Marcantonio M. Spada

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Marcantonio M. Spada
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Marcantonio M. Spada.jpg
Born (1970-11-13) 13 November 1970 (age 53)
Rome, Italy
NationalityItalian-British
Alma mater University of Bristol (BSc)
London School of Economics (MSc)
University College London (PgDip, MA)
University of Manchester (PhD)
Known forMetacognition in addictive behaviours, desire thinking, COVID-19 anxiety syndrome

Marcantonio M. Spada (born 13 November 1970 in Rome, Italy) is an Italian-British academic psychologist who has studied the role of metacognition in addictive behaviours and operationalised the constructs of "desire thinking" and the "COVID-19 anxiety syndrome". He is currently Professor of Addictive Behaviours and Mental Health and Dean of the School of Applied Sciences at London South Bank University. He is also editor-in-chief of Addictive Behaviors .

Contents

Education

Spada was educated at St. George's British International School and then attended the University of Bristol (BSc), the London School of Economics (MSc), and University College London (PgDip and MA). He received his PhD from the University of Manchester in 2006 under the supervision of Adrian Wells. [1]

Career

Spada is currently Professor of Addictive Behaviours and Mental Health, and Dean the School of Applied Sciences at London South Bank University.

He is also the editor-in-chief of the addictions psychology and psychiatry journal Addictive Behaviors , [2] and the founder and former editor-in-chief of its sister journal Addictive Behaviors Reports, [3] both published by Elsevier. In addition, he also served as associate editor of Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy , published by John Wiley & Sons. [4]

Spada has been elected a fellow of the British Psychological Society and the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies for his contribution to the advancement and dissemination of psychological knowledge and practice in the field of addictive behaviours. [5] [6] He has also served as a trustee and the Chair of the Board of Trustees for UK SMART Recovery and as a trustee of GambleAware. [7] [8]

Work

Addictive behaviours

Spada has contributed to the understanding of metacognitive mechanisms underlying general vulnerability to addictive behaviours, identifying the role of metacognitive beliefs across addictive behaviours, [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] putting forward the first metacognitive therapy model and treatment protocol for addictive behaviours, [14] [15] [16] [17] and operationalising the construct of "desire thinking". [18] [19] [20]

He is an advocate of employing idiographic and functional approaches to the conceptualisation and treatment of psychological problems in cognitive behavioural therapy, [21] [22] supporting psychological therapists in working with clients taking (or withdrawing from) prescribed drugs, [23] raising awareness about problematic betting and gambling behaviour, [3] and working with young people to tackle threats to well-being arising from excessive technological use. [24] [25] [26] He is the author of the successful self-help book Overcoming Problem Drinking, an NHS recommended 'book on prescription' for alcohol misuse. [27] [28]

Research on metacognition in psychopathology

Spada has also developed metacognitive models of cyberchondria, [29] procrastination, [30] and self-critical rumination and self-esteem. [31]

Research on psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Spada contributed to a growing body of literature regarding COVID-19-related psychological distress, having co-developed, with Professor Ana V. Nikčević, the construct of the "COVID-19 anxiety syndrome", and associated psychometric measure, identifying the impact of the syndrome on COVID-19 anxiety, generalised anxiety and depression, and work and social adjustment. [32] The COVID-19 anxiety syndrome is characterised by avoidance, threat monitoring, checking and worry which are presumed to maintain the fear response associated with COVID-19 and exacerbate psychological distress. [33]

Spada has publicly advocated for the importance of supporting those affected by the COVID-19 anxiety syndrome as society attempts to return to normal. [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] Spada has also argued that governments' deployment of behavioural science techniques aimed at shaping behaviour in combination with repeated lockdowns may have, inadvertently or not, fuelled a mental health crisis among the wider population, particularly the young. He advocates for the need to carefully review the consequences of implementing such policies and consider never deploying them again. [39] [40] [41]

Selected publications

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hypochondriasis</span> Medical condition

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thought-action fusion</span> Category of painful thinking or beliefs

