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Darren J. Edwards, B.Sc, M.Sc, Ph.D.

HEA Fellow,

BPS Chartered Health Psychologist (CPsychol)

Senior Lecturer

Department of Public Health,

College of Human and Health Sciences

Swansea University

SA2 8PP

TEL: +44 (0) 1792 604185

FAX: +44 (0) 1792 295679

E-MAIL: d.j.edwards@swansea.ac.uk

Commercialization of my academic work:

· ACTing Minds: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) video game [see here for Apple store] [see here for Google play]

· Funded by The Welsh European Funding Office (WEFO) & Research Wales Innovation Fund (RWIF)

Education and Qualifications:

· Ph.D. Categorization, cognitive psychology (2006- 2010). ‘Spontaneous and Relative Categorization’ supervised by Emmanuel Pothos at Swansea University

Teaching qualifications:

· Post Graduate Certificate in Higher Education

· Fellow of the Higher Education Authority (FHEA)

Research Interests:

· Integrative neuroscience and wellbeing, Psychophysiology, Heart rate variability, Interoception, Cognition, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and mental health.

Awards and membership:

· BPS Chartered Health psychologist (CPsychol; 2018)

· Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA fellow; 2018)

· Member of the BPS health psychology section

Conference Chair:

· IEEE VIS (2020). Salt Lake City, USA

Grants/funding:

· Edwards, D.J. (2022). RWIF. “The development of a mental health video game to support psychological resilience in young people (part two).” £10,000

· Edwards, D.J. (2022). WEFO. “A user evaluation of a digital health application — ACTing Minds.” £18,022

· Edwards, D.J., & Draper, J. (2022). Osteopathic Foundation. “Exploring the role of osteopathy within the context of public health: Can osteopathy support mental health outcomes in pain free individuals? A mixed methods feasibility study.” £20,000

· Edwards, D.J. (2021) WEFO. “Continued development an ACT-based video game.” £10,000

· Edwards, D.J. (2019). WEFO. “Development of an ACT-based video game for the treatment of anxiety and depression.” £43,868

· Edwards, D. J., Bower, J., Dyer, T., Fenlon, D., & Watts, T. (2019). Tenovus iGrant. “Developing and assessing the feasibility and acceptability of an acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) based, peer support intervention for people affected by haematological cancers who have competed initial active Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy.” £29,9247

· Edwards, D. J. (2019). “AgorIP: Triage market report with Ashgrove Business Strategy.” £1320

· Edwards, D. J., & Holmes, M. (2018). CHERISH-DE. “Developing a virtual reality environment for measuring trust in an autonomous vehicle setting.” £5000

· Edwards, D. J., & Mansikkamäki, H. (2018). CHERISH-DE. “Developing heart rate applications for measuring trust in an autonomous vehicle setting.” £2000

· Rogers, V., & Edwards, D. J. (2016). CHERISH-DE. “A pilot investigation into the use of bilingual techniques to remediate over-selectivity in Autism Spectrum Disorders.” £5000

· Edwards, D. J. (2015). Big Lottery funding. “A focus group evaluation of an outreach project delivered by Neath and Port Talbot Carer Service for unpaid carers.” £3000

· Edwards, D. J., Patel, C., & Philips, C. (2015). NHS Health Board’s commissioning collaborative. “Exploring gaps and opportunities for the Emergency Ambulance Service Commissioning Collaborative.” £7115

· Edwards, D. J., Lowe, R. P., & Haddock, G. (2012). The representation of different resolution avatars using ERP N170 analysis. Welsh Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience (WICN) £500

Publications:

Disclaimer: These articles may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden.

Books and Chapters:

· Szafir, D., Borgo, R., Chen, M., Edwards, D.J., Fisher, B. & Padilla, L (eds.). (2023). Introduction to Visualization Psychology.

Springer. doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-34738-2 [click here]

· Kemp, A. H., & Edwards, D. J. (eds.). (2022). Broadening the Scope of Wellbeing Science: Multidisciplinary and Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Human Flourishing and Wellbeing. Palgrave Macmillan, Springer. [click here]

· Edwards, D. J. (2022). ACTing for Society: The Promotion and Nurturance of Prosocial Behavior at Scale. In: Kemp, A.H., Edwards, D.J. (eds) Broadening the Scope of Wellbeing Science. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-18329-4_5. [PDF]

· Edwards, D. J., & Stephanie Best (eds.). (2020). Health and Social Care Textbook. Sage. [click here]

· Chen, M., & Edwards D.J. (2019). “Isms” in Visualization. In M. Chen, H. Hauser, P. Rheingans, G. Scheuermann (eds.) Foundations of Data Visualization. Springer International Publishing. [PDF]

· Edwards, D. J., Kaastra, L. T., Fisher, B., Chang, R., & Chen, M. (2017). Cognitive Information Theories of Psychology and Applications with Visualization and HCI through Crowdsourcing Platforms. In Evaluation in the Crowd: Crowdsourcing and Human-Centred Experiments. Springer International Publishing. [PDF] [cick here]

· Edwards, D. J. (2015). Integrating behavioural and cognitive psychology: A modern categorization theoretical approach. Nova Science Publishers. ISBN 978-1-63463-477-9.

