Directors
A/Prof. Rodrigo Becerra
Director (UWA)
Rodrigo is an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology and Director of the Robin Winkler Clinic with the School of Psychological Science at the University of Western Australia. Rodrigo is fully registered as a psychologist, endorsed clinical psychologist, and an endorsed clinical supervisor of higher degree clinical psychology trainees by the Psychology Board of Australia. Rodrigo has worked in hospital settings (Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and Alma Street, Fremantle Hospital) and private practice for 20 years.
Email: rodrigo.becerra@uwa.edu.au
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Dr. David Preece
Director (Curtin)
David is a Clinical Psychologist, Fulbright Scholar, and a Raine Robson Fellow. He is a Senior Lecturer at Curtin University, and also holds Honorary research appointments at the University of Louvain (Belgium), University of Western Australia, and Telethon Kids Institute. David is the National Chair of the of the Australian Psychological Society College of Clinical Psychologists. His main research and practice interests are in assessing, conceptualising, and treating emotional disorders and problems. Much of his research focuses on the key role that emotional awareness (alexithymia) and emotion regulation difficulties play in a variety of mental health issues, and how this understanding can be harnessed to design and improve transdiagnostic treatments. David is the Editor-in-Chief at the Journal of Emotion and Psychopathology, and is on the Editorial Boards of Frontiers in Psychiatry and Emotion.
Email: david.preece@curtin.edu.au
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Academic Members
Prof. Wai Chen
Professor of Psychiatry (Curtin)
Wai is known for his research in child, adolescent and youth mental health, in particular, in the areas of ADHD, neurodevelopmental disorders, emotional dysregulation, their treatments, dissociation, resilience and social recovery in youths. He is a consultant psychiatrist of the youth in-patient ward and clinical professor of youth mental health service, for adolescent and youth psychiatry at Fiona Stanley Hospital, Perth, WA. He is Professor, Psychiatry Discipline Lead, Curtin Medical School, Curtin University, and Professor, enAble Institute, Curtin University. He also holds adjunct professor positions at Graduate School of Education, UWA, School of Medicine (Fremantle), Notre Dame University Australia, WA, Department of Psychology and Exercise Science, Murdoch University. In Australia, he is an accredited child and adolescent specialist psychiatrist by APHRA, and an accredited principle supervisor in post-graduate psychiatry training by the Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Psychiatrists.
Email: wai.chen@curtin.edu.au
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Prof. Bronwyn Myers-Franchi
Professor of Psychology (Curtin)
Bronwyn is a Professor of Psychology and the Director of the Curtin enAble Institute. Most recently Deputy Director of the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Research Unit of the South African Medical Research Council, Bronwyn has worked extensively in enhancing services for people with mental or physical health disorders. Bronwyn has published extensively on the topics of mental and substance use disorders, vulnerable populations, and provision of evidence-based practices. Her expertise on substance use and physical and mental health comorbidities has been acknowledged through invitations to serve on international technical advisory groups for the World Health Organisation and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
Email: bronwyn.myers-franchi@curtin.edu.au
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Prof. Peter McEvoy
Professor of Psychology (Curtin)
Peter is a Professor at Curtin University, where he teaches in the masters of clinical psychology program and co-leads the Mental Health Domain of the Curtin enAble Institute. He is an associate editor of the Journal of Anxiety Disorders and the Journal of Experimental Psychopathology and has published numerous articles relating to the treatment of anxiety and depression, transdiagnostic approaches to conceptualising mental disorders, and mechanisms of cognitive and behavioural change. Peter’s primary areas of interest are anxiety disorders and depression, and he specialises in the treatment of social anxiety disorder, generalised anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, panic disorder, agoraphobia, body dysmorphic disorder, and depression. Peter graduated with a Masters in Clinical Psychology and PhD from the University of Western Australia, after which he worked for 4 years as a clinical psychologist and service coordinator of the Anxiety Disorders Unit, St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney. After returning to Perth he worked at the Centre for Clinical Interventions for a number of years as a clinician and clinical researcher, where he is currently the Research Director.
Email: peter.mcevoy@curtin.edu.au
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Prof. Warren Mansell
Professor of Psychology (Curtin)
Warren is a Professor of Psychology at Curtin University. Following a PhD at University of Oxford, and a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College, London, Warren worked at the University of Manchester as a Reader in Clinical Psychology. The focus of his research is psychological approaches to bipolar disorder, transdiagnostic interventions for mental health problems (e.g. a Transdiagnostic Approach to CBT using Method of Levels Therapy), and Perceptual Control Theory.
