AN Oxford psychologist whose seminal work on depression drew worldwide acclaim has died in a car crash aged 62.

David Westbrook, pictured, of East Oxford, was born in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, on July 30, 1950.

He attended Warwick School and moved to Oxford in 1968 to study psychiatry at St Peter’s College.

A switch to psychology and philosophy resulted in a graduation in 1972 with a BA, and an MA quickly followed as he found his calling in the world of mental health.

He became a registered mental health nurse in 1979, graduating with a gold medal, and then earned a British Psychological Society diploma in clinical psychology with distinction in 1985.

It was in 1987 that he began teaching sessions for the Oxford Doctoral Training Course and his exceptional skills as a leader and tutor of psychology came to the fore.

He founded the Oxford Cognitive Therapy Centre at Warneford Hospital and in 2004 became a director as the centre became an international beacon of excellence in therapy.

Mr Westbrook was at the forefront of a movement towards therapy techniques that dealt with problem-solving in cases of anxiety and depression. His work aimed to show the therapist how to help patients identify specific strategies to help address problems.

At the Oxford Cognitive Therapy Centre his qualities shone.Much of his success came from the idea that there was no catch-all solution to a psychological problem, and that therapists and patients must work together to come up with a plan.

He developed an expert knowledge of obsessive compulsive disorder and chronic deep depression, and would focus on both in many of the reference books and guides he contributed to and wrote himself.

In 2004 he and several colleagues, including his wife Martina Mueller, 54, holed up in a lighthouse in Devon in 2004 to edit the Oxford Guide to Behavioural Experiments in Cognitive Therapy.

Three years later, he wrote An Introduction to Cognitive Behaviour Therapy: Skills and Applications, with Helen Kennerley and Joan Kirk.The book was a global success and reprinted in several languages, held up as a key text for clinicians.

Last year he began to concentrate more on clinical work and tour the world giving speeches. He was in the process of organising workshops in the UK and abroad at the time of his death, and had visited Poland, Ukraine, Libya, Iceland and Kosovo, Mr Westbrook died whilst driving home from his parents’ house in Barford, Warwickshire, on April 18, when his VW Polo was in collision with a Toyota people carrier on the A429.

He and Martina had two children – Katie, 21, a medical student, and Anna, a 17-year-old Cheney School pupil.

Mr Westbrook also had a son, Sam, from a previous relationship, who became a nurse in London.

His funeral will take place at 1pm on May 8 at Wolvercote Cemetery Chapel, Banbury Road, Oxford, followed by burial at the woodland garden at 1.30pm. All are welcome.