Staff profile

Having previously worked as a researcher in Phase IV clinical trials (University of Surrey) and in the field of alcohol addiction (University of Sussex) I completed my PhD in 2017 at the University of Exeter. My PhD investigated predictors of depression in people with coronary heart disease, with a particular focus on the role of repetitive thought. Subsequently I was a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Exeter Medical School and at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto. I joined the Department of Psychology at Durham University in 2020, initially as Assistant Professor (Research) in Applied Health (funded by the NIHR North East and North Cumbria Applied Research Collaboration) and more recently as Assistant Professor in Mental Health.

Research profile

My broad areas of interest are in mental health, addiction, psychological medicine and health psychology. I am particularly interested in factors that influence the development and maintenance of depression in people with chronic physical illnesses, and in the impact of mental health comorbidities on health and treatment outcomes. I am also interested in understanding common mental health conditions in other special populations.

• Predictors of common mental health conditions
• Depression and anxiety in people with long term conditions and in other special populations
• The impact of comorbidity / multimorbidity on mental and physical health
• The role of repetitive thought (e.g. rumination, worry), problem solving, cognitive biases and inflammation in explaining depression
• Understanding and evaluating psychological interventions and treatments for substance use disorders
• The use of ecotherapy and nature-based interventions for improving mental wellbeing
• Learning, cognitive and biological mechanisms involved in alcohol addiction

Chapter in book

• Trick, L., Butler, K., Chukwueke, C., Di Ciano, P., Ibrahim, C., Rubin-Kahana, D. S., …Le Foll, B. (2021). Abnormalities of Neurotransmission in Drug Addiction. In R. A. Dierckx, A. Otte, E. F. de Vries, A. van Waarde, & I. E. Sommer (Eds.), PET and SPECT in Psychiatry (653-712). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57231-0_21
• Trick, L., & Le Foll, B. (2020). Pharmacological Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder. In N. el-Guebaly, G. Carrà, M. Galanter, & A. M. Baldacchino (Eds.), Textbook of Addiction Treatment: International Perspectives (123-139). (2nd ed.). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36391-8_10
• Hindmarch, I., & Trick, L. (2004). Behavioural toxicity of pharmacotherapeutic agents used in social phobia. In M. Maj, H. S. Akiskal, J. J. López-Ibor, & A. Okasha (Eds.), Phobias. Wiley

Journal Article

• Trick, L., Butler, K., Bourgault, Z., Vandervoort, J., & Le Foll, B. (2023). Implementation and Preliminary Evaluation of a 12-Week Cognitive Behavioural and Motivational Enhancement Group Therapy for Cannabis Use Disorder. Substance Abuse: Research and Treatment, 17, https://doi.org/10.1177/11782218231205840
• Trick, L., Watkins, E. R., Henley, W., Gandhi, M. M., & Dickens, C. (2019). Perseverative negative thinking predicts depression in people with acute coronary syndrome. General Hospital Psychiatry, 61, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2019.06.012
• Wilkinson, B., Trick, L., Knight, A., Valton, V., Goodhand, J., Kennedy, N. A., …Dickens, C. (2019). Factors associated with depression in people with inflammatory bowel disease: The relationship between active disease and biases in neurocognitive processing. Neurogastroenterology and Motility, 31(8), https://doi.org/10.1111/nmo.13647
• Bollen, J., Trick, L., Llewellyn, D., & Dickens, C. (2017). The effects of acute inflammation on cognitive functioning and emotional processing in humans: A systematic review of experimental studies. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 94, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2017.01.002
• Trick, L., Watkins, E., Windeatt, S., & Dickens, C. (2016). The association of perseverative negative thinking with depression, anxiety and emotional distress in people with long term conditions: A systematic review. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 91, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2016.11.004
• Duka, T., Dixon, C. I., Trick, L., Crombag, H. S., King, S. L., & Stephens, D. N. (2015). Motivational Effects of Methylphenidate are Associated with GABRA2 Variants Conferring Addiction Risk. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 9, https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00304
• Trick, L., Watkins, E., & Dickens, C. (2014). The association between perseverative negative cognitive processes and negative affect in people with long term conditions: a protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis. Systematic Reviews, 3(1), https://doi.org/10.1186/2046-4053-3-5
• Trick, L., Kempton, M. J., Williams, S. C., & Duka, T. (2014). Impaired fear recognition and attentional set-shifting is associated with brain structural changes in alcoholic patients. Addiction Biology, 19(6), https://doi.org/10.1111/adb.12175
• Sanchez-Roige, S., Baro, V., Trick, L., Peña-Oliver, Y., Stephens, D. N., & Duka, T. (2014). Exaggerated Waiting Impulsivity Associated with Human Binge Drinking, and High Alcohol Consumption in Mice. Neuropsychopharmacology, 39(13), https://doi.org/10.1038/npp.2014.151
• O'Daly, O. G., Trick, L., Scaife, J., Marshall, J., Ball, D., Phillips, M. L., …Duka, T. (2012). Withdrawal-Associated Increases and Decreases in Functional Neural Connectivity Associated with Altered Emotional Regulation in Alcoholism. Neuropsychopharmacology, 37(10), https://doi.org/10.1038/npp.2012.77
• Duka, T., Trick, L., Nikolaou, K., Gray, M. A., Kempton, M. J., Williams, H., …Stephens, D. N. (2011). Unique Brain Areas Associated with Abstinence Control Are Damaged in Multiply Detoxified Alcoholics. Biological Psychiatry, 70(6), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2011.04.006
• Trick, L., Hogarth, L., & Duka, T. (2011). Prediction and uncertainty in human Pavlovian to instrumental transfer. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 37(3), https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022310
• Boyle, J., Trick, L., Johnsen, S., Roach, J., & Rubens, R. (2008). Next‐day cognition, psychomotor function, and driving‐related skills following nighttime administration of eszopiclone. Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental, 23(5), https://doi.org/10.1002/hup.936
• McDonald, K., Trick, L., & Boyle, J. (2008). Sedation and antihistamines: an update. Review of inter-drug differences using proportional impairment ratios. Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental, 23(7), https://doi.org/10.1002/hup.962
• Hindmarch, I., Trick, L., & Ridout, F. (2005). A double-blind, placebo- and positive-internal-controlled (alprazolam) investigation of the cognitive and psychomotor profile of pregabalin in healthy volunteers. Psychopharmacology, 183(2), https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-005-0172-7
• Trick, L., Boyle, J., & Hindmarch, I. (2004). The effects ofGinkgo biloba extract(LI 1370) supplementation and discontinuation on activities of daily living and mood in free living older volunteers. Phytotherapy Research, 18(7), https://doi.org/10.1002/ptr.1479
• Trick, L., Stanley, N., Rigney, U., & Hindmarch, I. (2004). A Double-Blind, Randomized, 26-Week Study Comparing the Cognitive and Psychomotor Effects and Efficacy of 75 mg (37.5mg b.i.d.) Venlafaxine and 75 mg (25mg Mane, 50mg Nocte) Dothiepin in Elderly Patients with Moderate Major Depression Being Treated in General Practice. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 18(2), https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881104042622