Email: warren.mansell@curtin.edu.au
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Prof. Johanna Badcock
Adjunct Professor of Psychology (UWA)
Jo is Vice Chair of Ending Loneliness Together, co-Founder of the Global Initiative on Loneliness and Connection, and an international expert in loneliness research. She holds academic and professional qualifications in psychology from the University of Oxford and University of Melbourne. Jo’s research focuses on the assessment, mechanisms, and impact of loneliness on health and wellbeing across a range of clinical groups, and in healthcare providers. Jo also has a keen interest in improving knowledge translation and workforce development. She serves as an advisor and consultant to international agencies, (including the World Health Organization), state and federal government, policymakers, community organizations and clinicians, to ensure that research evidence is accessible, understandable and of benefit to those who need it most.
Email: johanna.badcock@uwa.edu.au
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Prof. Alfred Allan
Emeritus Professor of Psychology (ECU)
After practicing as a lawyer Alfred became a full-time academic and commenced his studies in psychology qualifying as a clinical and later forensic psychologist. He has taught law, psychology and professional ethics in Law, Medical and Psychology Schools in South Africa and Australia. He was a member of the inaugural Psychologists Board of Australia and is the chair of the Standing Committee on Ethics of the International Association for Applied Psychology (IAAP) and a Fellow of the Australian Psychological Society (APS). He has served on the boards of national professional organisations and is a past president of the of the Psychology and Law Division of the IAAP, Australian and New Zealand Association for Psychiatry, Psychology and Law and a past chair of the APS College of Forensic Psychologists, the Ethics Committee of the APS, the Ethics Committee of the Psychology Association of South Africa; and of the Working Group that reviewed the Australian Psychological Society’s Code of Ethics. He is on the editorial committee of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law and the editorial board of Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine and Ethics and Behavior and has served on various state government committees, such as the Dangerous Sexual Offender Review Committee. He frequently presents continuing professional development workshops and publishes widely in psychology, legal and medical journals.
Email: alfred.allan@ecu.edu.au
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A/Prof. Yulia Furlong
Associate Professor of Psychiatry (UWA & PCH)
Dr Yulia Furlong is a Consultant Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist at Perth Children’s Hospital (PCH), Head of Service of Paediatric Consultation Liaison and Gender Diversity Service, an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Western Australia, Chair of the WA Psychotropic Medication Expert Group, and an active member of the PCH Clinical Staff Association Executive Committee, the PCH Drug and Therapeutic Committee and the CAHS Shape our Future Steering Team. Yulia is a Member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (UK), a Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, and an accredited member of the WA Faculty of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Dr Furlong is an active researcher with several key original publications in the area of childhood-onset neuro-disabilities. Dr Furlong’s Research Doctorate degree in Psychiatry from the University College Cork, Ireland, 2009, focused on the psychiatric co-morbidity of chronic physical illness from the lenses of Hospital Liaison Psychiatry. Dr Furlong also embarked on teaching career and completed Graduate Diploma in University Teaching and Learning at University College Dublin and currently involved in teaching, mentoring, supervising and examining students and trainees, including psychiatric and paediatric registrars, advanced trainees, and supervising PhD students.
Email: yulia.furlong@uwa.edu.au
Research Profile
Prof. David Lawrence
Professor of Mental Health (Curtin)
David Lawrence is a Professor of Mental Health at Curtin University. His research focuses on child and adolescent mental health and wellbeing, youth suicide prevention and mental health of first responders. He is currently leading After the Fires: a study of the impacts of the 2019-20 bushfire season on the wellbeing and resilience of Australia’s first responders. He was project leader for Answering the call, the Beyond Blue National Mental Health and Wellbeing Survey of Police and Emergency Services. He was also project leader for Young Minds Matter: The second Australian Child and Adolescent Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing. He has expertise in the analysis of linked administrative datasets, data from complex household surveys, administrative data linked to survey datasets, multi-level modelling, non-linear modelling, and time-series analysis. He has practical experience in large-scale survey design and an in-depth understanding of cutting-edge statistical techniques in cross-sectional, longitudinal, and linked administrative data designs.
Email: david.lawrence@curtin.edu.au
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Prof. Sean Hood
Professor of Psychiatry (UWA)
Sean is a psychiatrist in academic (University of Western Australia), public hospital (SCGH, Nedlands), and private practice (The Marian Centre, Wembley) settings. Professor Hood is Head of the UWA Division of Psychiatry, and Associate Dean (Community & Engagement) for the UWA Medical School. Sean undertook his undergraduate medical degree at the University of Western Australia before completing formal postgraduate training in Psychiatry in Perth (Australia) and Bristol (United Kingdom) in 2003. Sean chairs a novel research collaboration with the Meeting for Minds (M4M) Foundation which is a “not-for-profit organisation dedicated to research of the brain and disorders of the brain in partnership with people living with mental illness”. In 2018 Sean was a founding member of the UWA Young Lives Matter (YLM) Foundation (Board Director & Research Management Lead). In 2020 Sean convened and chairs the WA Mental Health Covid-19 Research Panel (WAMH-CoRP) a group unifying all 5 WA universities, public health districts, and consumer/carer bodies.
