23. Langsley, N., Miller, P., Lawrie, S.M., McIntosh, A., Johnstone, E.C., Byrne, M. Dermatoglyphics and schizophrenia: Findings from the Edinburgh high risk study (2005) Schizophrenia Research, 74 (1), pp. 122-124.
24. Tsuchiya, K.J., Agerbo, E., Byrne, M., Mortensen, P.B. Higher socio-economic status of parents may increase risk for bipolar disorder in the offspring (2004) Psychological Medicine, 34 (5), pp. 787-793.
25. Kelly, B.D., Feeney, L., O’Callaghan, E., Browne, R., Byrne, M., Mulryan, N., Scully, A., Morris, M., Kinsella, A., Takei, N., McNeil, T., Walsh, D., Larkin, C. Obstetric Adversity and Age at First Presentation with Schizophrenia: Evidence of a Dose-Response Relationship (2004) American Journal of Psychiatry, 161 (5), pp. 920-922.
26. Campbell, E.B., Foley, S., Eaton, W., Mortensen, P.B., Agerbo, E., Byrne, M., Mors, O. Coeliac disease and schizophrenia [3] (multiple letters) (2004) British Medical Journal, 328 (7446), p. 1017.
27. Byrne, M., Clafferty, R.A., Cosway, R., Grant, E., Hodges, A., Lawrie, S.M., Johnstone, E.C. Measurement of lateral preferences and schizophrenia: Results of the Edinburgh High-Risk Study and methodological issues (2004) Psychiatry Research, 125 (3), pp. 205-217.
28. Eaton, W.W., Mortensen, P.B., Agerbo, E., Byrne, M., Mors, O., Ewald, H. Coeliac disease and schizophrenia: Population based case control study with linkage of Danish national registers (2004) British Medical Journal, 328 (7437), pp. 438-439.
29. Byrne, M., Agerbo, E., Eaton, W.W., Mortensen, P.B. Parental socio-economic status and risk of first admission with schizophrenia – A Danish national register based study (2004) Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 39 (2), pp. 87-96.
30. Agerbo, E., Byrne, M., Eaton, W.W., Mortensen, P.B. Marital and Labor Market Status in the Long Run in Schizophrenia (2004) Archives of General Psychiatry, 61 (1), pp. 28-33.
31. Tsuchiya, K.J., Byrne, M., Mortensen, P.B.Risk factors in relation to an emergence of bipolar disorder: A systematic review (2003) Bipolar Disorders, 5 (4), pp. 231-242.
32. Byrne, M., Agerbo, E., Ewald, H., Eaton, W.W., Mortensen, P.B. Parental age and risk of schizophrenia: A case-control study (2003) Archives of General Psychiatry, 60 (7), pp. 673-678.
33. Byrne, M., Clafferty, B.A., Cosway, R., Grant, E., Hodges, A., Whalley, H.C., Lawrie, S.M., Owens, D.G.C., Johnstone, E.C. Neuropsychology, genetic liability, and psychotic symptoms in those at high risk of schizophrenia (2003) Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 112 (1), pp. 38-48.
34. McIntosh, A.M., Holmes, S., Gleeson, S., Burns, J.K., Hodges, A.K., Byrne, M.M., Dobbie, R., Miller, P., Lawrie, S.M., Johnstone, E.C. Maternal recall bias, obstetric history and schizophrenia (2002) British Journal of Psychiatry, 181 (DEC.), pp. 520-525.
35. Byrne, M., Agerbo, E., Mortensen, P.B. Family history of psychiatric disorders and age at first contact in schizophrenia: An epidemiological study (2002) British Journal of Psychiatry, 181 (SUPPL. 43), pp. s19-s25.
36. Miller, P.McC., Lawrie, S.M., Byrne, M., Cosway, R., Johnstone, E.C. Self-rated schizotypal cognitions, psychotic symptoms and the onset of schizophrenia in young people at high risk of schizophrenia (2002) Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 105 (5), pp. 341-345.
37. Cosway, R., Byrne, M., Clafferty, R., Hodges, A., Grant, E., Morris, J., Abukmeil, S.S., Lawrie, S.M., Miller, P., Owens, D.G.C., Johnstone, E.C. Sustained attention in young people at high risk for schizophrenia (2002) Psychological Medicine, 32 (2), pp. 277-286.
38. Miller, P., Byrne, M., Hodges, A., Lawrie, S.M., Owens, D.G.C., Johnstone, E.C. Schizotypal components in people at high risk of developing schizophrenia: Early findings from the Edinburgh high-risk study (2002) British Journal of Psychiatry, 180 (FEB.), pp. 179-184.
39. Miller, P.M., Byrne, M., Hodges, A., Lawrie, S.M., Johnstone, E.C. Childhood behaviour, psychotic symptoms and psychosis onset in young people at high risk of schizophrenia: Early findings the Edinburgh High Risk Study (2002) Psychological Medicine, 32 (1), pp. 173-179.
40. Mulvany, F., O’Callaghan, E., Takei, N., Byrne, M., Fearon, P., Larkin, C. Effect of social class at birth on risk and presentation of schizophrenia: Case-control study (2001) British Medical Journal, 323 (7326), pp. 1398-1401.
41. Fearon, P., Lane, A., Airie, M., Scannell, J., McGowan, A., Byrne, M., Cannon, M., Cotter, D., Murphy, P., Cassidy, B., Waddington, J., Larkin, C., O’Callaghan, E. Is reduced dermatoglyphic a-b ridge count a reliable marker of developmental impairment in schizophrenia?
