Rona Moss-Morris is Head of

Health Psychology Health psychology is the study of psychological and behavioral processes in health, illness, and healthcare. The discipline is concerned with understanding how psychological, behavioral, and cultural factors contribute to physical health and il ...

and Chair in Psychology as Applied to Medicine at the

Institute of Psychiatry The Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) is a centre for mental health and neuroscience research, education and training in Europe. It is dedicated to understanding, preventing and treating mental illness, neurological co ...

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

. Her research investigates long-term, medically unexplained disorders such as

chronic fatigue syndrome Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a disabling Chronic condition, chronic illness. People with ME/CFS experience profound fatigue that does not go away with rest, as well as sleep issues and problems with memory ...

(CFS) and

irritable bowel syndrome Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional gastrointestinal disorder characterized by a group of symptoms that commonly include abdominal pain, abdominal bloating, and changes in the consistency of bowel movements. These symptoms may ...

(IBS). She joined the IoP in 2011 and presented an inaugural lecture entitled "Trials and tribulations: A journey towards integrated care for long term conditions."

Biography

Academic career

Growing up in South Africa, Rona studied

occupational therapy Occupational therapy (OT), also known as ergotherapy, is a healthcare profession. Ergotherapy is derived from the Greek wiktionary:ergon, ergon which is allied to work, to act and to be active. Occupational therapy is based on the assumption t ...

at the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) (, ) is a public university, public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest univer ...

, where she was awarded a BSc. She worked clinically in mental health in South Africa as an

occupational therapist Occupational therapists (OTs) are health care professionals specializing in occupational therapy and occupational science. OTs and occupational therapy assistants (OTAs) use evidence-based practice, scientific bases and a Holism, holistic perspec ...

before immigrating in 1988 to New Zealand. At the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

she studied for a Masters and PhD in health psychology. Her doctoral thesis was titled ''Cognitive factors in the maintenance of chronic fatigue syndrome''. She worked at the University of Auckland as a lecturer and whilst on the faculty helped to set up a Masters course in Health Psychology. In 2006, Rona moved again, this time to the

University of Southampton The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public university, public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universit ...

in the UK and was made Professor of Health Psychology in 2007. Here she researched, amongst other topics, the links between chronic illness and personality factors (for example the link between IBS and perfectionism). She is currently a professor at the Institute of Psychiatry in South London, where she joined the Department of Psychology in 2011.

Research

Rona has dedicated her academic career to investigating chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and

post-concussion syndrome Post-concussion syndrome (PCS), also known as persisting symptoms after concussion, is a set of symptoms that may continue for weeks, months, or years after a concussion. PCS is medically classified as a mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). About ...

. This work has included attempts to model and treat the disorders as well as understanding psychological factors involved in reactions to chronic illness as well as how the patient and their family adjust to the symptoms. She has spoken at public engagement events on the relationship between stress and illness. She has developed a web-based version of a CBT Package called MSInvigor8.

Publications

Rona has co-authored a book with Keith Petrie entitled ''Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (Experience of Illness)''. Rona has contributed to over 61 academic articles in a variety of peer-reviewed journals. The following are a selection of the few most recent: * * *Powell, D. J. H., Liossi, C., Moss-Morris, R. & Schlotz, W. (2013) Unstimulated cortisol secretory activity in everyday life and its relationship with fatigue and chronic fatigue syndrome: A systematic review and subset meta-analysis ''Psychoneuroendocrinology'' * *

Awards

Rona won MS Research of the Year as part of the Multiple Sclerosis Society Awards 2013 for her randomised controlled trial ''Adjusting to MS'', which compared CBT and supportive listening to help people adjust to early stages of

multiple sclerosis Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease resulting in damage to myelinthe insulating covers of nerve cellsin the brain and spinal cord. As a demyelinating disease, MS disrupts the nervous system's ability to Action potential, transmit ...

(MS).MS Society website, retrieved 12th Nov 2013
/ref>

References

External links

Adjusting to MS: what do we know and can we help?
MS Society Talking Research video {{DEFAULTSORT:Moss-Morris, Rona Academics of King's College London University of Auckland alumni Academic staff of the University of Auckland British psychologists Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome