Our experts

Area of Expertise

Bruce Clark is a senior Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and an expert in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), leading the National and Specialist OCD, BDD and Related Disorders Service at The Maudsley Hospital.

He has considerable expertise in the assessment and management of Autism Spectrum Disorders, OCD, BDD, ADHD, Depression, Anxiety Disorder, as well as behavioural management issues.

Dr Clark has considerable experience in the use of complex medication packages to support the treatment of mental health issues, in children and young people.

In addition to his clinical role, Dr Clark is the Clinical Director for the CAMHS Directorate and Clinical Academic group. He is therefore the clinical lead, within the triumvirate of service, academic and clinical leadership for directorate. As a result, Dr Clark has had a wide range of leadership roles within the trust, as well as nationally, with the aim of improving access to and outcomes for people with mental health issues.

Research

Dr Clark’s previous research interests have included the basic molecular and cellular mechanisms underpinning mental health difficulties.  He is now involved in a range of research studies looking at improving access to high-quality evidence-based treatments, particularly in relation to OCD, BDD and neurodevelopmental issues such as ADHD.  Dr Clark has been interested in how to improve access to CAMHS services, including specialist mental health services.

Background

Dr Clark’s first degree was in Pathology at The University of Edinburgh.  He then completed training in Medicine, at The University of Edinburgh.  Dr Clark then worked for three years in general medicine, at The Royal London Hospital.

He completed postgraduate and specialist psychiatric training as a child and adolescent psychiatrist, at The Bethlem and Maudsley Hospitals.

In addition, Dr Clark completed a Welcome Research Fellowship at The Institute of Psychiatry, in the Department of Neuroscience.

Dr Clark has been a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist at The South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, since 2003. He joined the National and Specialist OCD, BDD and Related Disorders Service in 2012.

Dr Clark is also a specialist visiting psychiatrist as part of the Maudsley Health Team in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Dr Clark has an active interest in promoting access to treatment for children and young people with OCD and BDD. He has made several television appearances on these topics, as well as contributing with publications in books, news, social and other media.

Education and Training

• BSc(Hons) in Pathology, 1989, University of Edinburgh, UK
• MB ChB 1992, University of Edinburgh Medical School, UK
• MRCPsych, 1997, Royal College of Psychiatristst, London, UK

Publications

Books:

Starting at the Beginning: Laying the Foundation for Lifelong Mental Health.Hodes, Gau and De Vries. Elsevier Chapter on OCD: Clark, B R, Krebs G & Cottrell D, August 2020

Appearance Anxiety: A book on BDD for Young People, Families and Professionals. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, London.  Jassi, A.D, Clark B, Bowyer L., Lewis, A, Peile L, Monzani B & Krebs G. (2019).

 

The Maudsley Prescribing Guidelines in Psychiatry-13^th Edition 2019 (Chapter- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in children and adolescents). Wiley Blackwell, , West Sussex. Taylor D, Barnes & Young A

 

Journal Selection:

Jassi, A.D., Shahriyarmolki, K., Taylor, T., Peile, L., Challacombe, F., Clark, B.& Veale, D. OCD and COVID-19: a new frontier. Cognitive Behaviour Therapist (2020)

Rautio, D., Jassi, A.D., Krebs, G,  Monzani, B., Gumpert, , M.,  Lewis, A., PeilE, L., , Sevilla-Cermeño, L.,  Jansson-Fröjmark, M., Lundgren, T., Hillborg, M., Silverberg-Morse, M.,  Clark, B., de la Cruz, L., Mataix-Cols, D. Clinical characteristics of 172 children and adolescents with body dysmorphic disorder. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (2020)

Buckley, V., Krebs, G., Bowyer, L., Jassi, A., Goodman, R., Clark, B R & Stringaris, A. Innovations in Practice: Body dysmorphic disorder in youth–using the Development and Well‐Being Assessment as a tool to improve detection in routine clinical practice. Child and Adolescent Mental Health (2018).

de la Cruz, L. F., Jassi, A., Krebs, G., Clark, B R., & Mataix-Cols, D. (2015). Phenomenology and treatment outcomes in children and adolescents from ethnic minorities with obsessive–compulsive disorder. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, 4, 30-36.

Nair A., Wong Y L., Barrow F., Heyman I., Clark B R. & Krebs G. (2015). Has the first-line management of paediatric OCD improved following the introduction of NICE guidelines? British Medical Journal http://adc.bmj.com

Clark B R. and Everall I. P. What is the Role of the HIV Liaison Psychiatrist? Genitourin. Med. 73, 568-570 (1997).

Stephanis N, Rabe-Hesketh S, Clark B. R. and Bebbington (1999). An evaluation of a psychiatric emergency clinic. J. Mental Health, 8, 29-49.

Williamson R, Clark B. R., Graham G, Reynolds C.H., Everall I & B.H. Anderton B.H. (2002). Rapid tyrosine phosphorylation of neuronal proteins including MAP2c and tau in response to amyloid-b peptide (Ab) exposure: involvement of src family kinases. J. Neuroscience., 124,1001-1012.