Matthew Whalley
I am a clinical psychologist and director of Psychology Tools. We are a company which develops high quality, evidence based tools and resources to help therapists delivery great therapy. Our team are dedicated to supporting clinicians in challenging roles and our goal is to ensure that people struggling with mental health problems receive evidence-based treatments.
Clinically I specialise in working with people who have experienced trauma. I held clinical posts in primary, community, and tertiary settings within the National Health Service, including a seven-year role in a leading specialist trauma service. I now maintain a small private clinic.
Early in my career I completed my PhD and postdoc at University College London. I spent my time investigating the brain mechanisms involved in hypnosis and suggestion, the experience of pain, and unwanted memories. My current focus is the development of resources to assist clinicians to deliver high-quality evidence-based therapy.
Private clinic
2020-08: I am not currently taking on new clients. I run a small private therapy clinic in Reading. I work with adults suffering from emotional difficulties and specialise in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety disorders, pain, and in conditions related to audiology and balance (e.g. tinnitus, dizziness). I have trained in a range of approaches including cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR), hypnosis / hypnotherapy, narrative exposure therapy (NET), and ACT / mindfulness.
Qualifications and accreditation
I am a clinical psychologist, accredited by the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC). I adhere to the professional and ethical guidelines of the HCPC.
Contact
To contact me email: mail[at]matthewwhalley.com
You can also find me on LinkedIn and ResearchGate.
Publications
- Whalley, M., & Lee, D. (2019, March 29). Integrating compassion into EMDR for PTSD and CPTSD. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/pnbm3
- Macdonald, B., Salomons, T. V., Meteyard, L., & Whalley, M. G. (2018). Prevalence of pain flashbacks in post-traumatic stress disorder arising from exposure to multiple traumas or childhood traumatization. Canadian Journal of Pain, (just-accepted). download
- Derbyshire, S. W., Whalley, M. G., Seah, S. T., & Oakley, D. A. (2017). Suggestions to Reduce Clinical Fibromyalgia Pain and Experimentally Induced Pain Produce Parallel Effects on Perceived Pain but Divergent Functional MRI-Based Brain Activity. Psychosomatic Medicine, 79(2), 189. download
- Whalley, M. G. & Cane, D. A. (2016). A cognitive behavioural model of persistent postural perceptual dizziness. Cognitive and Behavioural Practice, 24(1), 72-89. download
- Whalley, M. G. (2015). Self-help tools for panic: A CBT workbook for overcoming panic attacks. Psychology Tools
- Carhart-Harris, R. L., Kaelen, M., Whalley, M. G., Bolstridge, M., Feilding, A., & Nutt, D. J. (2014). LSD enhances suggestibility in healthy volunteers. Psychopharmacology, 1-10.
- Whalley, M. G., Kroes, M. C., Huntley, Z., Rugg, M. D., Davis, S. W., & Brewin, C. R. (2013). An fMRI investigation of posttraumatic flashbacks. Brain and cognition, 81(1), 151-159.
- Whalley, M. G., Rugg, M. D., & Brewin, C. R. (2012). Autobiographical memory in depression: an fMRI study. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, 201(2), 98-106.
- Brewin, C. R., Huntley, Z., & Whalley, M. G. (2012). Source memory errors associated with reports of posttraumatic flashbacks: A proof of concept study. Cognition, 124(2), 234-238.
- Kroes, M. C., Rugg, M. D., Whalley, M. G., & Brewin, C. R. (2011). Structural brain abnormalities common to posttraumatic stress disorder and depression. Journal of psychiatry & neuroscience: JPN, 36(4), 256.
- Kroes, M. C. W., Whalley, M. G., Rugg, M. D., & Brewin, C. R. (2011). Association between flashbacks and structural brain abnormalities in posttraumatic stress disorder. European Psychiatry, 26(8), 525-531.
- Kirsch, I., Cardena, E., Derbyshire, S., Dienes, Z., Heap, M., Kallio, S., ... & Whalley, M. (2011). Definitions of hypnosis and hypnotizability and their relation to suggestion and suggestibility: A consensus statement. Contemporary Hypnosis, 28(2), 107-115.
- Whalley, M. G., Rugg, M. D., Smith, A. P., Dolan, R. J., & Brewin, C. R. (2009). Incidental retrieval of emotional contexts in post-traumatic stress disorder and depression: an fMRI study. Brain and Cognition, 69(1), 98-107.
- Whalley, M. G., & Brooks, G. B. (2009). Enhancement of suggestibility and imaginative ability with nitrous oxide. Psychopharmacology, 203(4), 745-752.
- Derbyshire, S. W., Whalley, M. G., & Oakley, D. A. (2009). Fibromyalgia pain and its modulation by hypnotic and non-hypnotic suggestion: An fMRI analysis. European Journal of Pain, 13(5), 542-550.
- Whalley, M. G., & Brewin, C. R. (2007). Mental health following terrorist attacks. British Journal of Psychiatry, 190(2), 94-96. download
- Whalley, M. G., Farmer, E., & Brewin, C. R. (2007). Pain flashbacks following the July 7th 2005 London bombings. Pain, 132(3), 332-336.
- Derbyshire, S. W., Whalley, M. G., Stenger, V. A., & Oakley, D. A. (2004). Cerebral activation during hypnotically induced and imagined pain. Neuroimage, 23(1), 392-401.
- Whalley, M. G., & Oakley, D. A. (2003). Psychogenic pain: a study using multidimensional scaling. Contemporary Hypnosis, 20(1), 16-24.
Projects
I run a number of public information websites: