Caroline Bell

Caroline Jane Bell is a New Zealand psychiatry academic, and is a full professor at the University of Otago, specialising in investigating the psychological impacts of trauma. She led the Canterbury District Health Board's response to mental health after the Christchurch earthquakes and led a collaboration on the effects of the Christchurch mosque shootings.

Academic career

Bell completed a medical degree at the University of Oxford, a Master of Arts degree at the University of Cambridge, followed by a PhD at the University of Bristol titled Investigation of the role of serotonin in anxiety and panic disorder. Bell then joined the faculty of the Department of Psychological Medicine at the University of Otago in Christchurch, rising to associate professor in 2014 and full professor in 2024.

Bell's research focuses on the psychological impacts of trauma, and is interested in the different outcomes that result for people after trauma, including distress and resilience, and how outcomes are influenced by factors such as people's culture, spiritual practices and religion. Her research found that the lockdown experience was worse for people with pre-existing mental illness. Bell led the Canterbury District Health Board's response to mental health after the Christchurch earthquakes, and alongside Dr Ruqayya Sulaiman-Hill, she led a large Health Research Council-funded research collaboration between the Universities of Canterbury and Otago, and the Canterbury District Health Board, to investigate the physical and psychological effects of the mosque attacks, and to link survivors with support services. Bell has also investigated group transdiagnostic treatment as a potential more effective treatment for anxiety and depression.

Selected works