42. (2001) Schizophrenia Research, 50 (3), pp. 151-157.
43. Reilly, J.L., Murphy, P.T., Byrne, M., Larkin, C., Gill, M., O’Callaghan, E., Lane, A. Dermatoglyphic fluctuating asymmetry and atypical handedness in schizophrenia (2001) Schizophrenia Research, 50 (3), pp. 159-168.
44. Lawrie, S.M., Byrne, M., Miller, P., Hodges, A., Clafferty, R.A., Cunningham Owens, D.G., Johnstone, E.C.  Neurodevelopmental indices and the development of psychotic symptoms in subjects at high risk of schizophrenia (2001) British Journal of Psychiatry, 178 (JUNE), pp. 524-530.
45. McIntosh, A.M., Forrester, A., Lawrie, S.M., Byrne, M., Harper, A., Kestelman, J.N., Best, J.J.K., Miller, P., Johnstone, E.C., Owens, D.G.C. A factor model of the functional psychoses and the relationship of factors to clinical variables and brain morphology (2001) Psychological Medicine, 31 (1), pp. 159-171.
46. Johnstone, E.C., Abukmeil, S.S., Byrne, M., Clafferty, R., Grant, E., Hodges, A., Lawrie, S.M., Owens, D.G.C. Edinburgh high risk study – Findings after four years: Demographic, attainment and psychopathological issues (2000) Schizophrenia Research, 46 (1), pp. 1-15.
47. Cosway, R., Byrne, M., Clafferty, R., Hodges, A., Grant, E., Abukmeil, S.S., Lawrie, S.M., Miller, P., Johnstone, E.C. Neuropsychological change in young people at high risk for schizophrenia: Results from the first two neuropsychological assessments of the Edinburgh high risk study (2000) Psychological Medicine, 30 (5), pp. 1111-1121.
48. Byrne, M., Browne, R., Mulryan, N., Scully, A., Morris, M., Kinsella, A., Takei, N., McNeil, T., Walsh, D., O’Callaghan, E. Labour and delivery complications and schizophrenia. Case-control study using contemporaneous labour ward records (2000) British Journal of Psychiatry, 176 (JUN.), pp. 531-536.
49. Browne, R., Byrne, M., Mulryan, N., Scully, A., Morris, M., Kinsella, A., McNeil, T.F., Walsh, D., O’Callaghan, E. Labour and delivery complications at birth and later mania. An irish case register study (2000) British Journal of Psychiatry, 176 (APR.), pp. 369-372.
50. Byrne, M., Hodges, A., Grant, E., Owens, D.C., Johnstone, E.C. Neuropsychological assessment of young people at high genetic risk for developing schizophrenia compared with controls: Preliminary findings of the Edinburgh High Risk Study (EHRS) (1999) Psychological Medicine, 29 (5), pp. 1161-1173.
51. Hodges, A., Byrne, M., Grant, E., Johnstone, E. People at risk of schizophrenia. Sample characteristics of the first 100 cases in the Edinburgh high-risk study (1999) British Journal of Psychiatry, 174 (JUN.), pp. 547-553.
52. Lawrie, S.M., Whalley, H., Kestelman, J.N., Abukmeil, S.S., Byrne, M., Hodges, A., Rimmington, J.E., Best, J.J.K., Owens, D.G.C., Johnstone, E.C. Magnetic resonance imaging of brain in people at high risk of developing schizophrenia (1999) Lancet, 353 (9146), pp. 30-33.
53. Lane, A., Kinsella, A., Murphy, P., Byrne, M., Keenan, J., Colgan, K., Cassidy, B., Sheppard, N., Horgan, R., Waddington, J.L., Larkin, C., O’Callaghan, E. The anthropometric assessment of dysmorphic features in schizophrenia as an index of its developmental origins (1997) Psychological Medicine, 27 (5), pp. 1155-1164.
54. Cryan, E., Byrne, M., O’Donovan, A., O’Callaghan, E. Brief report: A case-control study of obstetric complications and later autistic disorder (1996) Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 26 (4), pp. 453-460.
55. Cannon, M., Byrne, M., Cassidy, B., Larkin, C., Horgan, R., Sheppard, N.P., O’Callaghan, E. Prevalence and correlates of mixed-handedness in schizophrenia (1995) Psychiatry Research, 59 (1-2), pp. 119-125.
56. Lane, A., Byrne, M., Mulvany, F., Kinsella, A., Waddington, J.L., Walsh, D., Larkin, C., O’Callaghan, E. Reproductive behaviour in schizophrenia relative to other mental disorders: Evidence for increased fertility in men despite decreased marital rate (1995) Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 91 (4), pp. 222-228.
57. Cannon, M., Byrne, M., Cotter, D., Sham, P., Larkin, C., O’Callaghan, E. Further evidence for anomalies in the hand-prints of patients with schizophrenia: a study of secondary creases (1994) Schizophrenia Research, 13 (2), pp. 179-184.

Book Chapter: Oliver, J., Joseph, C., Byrne, M., John, LC, Morris, E.M.J. (2013) Introduction to Mindfulness and Acceptance-based Therapies for Psychosis. In Morris, E.M.J, Johns, L.C., Oliver, J.E. Eds Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Mindfulness for Psychosis. Chicester:Wiley, pp1-8. Manual: Oliver, J.E., Morris, E.M.J, Johns, L.C., Byrne, M.  (2011). ACT for life : Group Intervention for Psychosis Manual. http://contextualscience.org/quotact_for_lifequot_group_intervention_for_psycho