Alexander Rozental

In October 2024 I will commence a full-time position as a Professor in clinical psychology at Department of Health, Education and Technology at Luleå University of Technology.

Short biography

After graduating from the Psychology Program in 2011 with a MSc I worked as a clinical psychologist at an outpatient psychiatric care unit and as a lecturer at the Centre for Psychiatry Research at Karolinska Institutet. I became a Licensed Psychologist in Sweden in 2012 and have continued doing part-time clinical work in different settings ever since. I finished my PhD at the Department of Psychology at Stockholm University in 2017 with a doctoral thesis on the negative effects of Internet-based cognitive behaviour therapy, supervised by Professors Per Carlbring, Gerhard Andersson, and Johanna Boettcher. After my dissertation I spent two years as a researcher with Professor Roz Shafran at the Great Ormond Street Hospital Institute of Child Health at University College London. I then completed a Post Doctoral position for Associate Professor Tobias Lundgren at the Centre for Psychiatry Research at Karolinska Institutet in 2021, where I am presently an affiliated researcher, doctoral supervisor, and principal investigator for the implementation of patient-controlled admissions to inpatient care in Region Stockholm. Between 2021-2024, I worked as an Associate Professor and Study Director at the Department of Psychology at Uppsala University. Since 2022, I am also the Editor-in-Chief for the scientific journal Cognitive Behaviour Therapy.

Research

My research concerns the study of psychiatric disorders, both in terms of their assessment and treatment, by using qualitative and quantitative methods. This involves validating self-report measures in different languages via classical and modern test theory approaches, as well as the development and evaluation of psychological treatments. I am particularly interested in: a) transdiagnostic issues and behavioral problems that underlie or affect different types of mental distress, such as perfectionism and procrastination, b) conceptualization and prevention of negative effects and malpractice issues related to psychological treatments, c) Internet-based psychological treatments, d) psychiatric inpatient care, for instance the implementation of so-called patient-controlled admissions, and e) preventative interventions for stress-related disorders (e.g., exhaustion disorder [utmattningssyndrom]). I currently have over 85 publications in scientific journals (for a complete overview, see my ORCID External link.), with an h-index of 25 (Scopus).

Editor-in-Chief

Since 2022 I am the Editor-in-Chief for the scientific journal Cognitive Behaviour Therapy External link., impact factor 4.3 (2023).

Funding

During the last five years I have received research grants from the following funders:

• AFA Försäkring, 2024 (co-applicant).
• Region Stockholm (ALF), 2023 (co-applicant).
• Fonden för psykisk ohälsa, 2022 (main applicant).
• Swedish Research Council, 2021 (main applicant).
• Swedish Research Council, 2021 (co-applicant).
• Region Stockholm (SU), 2021 (co-applicant).
• AFA Försäkring, 2021 (main applicant).
• Region Stockholm (ALF), 2021 (main applicant).
• Fredrik and Ingrid Thurings’ Trust, 2021 (main applicant).
• Region Stockholm (SU), 2020 (co-applicant).

Doctoral supervision

• Sanna Forslund at the Department of Psychology at Uppsala University (A guided long-term self-help program to prevent relapse in exhaustion disorder), 2022-
• Filip Jovicic at the Department of Psychology at Uppsala University (Psychological treatment of post-covid), 2022-
• Martin Oscarsson at the Department of Psychology at Stockholm University (Preventing perceived stress and work-related mental illness among professionals with ADHD), 2022-
• Astrid Moell at the Centre for Psychiatry Research at Karolinska Institutet (Compulsory psychiatric care of children and youth: Risk factors, coercion, and outcome), 2022-
• Emelie Allenius at the Centre for Psychiatry Research at Karolinska Institutet (Patient-controlled admissions for patients with severe psychiatric disorders), 2021-
• Maria Smitmanis Lyle at the Centre for Psychiatry Research at Karolinska Institutet (Patient-controlled admissions for patients with severe mental health disorders - Understanding the factors behind a successful implementation), 2021-
• Matilda Berg at the Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning at Linköping University (Learning and knowledge in cognitive behaviour therapy), 2017-2021.

Books

I have released three self-help books in Swedish: Dansa på deadline External link., Tio i tolv External link., and Bättre än perfekt External link., and authored chapters in Oxford guide to low-intensity evidence-based interventions for children and young people, and Erfassung von risiken und nebenwirkungen von psychotherapie.

Scientific distinctions

I was a nominee for the annual award to an outstanding young researcher in psychology, by the Swedish National Committee for Psychological Sciences in both 2018 and 2019. I was also granted the annual award for disseminating knowledge of cognitive behavior therapy by the Swedish Association of Behaviour Therapy in 2020.

Teaching

At Luleå University of Technology I currently teach and supervise Bachelor's degree-level courses in clinical psychology and health psychology. I also teach Master's degree-level and PhD courses at Uppsala University and Karolinska Institutet.

Media

I frequently give interviews in media on topics related to clinical psychology and health psychology. A few of my latest contributions:

• A-kursen External link.
• Sveriges Radio Dystopia External link.
• Sveriges Radio I hjärnan på Louise Epstein External link.
• Psykologtidningen External link.
• A-kursen External link.