Dr James Brennan

Trained at the Institute of Psychiatry.  For the past 18 years Consultant Clinical Psychologist at the Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre where in 1992 he began the service.  In 1996 he started the Cancer Information and Support Centre in the main entrance of the hospital.  It was the first cancer information centre in the UK to be staffed entirely by ex-patients or carers. James has written a number of booklets and made several films for people with cancer.  In 1996 he also founded what became the British Psychological Society Special Interest Group in Oncology and Palliative Care (SIGOPAC) and was its Chair for three years.  In 2001 he published a widely-cited paper which outlined the Social-Cognitive Transition (SCT) model of adjustment to cancer.  This was followed in 2004 by his book Cancer in Context, on which he collaborated with Clare Moynihan, which has since been reprinted by Oxford University Press four times.  He teaches University of Bristol medical students, clinical psychology doctoral trainees for MScs in palliative medicineandin oncology. He is currently co-leading an NIHR-funded study to evaluate the health economic effects of introducing using the Distress Thermometer to structure an holistic assessment conversation.