Mrs Nicola Kelly

  I am Supervisory Lead for this course.  My research areas are supervision and meta-supervision.  I teach and supervise across all modules of the course.

I joined CCCU as a Senior Lecturer in CBT (cognitive behaviour therapy) in 2010, having previously enjoyed supervising on the course and wanting to develop my teaching and research interests.

This was (and remains) in line with my clinical interests: previously I worked for the NHS, initially as a mental health nurse, before combining this with CBT. This NHS work involved over 4 years working in acute inpatient wards, including detoxification (from alcohol and drugs) and over 10 years in a primary care setting (a University-based GP Practice). The age group of clients I have worked with ranges between 16 and 80 and covers the full range of mental health difficulties, from mild to severe and from acute to chronic.

As with all of the teaching team on this course, I work for CCCU for part of the week and as a cognitive behaviour therapist on the remaining days, as required to maintain professional accreditation with the BABCP. I am accredited as a therapist, supervisor and trainer. I enjoy being involved in training and supervising cognitive behaviour therapists and witnessing the development of clinical skills and confidence.

I particularly enjoy the close collaboration involved in supervision and this became an area of particular interest, both clinically and as a researcher. Other areas of particular interest include: adapting treatment so that it may be beneficial to neurodivergent clients, with or without formal diagnoses, (in particular, autism and ADHD; I am myself neurodivergent) and working with emetophobia and blood-injury/needle phobia.

I obtained a University Certificate in Academic Practice in 2016, as part of a portfolio of reflective work focused on teaching within Higher Education.

I am currently developing a supervision course for qualified cognitive behaviour therapists wishing to become supervisors and in future plan to develop courses for supervisors with a range of experience.

I am involved in writing and delivering lectures and practical skills workshops on our BABCP Level 2 accredited course, as well as being a personal tutor and course supervisor on the programme.  

I am module lead of the fundamentals of CBT modules, as well as supervision lead. I have responsibilities for examining, as well as moderating - spanning written work and recorded clinical sessions.  

I have previously been an External Examiner for the CBT course at University College Cork.

My research interests focus on supervision and meta-supervision.

I am currently a doctoral researcher, with my thematic focus being the area of meta-supervision. I am completing an IPA study of how supervisors make sense of their experience of meta-supervision.  

In 2016 I completed a mixed methods study about supervision in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy using thematic analysis and an adapted Delphi Poll. It looked at what elements of CBT Supervision supervisors and supervisees on a CBT training programme rate as being most helpful.  

This was published in the Cognitive Behaviour Therapist:  

Kelly, N., & Hassett, A. (2021). Clinical supervision in CBT training: what do participants view as effective? The Cognitive Behaviour Therapist (2021), vol. 14, e27, page 1 of 19 doi:10.1017/S1754470X21000222   

Outside of CCCU I have a private practice, offering CBT to people from ages 16 and over.  I also offer supervision and meta-supervision privately.  

While no longer part of its committee, I am a founder member of the BABCP Supervision Special Interest Group.