Media impact:

· Swansea University Press Release — Innovative video game supporting mental health skills and psychological flexibility. https://www.swansea.ac.uk/press-office/news-events/news/2022/08/innovative-video-game-supporting-mental-health-skills-and-psychological-flexibility.php

· I blog for Psychology Today (monthly) – 30 million reads per month. https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/experts/darren-j-edwards-phd

· Also, the Conversation: Edwards, D. J. (2018). Osteopathy can be used to treat mental health issues related to back pain – new study. Published in the Conversation and the Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/osteopathy-treat-mental-health-issues-related-back-pain-a8351266.html

Policy briefs:

· Edwards, D. J., & Curry, D. (2020). Applications of Prosocial in Welsh Society. [Policy brief]. Click here.

· Edwards, D. J., Kemp, A. H., Davis, R. M. & Curry, D. (2020). Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Health Care Human-Led, Machine-Aided Health, Efficiency and Effectiveness in the Welsh NHS. [Policy brief]. Click here.

· Edwards, D. J., & Curry, D. (2019). The impact of Artificial intelligence on Wales. [Policy brief]. Click here.

Science Festivals:

Edwards, D. J. (2019). ACTing in Society. A Pint of Science (Science Festival - A beautiful mind). Swansea.

Papers:

Gordon, T. C., Kemp, A. H. & Edwards, D. J. (2024). Mixed-methods feasibility outcomes for a novel ACT-based videogame ‘ACTing Minds’ to support mental health. BMJ Open. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2023-080972

Hope-Bell, J., Draper-Rodi, J. & Edwards, D. J. (2023). Applying an osteopathic intervention to improve mild to moderate mental health symptoms: a mixed-methods feasibility study protocol. BMJ Open. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/13/6/e071680.full

Edwards, D. J. (2023). A functional contextual implementation of an evolutionary, entropy-based, and embodied free energy framework: Utilizing Lagrangian mechanics and evolutionary game theory's truth vs. fitness test of the veridicality of phenomenological experience. Frontiers in Psychology. 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1150743 [PDF] [Supplementary here]

Edwards, D. J. (2022). Going beyond the DSM in predicting, diagnosing, and treating autism spectrum disorder with covarying alexithymia and OCD: A structural equation model and processed-based predictive coding account. Frontiers in Psychopathology.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.993381/full

Edwards, D. J., Young, H., & Yoris, A. (2022). Editorial: Neurobiological and Psychophysiological Underpinnings of Wellbeing and Prosocial Connectedness. Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnint.2022.995909/full

Edwards, D. J., McEnteggart, C., & Barnes-Holmes, Y. (2022). A functional contextual account of background knowledge in categorization: Implications for artificial general intelligence and cognitive accounts of general knowledge. Frontiers in Psychology Cognition. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.745306/full

Edwards, D. J. (2021). Ensuring effective public health communication: Insights and modelling efforts from theories of behavioral economics, heuristics, and behavioral analysis for decision making under risk. Frontiers in Psychology Cognitive Science. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.715159

Edwards, D. J. & Lowe, R. (2021). Associations between mental health, interoception, psychological flexibility, and self-as-context, as predictors for alexithymia: A deep artificial neural network approach. Frontiers in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.637802

Edwards, D. J. & Kemp, A. H. (2020) A novel ACT-based video game to support mental health through embedded learning: A mixed-methods feasibility study protocol. BMJ Open. doi:10.1136/ bmjopen-2020-041667

Pinna, T., & Edwards, D. J. (2020) A systematic review of associations between interoception, vagal tone, and emotional regulation: Potential applications to mental health, wellbeing, psychological flexibility, and chronic conditions. Frontiers in Psychology https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01792 [PDF]

Shackleton E., Toutt, C., & Edwards, D. J. (2019). Psychological context effects of participant expectation on pain pressure thresholds as an adjunct to cervicothoracic HVLA thrust manipulation: A randomised controlled trial. International Journal of Osteopathic Medicine doi::https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijosm.2019.11.003

Abdul-Rahman, A., Borgo, R., Chen, M., Edwards, D. J., & Fisher B. (2019). Juxtaposing Controlled Empirical Studies in Visualization with Topic Developments in Psychology arXiv: 1909.03786 [PDF]

Edwards, D. J., Rainey, E., Boukouvala, B., Wells, Y., Bennett, P., Tree, J., & Kemp, A. H. (2019). Novel ACT-based eHealth psychoeducational intervention for students with mental distress: Study protocol for a mixed-methodology pilot trial. BMJ Open doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2019-029411[PDF]

Griffiths, F., McSweeney T., & Edwards, D. J. (2019). Immediate effects and associations between interoceptive accuracy and range of motion after a HVLA thrust on the thoracolumbar junction: A randomised controlled trial. Journal of Bodywork & Movement Therapies doi:10.1016/j.jbmt.2019.06.007 [PDF]

Saracutu, M., Edwards, D. J., Davies, H., & Rance, J. (2018). Protocol for a feasibility and acceptability study using a brief ACT based intervention for people from Southwest Wales who live with persistent pain. BMJ Open http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-021866 [PDF]

Edwards, D. J., Young, H., & Johnston, R. (2018) The immediate effect of therapeutic touch and deep touch pressure on range of motion, interoceptive accuracy and heart rate variability: A randomized controlled trial with moderation analysis. Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience doi: 10.3389/fnint.2018.00041 [PDF]

Cathcart, E., McSweeney, T., Johnston, R., Young, H., & Edwards, D. J. (2018). Immediate biomechanical, systemic, and interoceptive effects of myofascial release on the thoracic spine: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of Bodywork & Movement Therapies doi:10.1016/j.jbmt.2018.10.006 [PDF]

Edwards, D. J. & Toutt, C. (2018). An evaluation of osteopathic treatment on psychological outcomes with patients suffering from chronic pain: a prospective observational cohort study collected through a health and wellbeing academy. Health Psychology Open doi: 10.1177/2055102918774684 [PDF]

Saracutu, M., Rance, J., Davies, H., & Edwards, D. J. (2017). The effects of osteopathic treatment on psychosocial factors in people with persistent pain: a systematic review. International Journal of Osteopathic Medicine doi: 10.1016/j.ijosm.2017.10.005 [PDF]

Whelan, G., Johnston, R., Millward, C., & Edwards, D. J. (2017). The immediate effect of osteopathic cervical spine mobilization on median nerve mechanosensitivity: a triple-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Journal of Bodywork & Movement Therapies doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbmt.2017.05.009 [PDF]

Edwards, D. J., McEnteggart, C., Barnes-Holmes, Y., Lowe, R., Evans, N., & Vilardaga, R. (2017). The impact of mindfulness and perspective-taking on implicit associations towards the elderly: a Relational Frame Theory account. Mindfulness doi: 10.1007/s12671-017-0734-x [PDF]

Edwards, D. J. & Wood, R. (2016). Unsupervised categorization with individuals diagnosed as having moderate traumatic brain injury: over-selective responding. Brain Injury doi: 10.1080/02699052.2016.1199899 [PDF]

Hoffman, Y., Perlman, A., Orr-Urtreger, B., Tzelgov, J., Pothos, E. M., & Edwards, D. J. (2016). Unitization of route knowledge. Psychological Research doi: 10.1007/s00426-016-0811-0 [PDF]

Osborne, L. A., Whittall, C. M., Edwards, D. J., Emanuel, R., Emery, S. & Reed, P. (2016). Randomised control trial of a values-based motivational interview support to promote attendance at pelvic floor muscle training physiotherapy treatment. Journal of Pelvic, Obstetric and Gynaecological Physiotherapy. 119, 38-46.

McCoss, C. A., Johnston, R., Edwards, D. J., & Millward, C. (2016). Preliminary evidence of Regional Interdependent Inhibition, using a ‘Diaphragm Release’ to specifically induce an immediate hypoalgesic effect in the cervical spine. Journal of Bodywork & Movement Therapies doi:10.1016/j.jbmt.2016.08.015 [PDF]

Osborne, L. A., Dixon, C., Edwards, D. J., Begum, R., Younis, A., Lucas, M. & Reed, P. (2016). A qualitative analysis of patients reasons for choosing neobladder or ileal conduit after cystectomy for bladder cancer. Journal of Clinical Urology doi:10.1177/2051415816650841 [PDF]

Chung, D. H. S., Archambault, D., Borgo, R., Edwards, D. J., Laramee, R. S. & Chen, M. (2016). How Ordered Is It? On the Perceptual Orderability of Visual Channels. Computer Graphics Forum. 35 (3), 131-140 [PDF]

Edwards, D. J. (2016). Unsupervised categorization with a child sample: category cohesion development. European Journal of Developmental Psychology doi:10.1080/17405629.2016.1158706 [PDF]

Perlman, A., Hoffman, Y., Tzelgov, J., Pothos, E. M., & Edwards, D. J. (2015). The notion of contextual locking: Previously learned items are not accessible as such when appearing in less common context. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 69, 3, 410-431. [PDF]

Whittal, C., Khan, Z., Edwards, D. J., Osborne, L., Emery, S., & Reed, P. (2013). A prospective observational study of the impact of patient values on compliance and outcomes for physiotherapy treatment for pelvic floor dysfunction. Neurology and Urodynamics, 32 (6), 663-664.

Edwards, D. J., Perlman, A., & Reed, P. (2012). Unsupervised Categorization in a sample of children with autism spectrum disorders. Research in Developmental Disabilities. 33, 4, 1264-1269. [PDF]

Edwards, D. J., Pothos, E. M., & Perlman, A. (2012). Relational Vs. absolute representation in categorization. American Journal of Psychology. 125, 4, 481- 497. [PDF]

Perlman, A., Hahn , U., Edwards, D. J., & Pothos, E. M. (2012). Further attempts to clarify the importance of category variability in categorization. Journal of Cognitive Psychology. 24, 2, 203-220. [PDF]

Pothos, E. M., Perlman, A., Bailey, T. M., Kurtz, K., Edwards, D. J., Hines, P., & McDonnell, J. V. (2011). Measuring category intuitiveness in unconstrained categorization tasks. Cognition, 1, 83-100. PDF]

Pothos, E. M., Edwards, D. J., & Perlman, A. (2011). Supervised vs. unsupervised categorization: Two sides of the same coin? Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 64, 1692-1713. [PDF]

Blagrove, M., Henley-Einion, J., Barnett, A., Edwards, D. J., & Seage, C.H. (2011). A replication of the 5-7 day dream-lag effect with comparison of dreams to future events as control for baseline matching. Consciousness and Cognition, 20, 384-391.

Perlman, A., Pothos, E. M., Edwards, D. J., & Tzelgov, J. (2010). Task-relevant chunking in sequence learning. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 36, 649-61. [PDF]

Pothos, E. M., Perlman, A., Edwards, D. J., Gureckis, T. M., Hines, P. M., & Chater, N. (2008). Modeling category intuitiveness. In Proceedings of the 30th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society, LEA: Mahwah, NJ. [PDF]

Conference Proceedings and Other Presentations:

Gordon, T. C., Kemp, A. H. & Edwards, D. J. (2024). Mixed-methods feasibility outcomes for a novel ACT-based video game ‘ACTing Minds’ to support mental health. In BPS Division of Health Psychology Annual Conference. Stirling, UK

Edwards, D. J. (2023). Computational approaches of a process-based therapy: From relational frames to idiographic graphs. ACBS World Conference. Nicosea, Cyprus. [click here]

Edwards, D. J. (2022). Novel Acceptance and Commitment Therapy digital health Computer Game intervention with students who have depression, anxiety, and stress: A Feasibility study, and protocol discussion. ACBS World Conference. SF, USA.

Morgan, C., Wilkinson, L & Edwards, D. J. (2021). Investigating the transition from pediatric to adult services and the management of ongoing care of adults with osteogenesis . Brittle Bone Society (BBS). Virtual.

Albatini, A., Watts, T., Snelgrove, S & Edwards, D. J. (2021). Health related quality of life in Kuwait: Role of exercise, cultural and social factors. British Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation (BACPR). Belfast, UK.

Edwards, D. J. (2021). Associations between mental health, interoception, psychological flexibility, and self-as-context, as predictors for alexithymia. BPS Division of Health Psychology Annual Conference. Virtual.

