Alexandra Bakou
Contact details
About
Overview
Alex is a researcher and trial manager for the ASSURED Study investigating brief interventions to improve hospital care for self-harm. She completed her PhD at the University of Exeter which was an experimental investigation into brief interventions for alcohol relapses triggered by negative emotions such as stress. She is particularly interested in addiction and substance use.
Qualifications
- Associate Fellow (AFHEA), Higher Education Academy, United Kingdom
- PhD Psychology, University of Exeter, United Kingdom
- MSc Clinical Neuroscience, University College London, United Kingdom
- BSc Psychology, Panteion University, Greece
Employment
- Trial Manager / Researcher, City, University of London, United Kingdom, January 2022 - present
- Lecturer in Psychology (Education and Scholarship), University of Exeter, United Kingdom, 2020 - 2021
Languages
Greek, Modern (1453-)
Publications
Publications by category
Chapters (2)
- McCabe, R., Akubat, A., Bakou, A.E. and Long, M. (2025). ‘This magical lightbulb went off in my head’ – How training NHS staff in Solution Focused Practice can change the experience of people presenting in mental health crisis. Solution Focused Practice and Mental Health Crisis (pp. 44-54). Routledge.
- Vatakis, A. and Bakou, A.E. (2015). Distorted Multisensory Experiences of Order and Simultaneity. Time Distortions in Mind (pp. 1-36). BRILL. ISBN 9789004230644.
Journal articles (12)
- Bakou, A.E., Amati, G., O’Keeffe, S., Emmens, T., Wilkie, A., Rowley, C.... McCabe, R. (2026). Conducting mental health studies in Emergency Departments in England: Lessons learnt from a randomised controlled trial testing a brief psychological intervention for adults who self-harm. PLOS Mental Health, 3(5), pp. e0000616-e0000616. doi:10.1371/journal.pmen.0000616
- Suzuki, M., Bakou, A.E., Dove, J. and McCabe, R. (2026). Mental health practitioners’ experiences and practices in making decisions about onward care for patients presenting to emergency departments with self-harm or suicidal ideation: systematic review and meta-synthesis. BJPsych Open, 12(3). doi:10.1192/bjo.2026.11007
- Matias, O., Bakou, A.E., Barnicot, K. and McCabe, R. (2026). The effectiveness of psychosocial interventions for self-harm in males compared to females: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet Regional Health - Europe, 63, pp. 101606-101606. doi:10.1016/j.lanepe.2026.101606
- McCabe, R., Suzuki, M., O’Keeffe, S., Walker, N., Hooper, R., Priebe, S.... Bakou, A.E. (2026). Improving outcomes in adult patients who self-harm—evaluating a brief psychological intervention in emergency departments (ASSURED): protocol of a randomised controlled clinical trial. Trials, 27(1). doi:10.1186/s13063-025-09411-7
- O’Keeffe, S., Suzuki, M., Ryan, M., Priebe, S., Byng, R., Simpson, A.... McCabe, R. (2025). Enhanced psychosocial assessment and rapid follow-up care for people presenting to emergency departments with self-harm and/or suicidal ideation: the Assured feasibility study and internal pilot trial. Pilot and Feasibility Studies, 11(1). doi:10.1186/s40814-025-01602-y
- Bakou, A.E., Hardy, L., Shuai, R., Wright, K. and Hogarth, L. (2024). Ultra-Brief Breath Counting (Mindfulness) Training Abolishes Negative Affect–Induced Alcohol Motivation in Hazardous Community Drinkers. Mindfulness, 15(3), pp. 653-664. doi:10.1007/s12671-024-02315-8
- Herchenroeder, L., Williams, E., Wedell, E., Sorid, S.D., Bakou, A.E., Bravo, A.J.... Hogarth, L. (2023). Interoceptive attention or merely distraction? An examination of the effects of brief breath counting training on stress-induced alcohol-seeking behavior. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 31(1), pp. 140-147. doi:10.1037/pha0000557
- Shuai, R., Bakou, A.E., Andrade, J., Hides, L. and Hogarth, L. (2022). Brief Online Negative Affect Focused Functional Imagery Training Improves 2-Week Drinking Outcomes in Hazardous Student Drinkers: a Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 29(3), pp. 346-356. doi:10.1007/s12529-021-10019-9
- Bakou, A.E., Shuai, R. and Hogarth, L. (2021). Brief Negative Affect Focused Functional Imagery Training Abolishes Stress-Induced Alcohol Choice in Hazardous Student Drinkers. Journal of Addiction, 2021, pp. 1-7. doi:10.1155/2021/5801781
- Hardy, L., Bakou, A.E., Shuai, R., Acuff, S.F., MacKillop, J., Murphy, C.M.... Hogarth, L. (2021). Associations between the Brief Assessment of Alcohol Demand (BAAD) questionnaire and alcohol use disorder severity in UK samples of student and community drinkers. Addictive Behaviors, 113. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2020.106724
- Shuai, R., Bakou, A.E., Hardy, L. and Hogarth, L. (2020). Ultra-brief breath counting (mindfulness) training promotes recovery from stress-induced alcohol-seeking in student drinkers. Addictive Behaviors, 102, pp. 106141-106141. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2019.106141
- Hogarth, L., Hardy, L., Bakou, A., Mahlberg, J., Weidemann, G., Cashel, S.... Moustafa, A.A. (2019). Negative Mood Induction Increases Choice of Heroin Versus Food Pictures in Opiate-Dependent Individuals: Correlation With Self-Medication Coping Motives and Subjective Reactivity. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 10. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00274