Email: sean.hood@uwa.edu.au
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A/Prof. Trevor Mazzucchelli
Associate Professor of Psychology (Curtin)
Trevor Mazzucchelli is a Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology at Curtin University. Trevor has been a registered and practising clinical psychologist since 1994. He has extensive clinical experience in providing empirically supported treatments for emotional and behavioural disorders having worked in various public and private settings including Western Australia’s Disability Services Commission, Western Australia’s Department of Health, Triple P International, and in private practice. He has developed programs to assist parents of children with disability prevent and manage commonly encountered behavioural and emotional problems, and trained many practitioners to support parents in using these programs. Trevor’s research interests are broad and include treatment outcome evaluations, mechanisms of behavioural and cognitive change, self-management, and how individuals and families can achieve optimal levels of functioning under both stressful and normal circumstances. Trevor is on the editorial board of Cognitive and Behavioral Practice and Frontiers in Education. He regularly provides training and supervision to health professionals, and teaches in the Master of Clinical Psychology course at Curtin University. Trevor maintains a close collaborative relationship with the Parenting and Family Support Centre within The University of Queensland’s School of Psychology where he is an Honorary Associate Professor.
Email: trevor.mazzucchelli@curtin.edu.au
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Dr. Vincent Mancini
Senior Research Fellow (TKI)
Vincent is a Senior Research Fellow in the School and Community Wellbeing team at the Telethon Kids Institute (TKI). His work is primarily focused on empowering fathers and father figures to improve the health and wellbeing of children. His role is supported by The Fathering Project. His research interests are diverse, spanning early neurodevelopment, parenting, child disability, grief, psychopathology, and emotion regulation. Vincent also maintains an active portfolio of teaching and student supervision, having successfully supervised students at the intern, undergraduate, and postgraduate level. Vincent is also a self-proclaimed ‘stats-nerd’ – having a keen interest in research methodology and quantitative research methods, including scale development, psychometrics, latent profile analysis, latent growth curves, factor analysis, and advanced regression analyses. In addition to his role at Telethon, Vincent is also an Adjunct Senior Clinical Lecturer at the Curtin University Medical School and Senior Research Fellow with the UWA Law School.
Email: vincent.mancini@telethonkids.org.au
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Dr. James Clarke
Lecturer (Curtin)
James is a Clinical Psychologist and AHPRA Board Approved Supervisor. James completed a Master of Clinical Psychology in 2014 and has subsequently maintained work in various clinical roles. He completed his PhD on the relationship between emotional labour and burnout in psychologists. This PhD enabled him to explore areas of interest including emotion, self-compassion, psychological flexibility, and practitioner wellbeing. He currently balances work across clinical and academic roles. Clinically, James works with young people who have comorbid mental health and substance use concerns and predominantly works from evidence-based, trauma, and attachment informed psychotherapeutic models. In his academic work, he is a lecturer in the post-graduate psychology program at Curtin University and also provides clinical/research supervision.
Email: james.clarke1@curtin.edu.au
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Dr. Bethanie Gouldthorp
Clinical Psychologist (Perth Children's Hospital)
Bethanie is a Senior Clinical Psychologist at the state-wide Eating Disorders Service (Child and Adolescent Health Service/Perth Children’s Hospital). She has a high level of clinical expertise and interest in working with adults and young people with eating disorders, personality disorders, and trauma; with experience across a range of public, private, and community-based services. She is a Board-Approved supervisor, member of the National Eating Disorders Research Consortium (NEDRC), and is an elected member of the Executive Board of the Australia and New Zealand Academy for Eating Disorders (ANZAED). Bethanie obtained her PhD in 2010 and was a tenured research/teaching academic before moving solely into clinical work. She continues to supervise honours, masters, and doctoral research projects. Her research interests focus primarily on the role of emotion regulation in the conceptualisation of eating disorders and other mental health difficulties, and how this can represent a transdiagnostic treatment target. She is also passionate about embedding translational research into services to improve provision of quality, evidence-based care.
