Suicide prevention and management of deliberate self-harm: randomised control trial of an assertive engagement, brief psychotherapy and community linkage model. Suicide is the second commonest cause of death by injury in Australia. Suicide prevention is an important public health priority but rates remain high. People who have previously attempted suicide are most likely to kill themselves. Most suicidal people attend emergency departments where they get inadequate treatment for their psychologi ....Suicide prevention and management of deliberate self-harm: randomised control trial of an assertive engagement, brief psychotherapy and community linkage model. Suicide is the second commonest cause of death by injury in Australia. Suicide prevention is an important public health priority but rates remain high. People who have previously attempted suicide are most likely to kill themselves. Most suicidal people attend emergency departments where they get inadequate treatment for their psychological and social problems and remain depressed and suicidal. This project will test the effectiveness of a new psychological and social treatment to reduce the depression and link suicidal people with community supports. If successful, this treatment could be provided in any emergency department and help decrease suicide rates in Australia.Read moreRead less
Improving the retention rate for residential treatment of substance abuse by sequential intervention for social anxiety. Alcohol and other drug use is a major social and medical problem, costing the Australian community an estimated $7.6 billion annually. Mental health disorders have been closely linked with increased illicit drug use and physical health problems. Social anxiety (SAD) is highly prevalent amongst individuals presenting with drug and alcohol use disorders. Evidence suggests that ....Improving the retention rate for residential treatment of substance abuse by sequential intervention for social anxiety. Alcohol and other drug use is a major social and medical problem, costing the Australian community an estimated $7.6 billion annually. Mental health disorders have been closely linked with increased illicit drug use and physical health problems. Social anxiety (SAD) is highly prevalent amongst individuals presenting with drug and alcohol use disorders. Evidence suggests that social anxiety symptoms may be responsible for promoting excessive drug use and may be a particularly influential factor in poor treatment retention rates and promoting relapse. Thus, the focus on improving treatment outcomes for individuals with comorbid anxiety and drug use disorders represents an area of considerable importance both nationally and internationally.Read moreRead less
Body image instability, disordered eating and muscle dysmorphia. Body image is a serious public health issue. Dissatisfaction with body shape promotes disordered eating in females who fast and purge to lose weight, and muscle dysmorphia in males who over-exercise and use steroids to gain muscle. We will test the idea that these psychological disorders stem from an unstable body image. Our research will reveal the fundamental risk factors associated with disordered eating and muscle dysmorphia an ....Body image instability, disordered eating and muscle dysmorphia. Body image is a serious public health issue. Dissatisfaction with body shape promotes disordered eating in females who fast and purge to lose weight, and muscle dysmorphia in males who over-exercise and use steroids to gain muscle. We will test the idea that these psychological disorders stem from an unstable body image. Our research will reveal the fundamental risk factors associated with disordered eating and muscle dysmorphia and allow us to identify at-risk individuals on the basis of their body image instability. It will also predict patients' amenability to treatments that target body image, thereby improving outcomes for these individuals.Read moreRead less
The etiology of social anxiety and its impact on development across the lifespan. Social anxiety is a distressing early-onset disorder often associated with other psychiatric conditions in later life. This study will extend our previous work that has identified factors associated with its onset. We propose that these factors and the social anxiety itself may disrupt psychosocial development, at the time of onset, and throughout the lifespan. We aim to investigate these innovative hypotheses thro ....The etiology of social anxiety and its impact on development across the lifespan. Social anxiety is a distressing early-onset disorder often associated with other psychiatric conditions in later life. This study will extend our previous work that has identified factors associated with its onset. We propose that these factors and the social anxiety itself may disrupt psychosocial development, at the time of onset, and throughout the lifespan. We aim to investigate these innovative hypotheses through a sequence of three studies, with adults, children and adolescents. The results will inform prevention and early intervention regimes, thereby reducing both the incidence of social anxiety and the burden of the disorder.Read moreRead less
Enhancing psychosocial adaptation after temporal lobectomy surgery for control of epilepsy seizures. Preliminary data from individuals who have experienced temporal lobectomy surgery for control of epilepsy seizures suggests that (a) psychosocial adjustment problems may occur even when the neurological outcome is excellent, and (b) satisfaction with surgery/ post-surgery adjustment relates to perceived control over pre-surgery decision- making. The aim of this study is to improve pre-surgery pro ....Enhancing psychosocial adaptation after temporal lobectomy surgery for control of epilepsy seizures. Preliminary data from individuals who have experienced temporal lobectomy surgery for control of epilepsy seizures suggests that (a) psychosocial adjustment problems may occur even when the neurological outcome is excellent, and (b) satisfaction with surgery/ post-surgery adjustment relates to perceived control over pre-surgery decision- making. The aim of this study is to improve pre-surgery procedure and post-surgery support by investigating psychosocial outcomes of epilepsy surgery, and relating these to perceived and actual pre-surgery preparation, including education, counselling and social support. The results of the study will inform development of resource material for the medical profession and potential surgery clients, as well as contributing to improved understanding of the relationship between pre-surgery procedures and psychosocial outcomes.Read moreRead less
