I teach on the Psychologist program, our Swedish five-year clinical program for students intending to pursue careers as professional psychologists. My teaching focuses on interviewing and communication skills, which are taught through a series of classes and exercises during the first three years of the program. I lecture on dialogue as a psychological method and supervise video-feedback exercises.

My doctoral studies concern stress and other work-related mental illness among adults with ADHD. In short, we aim to explore the experiences of stress and other work-related mental illness among ADHD adults and evaluate an internet-based program designed to prevent these negative outcomes. The project is mainly funded through two grants from Region Stockholm, where I was a co-applicant. Our first paper from the project is available open access in BMC Psychiatry, here.

During my master’s, I got the opportunity to work on a research project concerning New Year’s resolutions. This resulted in the world’s largest study on New Year’s resolutions, as well as a book (in Swedish) on how to succeed with New Year’s resolutions, personal goals, and behavior change. The study is published open access here, in PLOS ONE.

A selection from Stockholm University publication database

• A study protocol of a randomized controlled study of internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy for adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

  2023. David Forsström (et al.). Internet Interventions 33

  Article

  Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a disorder characterized by hyperactivity, impulsivity and lack of attention. It can have a major impact on everyday life and result in negative consequences for one's personal, academic, and work situation. For individuals with symptoms of ADHD, increased levels of anxiety and depression are common, and an overall reduction of quality of life is often present. This study protocol describes a clinical trial of internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT), using a randomized controlled study design, with the primary aim to increase quality of life, as well as to reduce symptoms of ADHD, anxiety, depression, and stress. A second aim is to investigate, by qualitative means, what aspects of treatment were perceived as helpful and hindering when it comes to completing iCBT. Two hundred participants with symptoms of ADHD will be included and randomized to two conditions (treatment and wait-list control). The treatment period is comprised of a maximum of ten weeks, with two mandatory modules and ten modules from which the participants can choose freely. Self-report measures will be completed by the participants at baseline and end of treatment, as well as at a six-month follow-up. The treatment is guided by therapists and consists of weekly correspondence with the participants. The study will utilize an intention to treat design, with ANOVAs and Reliable Change Index to evaluate treatment effects. The qualitative part of the project will be interview-based and employ thematic analysis. Lastly, a psychometric evaluation of a common instrument for determining ADHD-symptoms will also be made. The results will hopefully contribute to the evidence base for iCBT for individuals with symptoms of ADHD and help disseminate potentially effective interventions.

  Read more about A study protocol of a randomized controlled study of internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy for adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

• Efficacy of transdiagnostic cognitive-behavioral therapy for assertiveness: A randomized controlled trial

  2023. Tobias Hagberg (et al.). Internet Interventions 32

  Article

  Assertiveness training has been an essential component in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), for example, in the treatment of social anxiety and in dialectical behavioral therapy. However, the assertiveness construct has garnered little attention in recent clinical research. The objective of this study was to investigate the efficacy of an eight-week transdiagnostic stand-alone internet-based CBT intervention specifically aimed at increasing levels of assertive behavior. Following inclusion, we randomized N = 210 participants into three groups: therapist-guided self-help, unguided self-help, and a wait-list control condition. After a one-year follow-up, we employed a linear mixed model to estimate the effects at both post-test and follow-up for the primary outcome measures of assertiveness, Adaptive and Aggressive Assertiveness Scales, the Rathus Assertiveness Schedule, and secondary outcome measures of anxiety, depression, and general well-being. We also assessed reliable clinical change. Compared to the wait list at the post-treatment, estimated between-group effect sizes on self-rated adaptive assertiveness were statistically equivalent for the two treatment groups both at the post and at the one-year follow-up time points, ranging from ES = 0.95 to 1.73, with reliable clinical recovery proportions from 19 % to 36 %. The increase in aggressive assertiveness ranged from ES = 0.62 to 0.90 compared to the wait-list condition at post. For social anxiety symptoms, the effects compared to the wait list at post-treatment ranged from ES = 0.67 to 0.93, with a reliable clinical recovery rate from 16 % to 26 %. For self-assessed well-being, the effects compared to the wait list at post ranged from ES = 0.70 to 1.05. No effects were observed for generalized anxiety, although within-group evidence was found for a medium effect on depression one year after treatment. Overall, the two treatment conditions produced similar effects. In general, participation increased healthy assertive expressions regardless of treatment condition, all the while reducing self-assessed social anxiety and, over time, possibly also depression. Participation also improved general well-being. The findings demonstrate that the assertiveness construct can be a suitable target for intervention, with reductions of both psychiatric symptoms and non-syndromal problems in daily life. The study was preregistered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04240249).

  Read more about Efficacy of transdiagnostic cognitive-behavioral therapy for assertiveness

• Stress and work-related mental illness among working adults with ADHD: a qualitative study

  2022. Martin Oscarsson (et al.). BMC Psychiatry 22 (1)

  Article

  Background: Though many adults with ADHD underperform professionally, are more stressed, and have more days of sickness absence compared to adults without ADHD, few studies have explored the experience of working as an adult with ADHD. This study explores the general experience of working with ADHD, including stress and work-related mental illness.

