Staff profile

Qualifications

BA (Hons, first class), MA (distinction), PGDipClinPsych, PhD (Massey Univ.)

Membership of professional associations

APS College of Clinical Psychologists; Australian Association for Cognitive and Behaviour Therapy; Australian Psychological Society; New Zealand College of Clinical Psychologists; The International Association for Cognitive Psychotherapy (Australian Delegate)

Area of study

Psychology

Brief profile

 

Nikolaos Kazantzis is a Senior Lecturer in Clinical Psychology and Founder of the Cognitive Behaviour Therapy Research Unit at La Trobe University (https://www.facebook.com/CBTRU.LTU). His work is focused on mood disorders and enhancing evidence-based treatment approaches. The aim of the work is to better understand how therapy helps clients, with a central focus on enhancing therapist competencies in therapeutic relationship and intervention processes. Current projects are evaluating whether these enhancements increase CBT's effectiveness in reducing the significant emotional distress and functional impairment associated with depression, and in reducing rates of depressive relapse.

 

Dr. Kazantzis’ work is part of collaborative research teams, and his closest collaborators and mentors are Professors Frank Dattilio (Harvard Medical School, USA) and Keith Dobson (University of Calgary, Canada). He also collaborates with Drs. Judith Beck (University of Pennsylvania, USA), David Clark (University of New Brunswick, Canada), Arthur Freeman (Midwestern University, USA), Stefan Hofmann (Boston University, USA), Ken Laidlaw (University of Edinburgh, Scotland), Nancy Pachana (University of Queensland, Australia), Frank Deane (University of Wollongong, Australia), Kevin Ronan (Central Queensland University, Australia), Jan Scott (University of Newcastle, England), and Anne Simons (University of Notre Dame, USA). 

 

Career

Dr. Kazantzis is recipient of the Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy’s 2012 Scholar Award for “significant contributions to the field of cognitive therapy”, and the Australian Association of Cognitive Behavior Therapy’s Early Career Award for “research and clinical innovation in cognitive and behavior therapy”. Dr. Kazantzis is author of over 100 publications, and has produced 3 books that provide training materials and resources for the practicing clinician (Using Homework Assignments in Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Handbook of Homework Assignments in Psychotherapy: Theory, Practice, & Prevention, and Cognitive and Behavior Theories in Clinical Practice). He has presented clinical workshops for colleagues in 12 countries, and developed cognitive behavior therapy training programs for more than 5,000 professionals worldwide. 

 

He is current Editor-in-Chief of the Australian Psychological Society’s flagship professional practice journal Australian Psychologist, and serves on the Editorial Board for the journals Cognitive Therapy and Research, and Cognitive and Behavioral Practice. In 2012 and 2013, he is serving as Guest Editor for special issues of journals designed to provide resources for mental health professionals: Journal of Clinical Psychology: In Session (on collaboration in psychotherapy) and Cognitive Behavioral Practice (on collaborative empiricism).  

 

Training and Previous Appointments 

Dr. Kazantzis completed his formative education in England, and his tertiary education in New Zealand (Ph.D. from Massey University, Auckland). He completed his specialist training in cognitive behavior therapy in California and Pennsylvania, USA (with Dr. Christine Padesky and Dr. Katheleen Mooney in 2001, and with Dr. Aaron T. Beck, Dr. Judith S. Beck, and Dr. Cory Newmann at the Beck Institute in 2006 and 2012). He held an academic appointment in New Zealand (2000-2008), a visiting appointment in Malta (2008), before joining La Trobe University in 2009.

 

Since 2000, he has engaged in clinical work in private and public health settings. The majority of his clinical work has been in multidisciplinary teams within outpatient and community based contexts. In 2006, he developed a group-based CBT treatment service for anxiety disorders and depression for a private psychology clinic in Auckland, New Zealand. Since 2009, he has been a registered clinical psychologist with the Psychology Board of Australia and maintained a part-time practice.  

 

Research interests

Clinical and health psychology

- Cognitive Behaviour Therapy Therapeutic Processes and Outcomes