Edwards, D. J. (2021). Self as Context as a mediator for the association between alexithymia and interoception: Implications for process based therapy. ACBS World Conference. Virtual. [PDF]

Borgo, R. & Edwards, D. J. (2020). The Development of Visualization Psychology Analysis Tools to Account for Trust. IEEE VIS, Salt Lake City, USA [PDF] [click here]

Edwards, D. J. & Pinna, T. (2020). Systematic Review of Associations Between Interoception, Vagal Tone, and Emotional Regulation. ICHP 2020: 22th International Conference on Health Psychology [PDF]

Edwards, D. J. & Chen, M. (2020). Developing Effective Community Network Analysis Tools according to Visualization Psychology. IEEE VIS, Salt Lake City, USA [PDF] [click here]

Edwards, D. J., Boukouvala, V., Wells, Y, & Kemp, A. H. (2018). A novel Acceptance and Commitment Therapy eHealth psychoeducational intervention in students with depression, anxiety, and stress: A feasibility study. Health and Wellbeing Academy Annual Conference. Swansea. [PDF]

Edwards, D. J. (2018). The impact of osteopathy on co-morbid health psychological outcomes associated with pain. BPS Division of Health Psychology Annual Conference. Newcastle. [PDF]

Edwards, D. J., & Holmes, M. (2018). Developing a virtual reality environment for measuring trust in an autonomous vehicle setting. Pitch for industry collaborative escalator funding, CHERISH-DE. The TechHub. Swansea, UK [PDF]

Saracutu, M., Rance, J., Edwards, D. J., & Davies, H. (2018). ‘A Mindful ACT’- the Development of a Psychosocial Intervention for People with Persistent Pain and Psychological Comorbidities. Scientific Program Committee for the 17^th World Congress on Pain. IASP. Boston, USA

Almutairi, R., Almoayad, F., McKimm, J., Williams, R., Weston, C., & Edwards D. J. (2017). Health professionals students’ knowledge, beliefs and behaviours toward public health issues in Saudi Arabia. International Diabetes Federation’s Annual Congress. Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Saracutu, M., Rance, J., Edwards, D. J., & Davies, H. (2017). A qualitative study to inform the development of a novel psychosocial intervention to accompany osteopathic treatment for persistent pain. BPS Division of Health Psychology Section Annual Conference. Cardiff.

Edwards D. J. & Gadiraju, U. (2016) Cognitive Factors that Influence Workers’ Task Performance in Crowdsourcing Microtasks. Position paper, CHI (Computer-Human Interaction). Stanford University, San Jose, California [PDF]

Edwards D. J. (2016). Evaluation in the Crowd: Crowdsourcing and Human-Centred Experiments. Crowdsourcing & Psychology. Report from Dagstuhl Seminar 15481. p111. Dagstuhl Castle, Frankfurt, Germany [PDF]

Edwards, D. J., & Lowe, R. (2016). Association of cooperation with mindfulness and age through a prisoner’s dilemma task. In proceedings of the BPS Social Psychology Section Annual Conference. Cardiff.

Edwards, D. J. (2015).Unsupervised categorization with a child sample: category cohesion development. In proceedings of the BPS Developmental Section and Social Section Annual Conference. Manchester

Edwards, D. J., Patel, C., Carey, F., Slater, J., & Toutt, C. (2014). Investigating the difference between GP’s and osteopath’s beliefs of contraindication for using manual therapy as part of complementary treatment for cancer. In proceedings of ICAOR, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Edwards, D.J., Lowe, R., Evans, N., & Vilardaga, R. (2014). Effects of mindfulness and perspective-taking on implicit associations towards the elderly; an RFT perspective. In proceedings of the BPS social section conference. Canterbury.

Edwards, D.J., Pelrman, A., & Wood, R (2013) Unsupervised Categorization in a TBI population. In proceedings of the BPS Joint Cognitive Section and Developmental Section Conference. Reading.

Edwards, D. J., Reed, P., Dixon, C., Younis, A., Osborne, L. A., & Lucas, M. (2013) A qualitative analysis of patient reasons for choosing neobladder or ileal conduit following radical cystectomy for bladder cancer. In Proceedings of the Spring Welsh Urological Society Meeting. Llandudno.

Edwards, D. J., & Reed, P. (2011) Unsupervised categorization in individuals with autistic spectrum disorders. In proceedings of the 28^th Anniversary BPS Cognitive Section Conference. keel.

Edwards, D. J., Pothos, E. M., & Perlman, A. (2010) Using the simplicity model in measuring the category intuitiveness of unconstrained sorting tasks. In proceedings of the 27^th Anniversary BPS Cognitive Section Conference. Cardiff.

Edwards, D. J., Pothos, E. M., & Perlman, A. (2009) Classification Mode in Categorization: Relative vs. Absolute Judgment. In proceedings of the 26^th Anniversary BPS Cognitive Section Conference. Hertfordshire.

Edwards, D. J., Pothos, E. M., & Perlman, A. (2008) Relative Vs. absolute mode of categorization. In proceedings of the 25^th Anniversary BPS Cognitive Section Conference. Southampton.