Research Assistant

Claire joined the Substance Misuse and Ageing Research Team (SMART) at the University of Bedfordshire as a research assistant in 2021.

Her academic background is in clinical psychology and her interests lie in evaluating and developing evidence-based practices in mental health care, including the safe prescribing and deprescribing of psychopharmacological medication.

She has previously worked on projects in mindfulness, chronic pain and antidepressant efficacy and safety at the University of Cambridge and Royal Holloway, University of London. She has also volunteered for a leading charity provider of mental health services in England and in Singapore.

Research Interests

• Evidence-based mental health care for treating and preventing mental illness
• Systematic reviews and meta-analyses
• Prescription medication for chronic pain and mental health
• Safe psychotropic medication prescribing and deprescribing
• Mindfulness for mental health promotion

Academic Qualifications

• MSc Clinical Psychology (Royal Holloway, University of London, 2018)
• BSc Psychology (University of Northampton, 2016)

Current Research Projects

• Improving the quality and experience of care for patients prescribed medicines with a risk of dependence or withdrawal. University of Bedfordshire. Role: Research Assistant.
• An individual participant data meta-analysis of RCTs of mindfulness-based programmes for mental health promotion in adults in non-clinical settings. University of Cambridge. Role: Research Assistant/Data Manager.

Peer Reviewed Publications

• Galante, J., Friedrich, C., Dawson, A. F., Modrego-Alarcón, M., Gebbing, P., Delgado-Suárez, I., Gupta, R., Dean, L., Dalgleish, T., White, I. R., & Jones, P. B. (2021). Mindfulness-based programmes for mental health promotion in adults in nonclinical settings: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. PLOS Medicine, 18(1), e1003481.
• Birkinshaw, H., Friedrich, C., Cole, P., Eccleston, C., Serfaty, M., Stewart, G., White, S., Moore, R. A., & Pincus, T. (2021). Antidepressants for pain management in adults with chronic pain: A network meta‐analysis (Protocol). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Issue 4. Art. No.: CD014682.

Contact Details

E: claire.friedrich@beds.ac.uk
Twitter: @FriedrichClaire