Email: bethanie.gouldthorp@health.wa.gov.au
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Dr Mahdi Mazidi
Research Fellow (UWA)
Mahdi completed his Master’s in Clinical Psychology from Iran and his PhD from the University of Western Australia (UWA). He is currently a research fellow at UWA’s Centre for the Advancement of Research on Emotion (CARE) where he works on projects that investigate cognitive mechanisms that compromise mental health and well-being, and makes contributions to the development, and enhancement of a new generation of health-promoting technologies, collectively known as cognitive bias modification. This novel technological approach advances clinically-oriented research and treatment by directly altering biased patterns of information processing that underpin psychological dysfunction. Mahdi is also interested in the role of emotion regulation difficulties and beliefs about emotions in the development and maintenance of different forms of psychopathology.
Email: mahdi.mazidisharafabadi@uwa.edu.au
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A/Prof. Sarah Egan
Associate Professor of Psychology (Curtin)
Sarah has been a working Clinical Psychologist for the past 25 years with a particular interest in youth and early adulthood. She worked my first few years at Royal Perth Hospital where she began her research journey, publishing papers that related to my work as a clinician. Sarah has always been passionate about is trying to improve people’s lives through evidence-based psychological therapies for psychological problems. She was involved from the start of my career in organisations for Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy (CBT), the leading evidence-based approach for a range of psychological problems. Sarah served as the inaugural president of the World Confederation of CBT, as the chair of the World Congress of CBT committee and president of the Australian Association for CBT. Sarah then made the move to academia by completing her PhD and has worked at Curtin University ever since in teaching and research roles. Sarah’s main area of work is the understanding and treatment of perfectionism as a transdiagnostic approach to anxiety, depression and eating disorders. She also conducts research on youth anxiety and depression, eating disorders in young people, and on psychological treatments for anxiety and depression in Parkinson’s Disease.
Email: s.egan@exchange.curtin.edu.au
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Dr. Laura Dondzilo
Research Fellow (UWA)
Laura is a Research Fellow within UWA’s School of Psychological Science, where she also completed her PhD in 2018. Across the past 10 years, Laura has carved out an innovative and sophisticated program of research, applying cognitive experimental psychology to the body image and eating disorders domain. Specifically, Laura’s research focuses on advancing understanding of the role of cognitive processing biases in body image and eating disturbances.
Email: laura.dondzilo@uwa.edu.au
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A/Prof. Christopher Lee
Adjunct Associate Professor of Psychology (UWA)
Associate Professor Christopher Lee works in private practise and at the University of Western Australia. He conducts therapist training workshops on personality disorders and trauma treatments throughout Australia and overseas and is a certified trainer by both the international society of schema therapists and the EMDR international association. He has published research on personality disorders, depression, and PTSD. This includes studies where he was a principal investigator in three international multi-centred randomised controlled trials, two in treating complex PTSD and one treating borderline personality disorder. He has received two International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies and two EMDR international association awards for research excellence. The most recent in 2019. In 2011, the Australian Psychological Society presented him the Ian Campbell memorial award for contributions as a science-practitioner to psychology.
Email: chris.lee@uwa.edu.au
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Dr. Michael Kyron
Research Fellow (UWA)
Michael worked in the area of suicide risk assessments and prevention for several years in collaboration with Perth Clinic, and was a data analyst on Answering the Call, the largest mental health and wellbeing survey of emergency services personnel to date worldwide. He has held research roles in the areas of adolescent mental health, treatment of social anxiety disorder, and emotion regulation in daily life. Michael is currently a Research Fellow at the Centre for Social Impact UWA, where he focuses on evaluating the effectiveness of a range of social services in Australia.
Email: michael.kyron@uwa.edu.au
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Dr. Isabeau Tindall
Research Fellow (Curtin)
Isabeau is a PhD in Psychology graduate with experience in Organisational Psychology. She has a particular interest into work design, and understanding the influence of negative emotionality, such as anxiety, on employee well-being. Isabeau’s employment history includes positions within consultancy and research. She has worked on innovation within the energy sector, and conducted mentoring programs across the construction, resources, and renewable sectors. Isabeau has published research focusing on the impact of negative emotionality on well-being within workplace and university settings.
Email: isabeau.tindall@curtin.edu.au
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Dr. Eric Lim
Lecturer (Curtin)
Eric is a Registered Nurse specialising in mental health nursing. He has 19 years of clinical nursing experience in mental health, including forensic mental health. Eric currently works as a Lecturer (Teaching and Research Academic) at Curtin University. His clinical research focuses on acute mental health, aggression prevention and management, recovery-focused care. His Innovation and Scholarship of Learning and Teaching (ISoLT) research focuses on working with culturally and linguistically diverse students, use of technology in nursing education, and mental health clinical education. Eric is knowledgeable in the use of Q methodology and qualitative research methods.
