Metacognition in addictive behaviours, desire thinking, COVID-19 anxiety syndrome
Marcantonio M. Spada (born 13 November 1970 in Rome, Italy) is an Italian-British academic psychologist, psychological therapist, and business executive.
Spada is currently Chief Clinical Officer and Executive Board member at Onebright,[2] and Emeritus Professor of Addictive Behaviours and Mental Health at London South Bank University.
He is also the editor-in-chief of the addictions psychology and psychiatry journal Addictive Behaviors,[3] and the founder and former editor-in-chief of its sister journal Addictive Behaviors Reports,[4] both published by Elsevier. In addition, he has served as associate editor of Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, published by John Wiley & Sons.[5]
Spada has contributed to the understanding of metacognitive mechanisms underlying general vulnerability to addictive behaviours, identifying the role of metacognitive beliefs across addictive behaviours,[10][11][12][13][14] putting forward the first metacognitive therapy model and treatment protocol for addictive behaviours,[15][16][17][18] and operationalising the construct of "desire thinking".[19][20][21]
He is an advocate of employing idiographic and functional approaches to the conceptualisation and treatment of psychological problems in cognitive behavioural therapy,[22][23] supporting psychological therapists in working with clients taking (or withdrawing from) prescribed drugs,[24] raising awareness about problematic betting and gambling behaviour,[4] and working with young people to tackle threats to well-being arising from excessive technological use.[25][26][27] He is the author of the successful self-help book Overcoming Problem Drinking, an NHS recommended 'book on prescription' for alcohol misuse.[28][29]
Metacognition in psychopathology
Spada has also developed metacognitive models of cyberchondria,[30] procrastination,[31] and self-critical rumination and self-esteem.[32]
Psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Spada contributed to a growing body of literature regarding COVID-19-related psychological distress, having co-developed, with Professor Ana V. Nikčević, the construct of the "COVID-19 anxiety syndrome", and associated psychometric measure, identifying the impact of the syndrome on COVID-19 anxiety, generalised anxiety and depression, and work and social adjustment.[33] The COVID-19 anxiety syndrome is characterised by avoidance, threat monitoring, checking and worry which are presumed to maintain the fear response associated with COVID-19 and exacerbate psychological distress.[34]
Spada has publicly advocated for the importance of supporting those affected by the COVID-19 anxiety syndrome when society returned to normal.[35][36][37][38][39] Spada has also argued that governments' deployment of behavioural science techniques aimed at shaping behaviour in combination with repeated lockdowns may have, inadvertently or not, fuelled a mental health crisis among the wider population, particularly the young. He advocates for the need to carefully review the consequences of implementing such policies and consider never deploying them again.[40][41][42]
Selected publications
Caselli, G., & Spada, M. M. (2011). "The Desire Thinking Questionnaire: Development and psychometric properties". Addictive Behaviors, 36(11), 1061–1067.
Nikčević, A. V., Marino, C., Kolubinski, D. C., Leach, D., & Spada, M. M. (2021). "Modelling the contribution of the Big Five personality traits, health anxiety, and COVID-19 psychological distress to generalised anxiety and depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic". Journal of Affective Disorders, 279, 578-584.
Nikčević, A. V., & Spada, M. M. (2020). "The COVID-19 anxiety syndrome scale: Development and psychometric properties". Psychiatry Research, 292, 113322.
Spada, M. M., Caselli, G., Nikčević, A. V., & Wells, A. (2015). "Metacognition in addictive behaviors". Addictive Behaviors, 44, 9-15.
Spada, M. M., Caselli, G., & Wells, A. (2013). "A triphasic metacognitive formulation of problem drinking". Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 20(6), 494-500.
Spada, M. M., & Wells, A. (2005). "Metacognitions, emotion and alcohol use". Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 12(2), 150-155.
References
^Spada, Marcantonio M. (2006). Metacognition and problem drinking (PhD thesis). University of Manchester. OCLC930688216.
^Wells, Adrian (2013). "Advances in Metacognitive Therapy". International Journal of Cognitive Therapy. 6 (2): 186–201. doi:10.1521/ijct.2013.6.2.186.
^Spada, Marcantonio M.; Proctor, Dawn; Caselli, Gabriele; Strodl, Esben (2013). Metacognition in Substance Misuse. In Peter M. Miller (Editor), Principles of Addiction: Comprehensive Addictive Behaviors and Disorders. Oxford, UK: Elsevier. ISBN9780123983367.
^Spada, Marcantonio M.; Caselli, Gabriele; Wells, Adrian (2012). The metacognitive therapy approach to problem drinking. In Steven Hayes & Michael Levin (Editors), Mindfulness and Acceptance for Addictive Behaviors: Applying Contextual CBT to Substance Abuse and Behavioral Addictions. New York, US: New Harbinger. ISBN1608822168.
^Caselli, Gabriele; Spada, Marcantonio M. (2015). "Desire Thinking: What is it and what drives it?". Addictive Behaviors. 44: 71–79. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2014.07.021. PMID25128328.
^Mansueto, Giovanni; Martino, Francesca; Palmieri, Sara; Scaini, Simona; Ruggiero, Giovanni Maria; Sassaroli, Sandra; Caselli, Gabriele (2019). "Desire Thinking across addictive behaviours: A systematic review and meta-analysis". Addictive Behaviors. 98: 106018. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2019.06.007. PMID31233946. S2CID195355758.
^Ezzamel, Samia; Spada, Marcantonio M.; Nikčević, Ana V. (2015). Cognitive-behavioural case formulation in the treatment of a complex case of social anxiety disorder and substance misuse. In Michael H. Bruch (Editor), Beyond Diagnosis: Case Formulation in Cognitive-Behavioural Psychotherapy. London, UK: Wiley. ISBN978-1-119-96076-8.
