Remembering Dr Melanie Fennell
It is with sadness that we share with you that Dr Melanie Fennell died on 14 October 2026.
With one foot in a University of Oxford research department and the other firmly placed in NHS clinical practice she exemplified the Scientist Practitioner practice at the heart of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). A woman of immense intellect and skill Melanie enacted these principles in her clinical work, CBT training, and supervision. She was greatly respected and admired, and she earned both national and international reputation as a leading figure in CBT.
A pioneer in CBT training and dissemination
Melanie was a pioneer of dissemination, and alongside Dr Joan Kirk developed one of the UK’s first multidisciplinary Postgraduate CBT training programmes in collaboration with the University of Oxford. She then went on to co-found Oxford Cognitive Therapy Centre (OCTC), with the aim of providing high-quality CBT. She personally trained and influenced hundreds of CBT practitioners across the globe and was recognised as the most influential woman in CBT (UK) when BABCP members were polled in 2002.
A clinical pioneer
Melanie was also a clinical pioneer. Her research began with depression, but she developed her ideas further and gave us a distinctive CBT model of low self-esteem that has stood the test of time. She also contributed significantly to the evaluation and development of both Mindfulness based Cognitive Therapy (MCBT) and Trauma Focused CBT (TF-CBT), when these approaches were in their infancy. She was a versatile woman of vision who dedicated her career to making a difference in the world, which she did with unique skill, flair, and humility.
Melanie Fennell in conversation
Below is a link to Melanie being interviewed at the European Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (EABCT) in 2021 where she was celebrated — again — as one of CBT’s most influential women.
Interview with Melanie Fennell — EABCT
Video courtesy of the EABCT.
With gratitude
All of us at OCTC owe Melanie a great debt of gratitude.
We will miss her brilliance, generosity, warmth, and laughter.
