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Contact information


lydia.munns@psy.ox.ac.uk

Lydia Munns

Postdoctoral Researcher

Biography

Lydia Munns is a Postdoctoral Researcher within the Departments of Experimental Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Oxford. She currently works with Dr Alex Lau Zhu in the Reimagine Lab, investigating the role of future oriented intrusive mental imagery in anxiety. Her current work involves large scale quantitative and longitudinal research, with a particular focus on longitudinal methods, data analysis, mental imagery and youth mental health.

Previously, Lydia worked within the TOPIC research group on the OCD Empower project, supporting the development and evaluation of an online, parent led psychological intervention for children with OCD and their parents. This work included involvement in intervention development and the delivery of a feasibility clinical trial.

Lydia completed her PhD at the University of York in 2024. Her thesis focused on bodily experiences during pregnancy and their relationships with maternal and infant outcomes, including mental health, attachment and breastfeeding experiences. Alongside her PhD, she worked as a Research Assistant at the University of Bath, supporting the development of an app intervention for adults with OCD, and as a Graduate Teaching Assistant at the University of York.

Prior to this, Lydia completed her MSc in Mental Health Sciences Research at University College London, following work as an Assistant Psychologist across several child and adolescent NHS services.

Research interests

  • Perinatal mental health and pregnancy
  • Neurodiversity
  • Bodily and sensory experiences
  • Mental imagery and anxiety
  • Longitudinal methods and data analysis
  • Psychological intervention development

Publications

2026

  • Lau-Zhu, A., Munns, L., Engelhard, I., & Iyadurai, L. (2026). Developing a Game-Based, Single-Session Intervention for Youth Anxiety: Early Translational Findings Targeting “Flashforwards”. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 1-13.

2025

  • Veale, S., Munns, L., & Preston, C. (2025). The bodily self during birth (Chap. 15, pp. 117–122). In A. Perez, E. Panagiotopoulou, & R. Roberts (Eds.), Perspectives on early parenthood and infancy: A psychoanalytic, neuroscientific, developmental and cultural dialogue. Routledge.

  • Munns, L. B., Noonan, M., Romano, D. L., & Preston, C. E. (2025). Interoceptive and exteroceptive pregnant bodily experiences and postnatal well‐being: A network analysis. British Journal of Health Psychology, 30(3), e70002.

2024

  • Munns, L. B., Noonan, M., Romano, D. L., & Preston, C. E. (2025). Interoceptive and exteroceptive pregnant bodily experiences and postnatal well‐being: A network analysis. British Journal of Health Psychology, 30(3), e70002.

  • Munns, L. B., & Preston, C. (2024). The role of bodily experiences during pregnancy on mother and infant outcomes. Journal of neuropsychology, 10.1111/jnp.12370

  • Munns, L. B., Crossland, A. E., McPherson, M., Panagiotopoulou, E., & Preston, C. E. (2024). Developing a new measure of retrospective body dissatisfaction: links to postnatal bonding and psychological well-being. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 1-16. 

  • Munns, L., Spark, N., Crossland, A., & Preston, C. (2024). The effects of yoga-based interventions on postnatal mental health and well-being: A systematic review. Heliyon, 10(3), E25455.

  • Munns, L. B., Demnitz-King, H., André, C., Rehel, S., Ourry, V., de La Sayette, V., ... & Marchant, N. L. (2024). Associations Between Repetitive Negative Thinking and Objective and Subjective Sleep Health in Cognitively Healthy Older Adults. Nature and Science of Sleep, 233-245.

  • Stafford, L., Munns, L., Crossland, A., Kirk, E., & Preston, C. (2024). Bonding with Bump: interoceptive sensibility moderates the relationship between pregnancy body satisfaction and antenatal attachment. Midwifery, 103940

2023

  • Crossland, A. E., Munns, L., Kirk, E., & Preston, C. E. J. (2023). Comparing body image dissatisfaction between pregnant women and non-pregnant women: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 23(1), 709.

  • Demnitz-King, H., Saba, L., Lau, Y., Munns, L., Zabihi, S., Schlosser, M., ... & Marchant, N. L. (2023). Association between anxiety symptoms and Alzheimer's disease biomarkers in cognitively healthy adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 111159. 

2021

  • Munns, L., Williams, C., Carthigesan, S., Wilson, S. (2021) Is a sleep clinic effective at reducing sleep disturbance in children with complex neurodevelopmental difficulties and does gender influence this? Clinical Psychology Forum (338).