Kjersti Lillevoll

• Mental health
• Clinical assessment and diagnosis
• Web based interventions
• CFS/ME (chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic enchephalomyelitis)

The research resulting in my ph.d thesis was within the field of clinical psychology and internet interventions for promoting mental health. More specifically we investigated the use of guided self help for individuals experiencing symptoms of depression, which really evoked my interest in therapy research and questions regarding how therapy works, and what works. I am currently coinvestigator in a study on the relationship between physical activity and mental health in youth, exploring the effect of changes in physical activity in a longitudinal design. Unlike much previous research in this field, the study employs objective measures of physical activity by use of actigraphy. This can be a methodological advancement in studies of other groups as well.

Working with patients with severe fatigue has sparked an interest in the mental health and life satisfaction in patients with CFS/ME. This underserved group of patients suffer from debilitating symptoms with no curative treatment.  I am presently conducting a pilot study on variation in symptoms and physical functioning in CFS/ME-patients, including data on mental health and satisfaction with life. Similarly to the physical activity project, this study also makes use of objective data as a measure of physical functioning.

CFS/ME is an exclusion diagnosis, contested among medical professionals as well as lay persons. Diagnosis is often a long-winding and wearing process, which in the end seldom lead to any specific interventions other than general advice on coping. One other research interest of mine is the process of diagnosing symptom clusters, or syndromes, both from the perspective of the patient and the clinician.

Contact information:

Kjersti.lillevoll@uit.no

https://en.uit.no/om/enhet/ansatte/person?p_document_id=52725&p_dimension_id=88120