Prof. Melody Jia-Qi XU

EDUCATION

• Ph.D in Psychiatry (The University of Hong Kong)
• M.Soc.Sc in Educational Psychology (The University of Hong Kong)
• PGDE  (The Education University of Hong Kong)

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Mindfulness for children and adults
Language-related difficulties
Positive Education
Mental Health
Early Psychosis

PROFESSIONAL TRAINING IN MINDFULNESS

• Trained teacher certificate (Oxford Mindfulness Foundation) https://www.oxfordmindfulness.org/acadp_listings/xu-jia-qi-melody/
• Teacher Training in “Deeper Mindfulness Program” (June 2025) offered by Mindfulness Network (Bangor University, UK)
• Advanced Teacher Training in “Mindful Parenting” (January 2021) offered by Professor Susan Bogels & Newlife330
• Advanced Teacher Training in “MYmind” (January 2021) offered by Professor Susan Bogels & Hong Kong Association for Infant Mental Health
• Teacher Training in “Teach Paws b” (July 2020) offered by Jockey Club “Peace and Awareness” Mindfulness Culture in Schools Initiative

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Poon, K., Xu, J. Q.*, Yum, Y. N., & Ho, M. S. (2026). Executive function in Chinese children with ADHD and/or SpLD: Informant discrepancies and comorbidity effects based on the BRIEF. Heliyon, 12(13).

Liu, L., Tang, J. Y. M., & Xu, J. Q. (2026). Mediators of Mindfulness-based Interventions in Children and Young people: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Mindfulness. 10.1007/s12671-026-02868-w

Tang, J. Y. M., Wang, M., Liu L., & Xu, J. Q. (2026). Effectiveness of Web-Based Interventions for Supporting Parents with Severe Mental Illness: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Health & Social Care in the Community. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1155/hsc/9449370/

Huang, L., Xu, J. Q., Zhao, M. Y., Hou, H., Jarden, A., Lomas, T., … & VanderWeele, T. J. (2026). Flourishing in Hong Kong: An analysis of wellbeing-related outcomes in the Global Flourishing Study. International Journal of Wellbeing, 15(3).

Tse, B., & Xu, J. Q. (2025). Chapter 18: History and theoretical framework of MBCT. In W. Li, G. Griffith, S. Shapiro, & Z. Zhu (Eds.), The Palgrave handbook of third-wave psychotherapies (pp. 455–488). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-00353-9.

Tang, J. Y. M., Xu, J. Q., & Wang, Q. (2025). Group acceptance and commitment therapy for promoting mental health in schools: A feasibility study. East Asian Archives of Psychiatry, 35(2), 28–31.

Xu, J. Q.*, Tang, J. Y. M., & Chen, H. Y. K. (2025). Impact of an online mindfulness-based program on wellbeing and trait mindfulness for research postgraduate students: A randomized-controlled trial. BMC Psychology, 13(1), 1–14.

Xu, J. Q., Poon, K., & Ho, M. S. H. (2023). Brief report: The impact of COVID-19 on parental stress and learning challenges for Chinese children with SpLD. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 1–8.

Xu, J. Q., Choy, J. C., Tang, J. Y., Liu, T. Y., Luo, H., Lou, V. W., … & Wong, G. H. (2017). Spontaneously Reported Symptoms by Informants Are Associated with Clinical Severity in Dementia Help Seekers. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 65(9), 1946-1952.

*Xu, J. Q., Hui, C. L. M., Longenecker, J., Lee, E. H. M., Chang, W. C., Chan, S. K. W., & Chen, E. Y. H. (2014). Executive function as predictors of persistent thought disorder in first-episode schizophrenia: A one-year follow-up study. Schizophrenia Research, 159(2-3), 465–470.

Chen, E. Y. H., & Xu, J. Q. (2012). 思覺失調服務計畫新發展. In 啓動、心康－精神健康求助攻略 (pp. 274–275).

Chan, K. K. S., Xu, J. Q., Liu, K. L. M., Hui, C. L. M., Wong, C. H. Y., & Chen, E. Y. H. (2012). Executive function in first-episode schizophrenia: A three-year prospective study of the Hayling Sentence Completion Test. Schizophrenia Research, 135(1-3), 62–67.

Xu, J. Q., Hui, C. L. M., Wong, G. H. Y., Tang, J. Y. M., Lam, M. L. M., Chiu, C. P. Y., & Chen, E. Y. H. (2011). Current situation and service for young people suffering from early psychosis in Hong Kong. Journal of Youth Studies, 14(1), 9–18.

*corresponding author

Research Grant (as Principal Investigator)

Project Title: The effectiveness of mindful parenting training and mindfulness-enhanced parenting skills training for parents of adolescents with special educational needs (25241032)

• Funded amount: HKD1,498,818 by Health and Medical Research Fund
• Proposed Project Period: 01-Nov-2026 to 31-Oct 2029

 

Knowledge Exchange

KE Project title: Mindfulness-Informed Parenting Support Program for Parents of Youth with Special Educational Needs

• Funded amount: HKD150,000 by HKU Knowledge Exchange Fund
• Project Period: 23-Sept-2024 to 30-June-2025

This KE project, funded by HKU KE Fund, promoted mindful parenting among parents of adolescents with special educational needs through a tiered approach. It increased service accessibility via self-help materials, experiential workshops, and mindful parenting group trainings. You can find brief mindfulness practice cards HERE.

Courses Taught

PSYC2074 Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy
PSYC7305 Developmental psychology
PSYC8007 Applied developmental psychology
PSYC7015 Psychoeducational intervention II
PSYC7017 Skills training seminar II
PSYC8010 Skills training seminar III

Internship Opportunities

I am currently looking for student research interns who are interested in mental health, positive psychology and mindfulness related projects. Interns will be involved in materials preparation, data collection, preliminary data analysis, and communication with the research participants.

Please contact me if you are:

• A strong sense of responsibility and commitment
• Major in psychology or related disciplines
• Able to comprehend written Chinese
• Good communicational skills

If you are interested, please send your CV and transcript to Dr Xu at meloxu@hku.hk.