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References

  1. ↑ Spada, Marcantonio M. (2006). Metacognition and problem drinking (PhD thesis). University of Manchester. OCLC   930688216.
  2. ↑ Addictive Behaviors – Home Page . Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  3. 1 2 "LSBU's Professor Spearheads New Scientific Journal on Addictive Behaviours". www.lsbu.ac.uk. 11 December 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  4. ↑ Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy – Home Page . Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  5. ↑ "LSBU's Professor Marcantonio Spada Awarded Fellowship of British Psychological Society". www.lsbu.ac.uk. 12 March 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  6. ↑ "BABCP Fellows". www.babcp.com. 9 September 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  7. ↑ "UK SMART Recovery is pleased to announce Professor Marcantonio Spada as the new Chair of the Board of Trustees". www.smartrecovery.org.uk/. 4 February 2020. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  8. ↑ "GambleAware announces new trustees" (PDF). www.begambleaware.org. 4 October 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  9. ↑ Wells, Adrian (2013). "Advances in Metacognitive Therapy". International Journal of Cognitive Therapy. 6 (2): 186–201. doi:10.1521/ijct.2013.6.2.186.
  10. ↑ Spada, Marcantonio M.; Proctor, Dawn; Caselli, Gabriele; Strodl, Esben (2013). Metacognition in Substance Misuse. In Peter M. Miller (Editor), Principles of Addiction: Comprehensive Addictive Behaviors and Disorders. Oxford, UK: Elsevier. ISBN   9780123983367.
  11. ↑ Dale, Veronica; et al. (2017). "Predicting treatment outcomes: Evidence from the United Kingdom Alcohol Treatment Trial (UKATT)" (PDF). Addictive Behaviors. 71: 61–67. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2017.02.023. PMID   28273487. S2CID   46755661.
  12. ↑ Hamonniere, Tristan; Varescon, Isabelle (2018). "Metacognitive beliefs in addictive behaviours: A systematic review". Addictive Behaviors. 85: 51–63. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2018.05.018. PMID   29852356. S2CID   44085611.
  13. ↑ Spada, Marcantonio M. (11 September 2021). "Metacognition in addictive behaviours: A 20-year overview" (PDF). Invited Keynote Talk, 50th Congress. European Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies.
  14. ↑ Spada, Marcantonio M.; Caselli, Gabriele; Wells, Adrian (2012). The metacognitive therapy approach to problem drinking. In Steven Hayes & Michael Levin (Editors), Mindfulness and Acceptance for Addictive Behaviors: Applying Contextual CBT to Substance Abuse and Behavioral Addictions. New York, US: New Harbinger. ISBN   1608822168.
  15. ↑ Spada, Marcantonio M.; Caselli, Gabriele; Nikčević, Ana V.; Wells, Adrian (2015). "Metacognition in addictive behaviors" (PDF). Addictive Behaviors. 44: 9–15. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2014.08.002. PMID   25182375.
  16. ↑ Spada, Marcantonio M. (8 April 2016). "Metacognition in addictive behaviours: The present and beyond" (PDF). Invited Keynote Talk, 3rd International Conference on Metacognitive Therapy. Metacognitive Therapy Institute (MCT-I).
  17. ↑ Caselli, Gabriele; Martino, Francesca; Spada, Marcantonio M.; Wells, Adrian (2018). "Metacognitive Therapy for Alcohol Use Disorder: A Systematic Case Series". Frontiers in Psychology. 9: 2619. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02619 . PMC   6305730 . PMID   30619014.
  18. ↑ Caselli, Gabriele; Spada, Marcantonio M. (2011). "The Desire Thinking Questionnaire". Addictive Behaviors. 36 (11): 1061–1067. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2011.06.013. PMID   21741178.
  19. ↑ Caselli, Gabriele; Spada, Marcantonio M. (2015). "Desire Thinking: What is it and what drives it?". Addictive Behaviors. 44: 71–79. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2014.07.021. PMID   25128328.
  20. ↑ Mansueto, Giovanni; Martino, Francesca; Palmieri, Sara; Scaini, Simona; Ruggiero, Giovanni Maria; Sassaroli, Sandra; Caselli, Gabriele (2019). "Desire Thinking across addictive behaviours: A systematic review and meta-analysis". Addictive Behaviors. 98: 106018. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2019.06.007. PMID   31233946. S2CID   195355758.
  21. ↑ Spada, Marcantonio M. (2015). "Commentary on Billieux et al.'s article 'Are we overpathologizing everyday life? A tenable blueprint for behavioural addiction research'". Journal of Behavioral Addictions. 4 (3): 124–125. doi:10.1556/2006.4.2015.018. PMC   4627666 . PMID   26551895.