Genes, neuroanatomy and family process: Predicting adolescent anxiety and depression. Whilst significant gains in outcomes have been obtained in other areas of health by focusing on early intervention and prevention, in the mental health field this approach has been limited by the paucity of developmentally targeted treatment and prevention strategies. This study will provide unique information regarding the risk processes that are operating during early and late adolescence, and will inform us ....Genes, neuroanatomy and family process: Predicting adolescent anxiety and depression. Whilst significant gains in outcomes have been obtained in other areas of health by focusing on early intervention and prevention, in the mental health field this approach has been limited by the paucity of developmentally targeted treatment and prevention strategies. This study will provide unique information regarding the risk processes that are operating during early and late adolescence, and will inform us about how the family environment can act to modulate the impacts of biological vulnerability on risk for mental disorder. This project will contribute to our understanding of who, and what, to target in early intervention and prevention strategies.Read moreRead less
Evaluation of a Training Program for Staff to Recognize Depression Among Aged People Living in Residential and Community Care. Depression is a significant problem among older people, and is likely to increase in prevalence with the aging of the population. A large percentage of depressed older people fail to receive treatment because their depression is not diagnosed. This illness leads to high economic and social costs if it is not diagnosed and treated. This project will evaluate the effective ....Evaluation of a Training Program for Staff to Recognize Depression Among Aged People Living in Residential and Community Care. Depression is a significant problem among older people, and is likely to increase in prevalence with the aging of the population. A large percentage of depressed older people fail to receive treatment because their depression is not diagnosed. This illness leads to high economic and social costs if it is not diagnosed and treated. This project will evaluate the effectiveness of a training program to assist carers to detect depression, and so refer older people for treatment of this condition. Read moreRead less
Improving Employment Outcomes in Early Psychosis: Social and Economic Benefits of Early Intervention. Over 74% of people with psychotic illnesses like schizophrenia, despite wanting to work, are unemployed, more than any other disability group. This project examines an evidence-based method in which young people with psychosis can be effectively supported to return to the competitive labour market. In Australia, unemployment of people with schizophrenia costs $927 million, over half the total il ....Improving Employment Outcomes in Early Psychosis: Social and Economic Benefits of Early Intervention. Over 74% of people with psychotic illnesses like schizophrenia, despite wanting to work, are unemployed, more than any other disability group. This project examines an evidence-based method in which young people with psychosis can be effectively supported to return to the competitive labour market. In Australia, unemployment of people with schizophrenia costs $927 million, over half the total illness costs of schizophrenia. For people with psychosis, unemployment exacerbates social and economic marginalisation. This project aims to reduce the economic cost of unemployment among the mentally ill as well as using employment to reduce social marginalisation of people with mental illness.Read moreRead less
Recognising, assessing, and managing high risk stalking behaviour: An evidence-based approach. Developing effective methods of assessing and treating stalkers will directly impact the health and safety of thousands of stalking victims across Australia, and reduce the number of stalkers coming into contact with the criminal justice system. Application of the assessment and treatment tools developed during this project by mental health and corrective services around Australia will help to reduce p ....Recognising, assessing, and managing high risk stalking behaviour: An evidence-based approach. Developing effective methods of assessing and treating stalkers will directly impact the health and safety of thousands of stalking victims across Australia, and reduce the number of stalkers coming into contact with the criminal justice system. Application of the assessment and treatment tools developed during this project by mental health and corrective services around Australia will help to reduce physical and psychological harm experienced by both stalkers and their victims. The development and implementation of practical and effective strategies that lessen the impact of stalking will reduce the burden of mental ill-health caused by stalking, increase community safety, and reduce overall levels of victimisation in Australian society. Read moreRead less
Emotion development and adolescent depression: An analysis of gender differences. This project will investigate the differing role of empathy and guilt in the development of depression over time. Consistent with Izard's emotion perspective, it is predicted that these emotions will become more strongly correlated with depression in the post-adolescence compared to the pre-adolescent years. This strengthening of association will be most marked for specific sub-groups (e.g. females compared to mal ....Emotion development and adolescent depression: An analysis of gender differences. This project will investigate the differing role of empathy and guilt in the development of depression over time. Consistent with Izard's emotion perspective, it is predicted that these emotions will become more strongly correlated with depression in the post-adolescence compared to the pre-adolescent years. This strengthening of association will be most marked for specific sub-groups (e.g. females compared to males; individuals scoring high on empathy and low on emotion regulation). The expected outcomes will lead to a more sophisticated understanding of the development of depression. They will have significant implications for the development/refinement of preventative/intervention strategies for depression during pre-adolescence.Read moreRead less