I have career strengths in education and mental health research. I trained as a primary and secondary school teacher with endorsements in special education, mathematics and music. Later, I completed post-graduate training in music performance and theory, together with organisational, developmental, educational, and abnormal psychology, including an honours degree and PhD in clinical psychology subjects and research. I am currently the Foundation Academic Leader (Head) of Personal and Professional Development (PPD) in the new Graduate School of Medicine (GSM) at the University of Wollongong, and was the Foundation Leader of the GSM Behavioural Health Sciences curriculum when the School commenced in January 2006. I have an active research program that comprises translational, theoretical, and applied projects that aim to: (1) Identify determinants of help-seeking and help-negation in three populations groups - adolescents, men, and health care professionals; (2) Identify mechanisms of symptom and behaviour change specific to each group; (3) Develop and evaluate services and interventions to improve medical and mental health and wellbeing in each group. Go to http://www.uow.edu.au/gsm/staff/UOW028294.html, for further program details.
Measuring help-seeking intentions
The effects of need for autonomy and preference for seeking help from informal sources on emerging adults’ intentions to access mental health services for common mental disorders and suicidal thoughts. (with Debra J. Rickwood, John A. Bushnell, Peter Caputi, and Susan J. Thomas), Advances in Mental Health (2011)
Emerging or early adulthood is the life stage spanning 18-25 years of age. In Australia,...
Measuring help-seeking intentions: Properties of the General Help-Seeking Questionnaire (with Frank P. Deane), Canadian Journal of Counselling (2005)
A clear understanding of help-seeking intentions and behavior is fundamental to the identification of factors...
Help-negation
Predicting adolescents’ future intentions to seek help for mental health problems. (with Frank P. Deane), youth Studies Australia (2011)
This study examined whether high school students’ current symptoms of general psychological distress, self-rated social...
Adolescents' suicidal thinking and reluctance to consult general medical practitioners (with Frank P. Deane, Kellie L. Marshall, and Andrew Dalley), Journal of Youth and Adolescence (2010)
Appropriate help-seeking is widely recognized as a protective factor, and vital for early treatment and...
General psychological distress symptoms and help-seeking intentions in young Australians, Advances in Mental Health (2010)
Epidemiological studies suggest that young people might have a tendency to avoid help when they...
Help-negation and suicidal ideation: The role of depression, anxiety and hopelessness. (with Frank P. Deane), Journal of Youth and Adolescence (2010)
Help-negation is expressed behaviorally by the refusal or avoidance of available help and cognitively by...
Correspondence: Help-negation, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry (2009)
It is positive that preliminary findings from the 2007 National Survey of Mental Health and...
Help-seeking interventions
Early access and help seeking: Practice implications and new initiatives. (with John A. Bushnell and Peter Caputi), Early Intervention in Psychiatry (2011)
Seeking appropriate help for early signs and symptoms of psychological distress can reduce the long-term...
Reducing adolescents' perceived barriers to treatment and increasing help-seeking intentions: Effects of classroom presentations by General Practitioners. (with Frank P. Deane, Kellie L. Marshall, and Andrew Dalley), Journal Youth and Adolescence (2008)
The Building Bridges to General Practice (BBGP) program is an outreach initiative (written by the...
Brief report: Impact of classroom presentations about health and help seeking on rural Australian adolescents’ intentions to consult health care professionals. (with Frank P. Deane and Nicole Russell), Journal of Adolescence (2007)
Building Bridges-GP-Team (Building Bridges-Team; Wilson et al., 2004c) is a variation of the Building Bridges...
Gatekeeper training
Gatekeeper training for youth workers: Impact on mental health help-seeking and referral skill (with Tania Cartmill and Frank P. Deane), Youth Studies Australia (2009)
The Youth Empowerment Series (YES!) Workshops (Wilson et al, 2000) were developed to improve gatekeepers'...
Mechanisms of symptom change
The role of problem orientation cognitive distortions in depression and anxiety intervention for young adults. (with John A. Bushnell, Debra J. Rickwood, Peter Caputi, and Susan J. Thomas), Advances in Mental Health (2011)
Interventions that aim to improve social problem-solving skills can significantly reduce the severity of anxiety...
No subject area
Rural adolescents’ help seeking intentions for emotional problems: The influence of perceived benefits and stoicism. (with Janaki Rughani and Frank P. Deane), Australian Journal of Rural Health (2011)
This paper is the second from a larger multi-cite study developed and led by the...
When and how do young people seek professional help for mental health problems?, The Medical Journal of Australia (2007)
Despite the high prevalence of mental health problems and disorders that develop in adolescence and...
Supporting young people to seek professional help for mental health problems: Cover Feature. (with Debra J. Rickwood and Frank P. Deane), InPsyc: Bulletin of the Australian Psychological Society (2006)
Help seeking for mental health problems in adolescence and early adulthood. (with Debra J. Rickwood, Frank P. Deane, and Joseph Ciarrochi), Advances in Mental Health (2005)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Adolescence and young adulthood are critical life stages for mental health, as this...
Adolescent opinions about reducing help-seeking barriers and increasing engagement. (with Frank P. Deane), Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation (2001)
Effective mental illness prevention programs are important for the safety of youth and adolescents. Research...