Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) - An Open Gate to Treat Anxiety and Depression An Interview with David M. Clark

David M. Clark is Professor of Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford and Director of the Oxford Centre for Anxiety Disorders and Trauma. He is well-known for his pioneering work on understanding and treatment of anxiety disorders. With colleagues, he has developed original and effective cognitive-behaviour therapy programmes for four different anxiety disorders: panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, post-Traumatic stress disorder and health anxiety (hypochondriasis). He has also played a key role in making evidence-based psychological treatments more widely available - first, through his work in training local clinicians and helping to establish a trauma treatment centre in Omagh, Northern Ireland, following the Omagh bombing incident in 1998; second, as one of the architects of the UK government's Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) Programme. He is a Honorary Fellow of the British Psychological Society and also a Fellow of the British Academy, the Academy of Medical Sciences and the Association for Psychological Science (USA). Other awards include: being voted a World Leader in Anxiety Disorders Research by members of the Anxiety Disorders of America Association (1998); the Behaviour Research and Therapy Award (1997) for the most outstanding article published in 30 years since foundation of the journal in 1962 [Clark, 1986]; and the American Psychological Association's Award for Distinguished Scientific Application of Psychology (2010). The citation for the latter award described his work as 'pure genius with a real world application'. Last, but not least, he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his services to mental health in 2012.