Professor Scott's early research career focused on the development of psychological therapies, such as CBT, that could be combined with medications to improve the quality of life and clinical outcomes of individuals with difficult to treat chronic depressions, bipolar disorders, and/or psychosis. She also developed an interest in the application of health belief models to clinical psychiatry, as a means to explore engagement with clinical services and to predict likelihood or adherence with treatments. In recent times, she has focused her research on emerging mood disorders, examining developmental trajectories and risk syndromes for bipolarity and the application of clinical staging models to mental health. This work examines trans-diagnostic risk factors for the development of long term mental disorders and also the potential role of psychological interventions that target cognitive, emotional and circadian regulation, such as interventions that target rumination, mood instability, delayed sleep phase and activation levels. This work is undertaken in collaboration with colleagues in France, Norway, Brazil and Australia.