  22. ↑ Ezzamel, Samia; Spada, Marcantonio M.; Nikčević, Ana V. (2015). Cognitive-behavioural case formulation in the treatment of a complex case of social anxiety disorder and substance misuse. In Michael H. Bruch (Editor), Beyond Diagnosis: Case Formulation in Cognitive-Behavioural Psychotherapy. London, UK: Wiley. ISBN   978-1-119-96076-8.
  23. ↑ "Guidance for Psychological Therapists – Enabling Conversations with Clients Taking or Withdrawing from Prescribed Psychiatric Drugs". prescribeddrug.info. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  24. ↑ Spada, Marcantonio M. (2014). "An overview of problematic Internet use". Addictive Behaviors. 39 (1): 3–6. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2013.09.007. PMID   24126206.
  25. ↑ Marino, Claudia; Spada, Marcantonio M. (2017). "Dysfunctional cognitions in online gaming and Internet Gaming Disorder: A narrative review and new classification". Current Addiction Reports. 4 (3): 308–316. doi:10.1007/s40429-017-0160-0. S2CID   148869277.
  26. ↑ Marino, Claudia; Gini, Gianluca; Vieno, Alessio; Spada, Marcantonio M. (2018). "The associations between problematic Facebook use and psychological distress and well-being among adolescents and young adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis". Journal of Affective Disorders. 226: 274–281. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2017.10.007. PMID   29024900.
  27. ↑ "Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council – Books on Prescription" (PDF). www.dbth.nhs.uk. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  28. ↑ "Tameside Metropolitan Borough – Books on Prescription". www.tameside.gov.uk. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  29. ↑ Fergus, Tom A.; Spada, Marcantonio M. (2018). "Moving toward a metacognitive conceptualization of Cyberchondria: Examining the contribution of metacognitive beliefs, beliefs about rituals, and stop signals". Journal of Anxiety Disorders. 60: 11–19. doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2018.09.003. PMID   30317062. S2CID   52981134.
  30. ↑ Fernie, Bruce A.; Bharuca, Zinnia; Nikčević, Ana V.; Marino, Claudia; Spada, Marcantonio M. (2017). "A metacognitive model of procrastination" (PDF). Journal of Affective Disorders. 210: 196–203. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2016.12.042. PMID   28056361.
  31. ↑ Kolubinski, Daniel; Nikčević, Ana V.; Marino, Claudia; Spada, Marcantonio M. (2019). "A metacognitive model of self-esteem" (PDF). Journal of Affective Disorders. 256: 42–53. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2016.12.042. PMID   28056361.
  32. ↑ Nikčević, Ana V.; Spada, Marcantonio M. (2020). "The COVID-19 anxiety syndrome scale: Development and psychometric properties". Psychiatry Research. 292: 113322. doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113322. PMC   7375349 . PMID   32736267.
  33. ↑ Nikčević, Ana V.; Marino, Claudia; Kolubinski, Daniel C.; Leach, Dawn; Spada, Marcantonio M. (2021). "Modelling the contribution of the Big Five personality traits, health anxiety, and COVID-19 psychological distress to generalised anxiety and depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic". Journal of Affective Disorders. 279: 578–584. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.10.053 . PMC   7598311 . PMID   33152562.
  34. ↑ "Fears Covid anxiety syndrome could stop people reintegrating". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  35. ↑ "Vaccinated but won't go out? The rise of Covid anxiety syndrome". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  36. ↑ "Britons struggling to return to normal life for fear of covid 'ingrained'". The Sunday Express. London. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  37. ↑ "Why 'getting back to normal' may actually feel terrifying". The National Geographic. Washington DC. Archived from the original on 20 May 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  38. ↑ "COVID-19 anxiety syndrome: A pandemic phenomenon?". Medical News Today. Brighton. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  39. ↑ "People 'must be weaned off worrying about the virus', says mental health professor'". The Sunday Express. London. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  40. ↑ "Concerns heard about Government use of fear to increase adherence to Covid restrictions". APPG Pandemic Response and Recovery. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  41. ↑ "How to Tell If Your Health Concerns Are Normal — Or a Sign of Something More". TIME. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
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