  Methods: Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with 20 working adults with ADHD. Interview topics included how the ADHD diagnosis and/or symptoms of ADHD may have affected participants on the job, how work may have affected participants’ well-being, and the need for support and accommodation. Qualitative content analysis was used to explore verbatim transcripts from the interviews.

  Results: The analysis yielded three themes that describe some of the challenges of working with ADHD: Working and living with ADHD, Needs, and Special abilities, with a total of eight subcategories. Subcategories were Specific challenges; Relationships and cooperation; Negative consequences; Planning, prioritization, organization, and structure; Support, interventions, accommodations, and aids; Openness, understanding, and acceptance; Strategies; Strengths and qualities.

  Conclusion: Further knowledge about the challenges of working with ADHD is needed in workplaces; where organizational support is lacking, much in terms of accommodations and aids is up to the employee, and the disclosure of diagnoses may be associated with great dilemma.

  Read more about Stress and work-related mental illness among working adults with ADHD

• “Good job!”: Therapists' encouragement, affirmation, and personal address in internet-based cognitive behavior therapy for adolescents with depression

  2022. Ida Berg (et al.). Internet Interventions 30

  Article

  Internet-delivered interventions are generally effective for psychological problems. While the presence of a clinician guiding the client via text messages typically leads to better outcomes, the characteristics of what constitutes high-quality communication are less well investigated. This study aimed to identify how an internet therapist most effectively communicates with clients in internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy (ICBT). Using data from a treatment study of depressed adolescents with a focus on participants who had a positive outcome, messages from therapists were analyzed using thematic analysis. The study focused on the therapist's 1) encouragement and 2) affirmation, and how the therapists used 3) personal address. The analysis resulted in a total of twelve themes (Persistence Wins, You Are a Superhero, You Make Your Luck, You Understand, Hard Times, You Are Like Others, My View on the Matter, Time for a Change, Welcome In, Let Me Help You, You Affect Me, and I Am Human). Overall, the themes form patterns where treatment is described as hard work that requires a motivated client who is encouraged by the therapist. The findings are discussed based on the cognitive behavioral theoretical foundation of the treatment, prior research on therapist behaviors, and the fact that the treatment is provided over the internet.

  Read more about “Good job!”

• A large-scale experiment on New Year’s resolutions

  2020. Martin Oscarsson (et al.). PLoS ONE 15 (12)

  Article

  Despite the popularity of New Year’s resolutions, current knowledge about them is limited. We investigated what resolutions people make when they are free to formulate them, whether different resolutions reach differing success rates, and whether it is possible to increase the likelihood of a resolution’s success by administering information and exercises on effective goal setting. Participants (N = 1066) from the general public were randomized into three groups: active control, some support, and extended support. The most popular resolutions regarded physical health, weight loss, and eating habits. At a one-year follow-up, 55% of responders considered themselves successful in sustaining their resolutions. Participants with approach-oriented goals were significantly more successful than those with avoidance-oriented goals (58.9% vs. 47.1%). The group that received some support was exclusively and significantly more successful compared to the other two. This study reveals that New Year’s resolutions can have lasting effects, even at a one-year follow-up.

  Read more about A large-scale experiment on New Year’s resolutions

• Tio i tolv: en bok om att lyckas med nyårslöften, mål och beteendeförändringar

  2018. Alexander Rozental, Martin Oscarsson, Per Carlbring.

  Book

  När det börjar dra ihop sig till tolvslag nyårsnatten är vi många lovar att ta tag i saker under det nya året enligt undersökningar avger var åttonde man och var femte kvinna i Sverige ett nyårslöfte. Ofta håller dock våra föresatser inte särskilt länge, framåt februari är det redan glesare på gymmen. Det är vanligt att gå ut för hårt i början samtidigt som det är lätt att falla tillbaka i gamla ovanor. Efter ett bakslag eller två är det lätt att ge upp.

  Trots detta visar psykologisk forskning att nyårslöften är förvånansvärt bra på att skapa varaktiga beteendeförändringar. Det gäller bara att komma lite mer förberedd till tolvslaget, ha realistiska förutsättningar och understryka att förändringsarbetet inte handlar om en kort sprint utan snarare utgör ett maratonlopp kombinerat med hinderbana.

  Tio i tolv förklarar varför nyårslöften är ett smart sätt att komma igång med nya vanor och överge gamla. Med hjälp av studier och undersökningar inom bland annat målsättning, rutiner och prokrastinering får läsaren kunskap om hur hen lättare kan lyckas med en förändring. Intressanta rön om svenskar egna nyårslöften presenteras, varvat med handfasta tips för att lättare uppnå våra mål vare sig det handlar om ett nyårslöfte eller en nystart efter semestern.

  Boken bygger på världens största vetenskapliga studie kring människors nyårslöften, utförd av Per Carlbring, Alexander Rozental och Martin Oscarsson vid Stockholms universitet.

  Read more about Tio i tolv

Show all publications by Martin Oscarsson at Stockholm University