Dr Emma Hodgkinson

Dr Emma Hodgkinson brings more than a decade of specialist expertise in psychological assessment and intervention within physical‑health environments. In her current role as Consultant Clinical Psychologist for the Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, she leads the North East and North Cumbria Regional Burns Psychology Service and the Multispecialty Psychology Service in the Trust’s Psychology in Healthcare Department. Her multidisciplinary team delivers evidence‑based support to patients coping with the psychological sequelae of injury or illness, and provides consultation and supervision to clinicians on matters of capacity assessment, treatment decision‑making and care planning. In addition to her NHS responsibilities, Dr. Hodgkinson runs a highly specialised private practice that conducts pre‑surgical psychological assessments for individuals seeking cosmetic procedures. This work allows her to integrate rigorous clinical evaluation with the unique emotional and cognitive considerations that accompany elective surgery, ensuring that patients are fully prepared for the psychological impacts of their operative journey.

Dr Hodgkinson routinely assesses and treats a broad spectrum of psychological conditions, including major depressive disorder, health‑related anxiety, generalised anxiety, panic disorder, trauma‑ and stress‑related disorders (such as PTSD, acute stress, and adjustment disorders), body dysmorphic disorder, bereavement, somatic symptom disorders, and low self‑esteem. Her therapeutic repertoire blends cognitive‑behavioural, acceptance‑based and trauma‑focused approaches, tailored to the complex needs of individuals navigating physical health challenges. Dr Hodgkinson's particular passions lie in the psychological dimensions of visible difference and appearance‑related distress that arise from injury, surgery or chronic medical conditions. She is also deeply interested in the psychological assessment and intervention surrounding surgical procedures and in evaluating patient experience within healthcare settings. Within the NHS, Dr. Hodgkinson collaborates closely with medical teams across a wide range of specialties–including burns, plastic surgery, dermatology, neurology, gastroenterology, ENT, critical care, rheumatology, genetics, general surgery, maxillofacial surgery, orthopaedics, oncology and breast services–ensuring that psychosocial considerations are embedded throughout the patient pathway.

Within her NHS role, Dr. Hodgkinson conducts research on the application of clinical psychology in physical‑health contexts, with a particular focus on burn care. She is a core member of the North East and North Cumbria Regional Burns Service Research Programme Team, contributing to studies that evaluate psychosocial outcomes, service delivery models and patient‑reported experience measures. Her doctoral thesis explored weight‑related attitudes during pregnancy, underscoring her longstanding commitment to investigating the interplay between physical health and psychological wellbeing.

Dr Hodgkinson is an active educator within the Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, delivering training sessions for multidisciplinary staff on psychosocial assessment, capacity evaluation and integrated care pathways. She supervises specialist clinical psychology trainee placements within the North East and North Cumbria Regional Burns Service and contributes as a lecturer on the Newcastle Clinical Psychology Doctorate Programme. In the private sector, she offers consultancy and training on ethical psychological care for cosmetic surgery providers, supporting clinicians in the delivery of patient‑centred, psychologically safe services.

Dr. Hodgkinson’s publications centre on the psychosocial impact of burn injury and broader issues of body image and weight. Recent manuscripts (under review in JPRAS) explore burn survivors’ lived experiences through trauma‑informed care and assess AI‑enhanced multispectral imaging for patient‑centred surgical decisions. Earlier work links psychological flexibility and self‑compassion to reduced appearance distress after burns (British Burn Association 2023) and demonstrates the benefits of a paediatric burn club (Eur Burn J 2023). She has also developed a burns‑specific patient‑reported experience measure (Burns 2019), examined surgical variation in cleft surgery (Craniofacial J 2020), and investigated psychosocial responses to corrosive attacks (Burns 2020). Complementary research on pregnancy includes repertory‑grid studies of pregnant women’s attitudes toward weight and midwives (Clin Psychol Psychother 2017; Midwifery 2017) and a systematic review of postpartum body‑image concerns (BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 2014). Together, these studies highlight her focus on integrating psychological insight into physical‑health care and service improvement.

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Dr Hodgkinson oversees two distinct teams of psychosocial professionals as part of her NHS appointment, providing strategic leadership, clinical supervision and service development. She also serves as Chair of the British Burn Association Psychosocial Special Interest Group, where she facilitates the exchange of best practice, promotes research collaboration and advocates for the integration of psychosocial care in burn services nationwide.

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