Email: eric.lim@curtin.edu.au
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Dr. Ozgur Yalcin
Clinical Psychologist (Private Practice)
Ozgur (Oz) is an experienced Clinical Psychologist and Director of ANIMA Health Network, a Clinical Psychology and Neuropsychology practice in Western Australia. ANIMA specialises in the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of chronic mental health conditions and brain-based disorders such as ADHD, learning disorders, TBI and dementias. He has held Clinical and Senior Management roles across multiple psychiatric settings and served as the former WA State Chair of the APS College of Clinical Psychologists. In addition to his professional roles, he is a sessional academic, researcher, and board-approved supervisor. His expertise lies in treating various mental health conditions, including but not limited to Personality Disorders, PTSD, complex trauma and Adult ADHD, utilising EMDR, Schema Therapy and Gestalt practices within a broader framework of psychodynamic psychotherapy. He regularly consults with external stakeholders, offering guidance on trauma assessment, diagnosis and treatment. He has published in the areas of Neurosciences, Psychometric Assessment, and Schema Therapy, and his PhD focused on enhancing the assessment of Early Maladaptive Schema’s (EMS) via development of the YSQ-R (Young Schema Questionnaire-Revised), which is becoming the preferred method of measuring EMS internationally.
Email: oyalcin@anima.com.au
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Dr. Erin Lloyd
Lecturer (UWA)
Erin is a lecturer at UWA within the School of Human Sciences. She has expertise in physiology and advanced mathematics/statistics, and collaborates within the Perth Lab on a range of psychophysiology projects. Her work uses a combination of lab-based physiology, medical imaging, and statistical methodologies. Her ultimate goal is to develop dynamic multi-system models that will enable clinical translation and targeted treatment approaches.
Email: erin.lloyd@uwa.edu.au
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Lab Staff
Lewis Stulcbauer
Lab Manager & PhD/MPsych Candidate (Clinical Psychology) (UWA)
Having completed his Honours at Curtin within our lab, Lewis is now doing the combined Masters and PhD program in clinical psychology at UWA, under the supervision of A/Prof Rodrigo Becerra, A/Prof Kristin Gainey, Dr David Preece, and Prof Wai Chen. Lewis is interested in exploring the role of emotion and emotion regulation in personality disorders, and how this may be applicable to the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness. Lewis currently works as a disability support worker and is also a Crisis Supporter at Lifeline WA. Lewis aims to pursue registration as a clinical psychologist. Lewis’ other interests include hiking, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and history. He is also a member of the Army Reserve.
Email: lewis.stulcbauer@research.uwa.edu.au
Tharen Kander
Research Assistant & PhD/MPsych Candidate (Clinical) (UWA)
Tharen Kander is a research assistant within the lab. He has completed his Bachelor of Science at The University of Western Australia (UWA), and a Bachelor of Social Science (Psychology) (Honours) graduating with First Class Honours at The University of the Sunshine Coast. During his Honours year, he begun social support work with a client diagnosed with schizophrenia – this is where his passion for clinical work begun. In attaining further hands-on clinical experience, Tharen pursued an internship in a clinic in Madrid, where he closely shadowed a multidisciplinary team consisting of psychologists and psychiatrists. Since then, Tharen has commenced a combined Doctor of Philosophy/Master of Psychology (Clinical) degree at UWA. It is here that he hopes to combine his research interests with clinical practice, with the intention of attaining full registration as a Clinical Psychologist. To date he has worked with a number of clients across the lifespan, and with varying difficulties of emotion regulation.
Research: Tharen’s current research interests lie in understanding the neural underpinnings of mindfulness-based training in preadolescent children. Specifically, using a neuroimaging technique called functional near-infrared spectroscopy, he is investigating how children’s attentional and emotional regulatory processes respond to a mindfulness-based intervention. In doing so, his research will enable a better understanding of how mindfulness training works, and subsequently how best to use such training with this particular age group. This research is being supervised by Dr Rodrigo Becerra, Dr Allison Fox, Dr David Lawrence, and Professor Stephen Houghton.
Email: tharen.kander@research.uwa.edu.au
Anna Hanran-Smith
Research Assistant & PhD Candidate (UWA)
Anna has completed her Bachelor of Science and First Class Honours in Psychology at the University of Western Australia (UWA). She is passionate about children and youth’s mental health and the importance of early intervention. She is interested in neurodevelopmental conditions and has experience working alongside adolescents and adults with autism. Anna is currently undertaking her PhD under the supervision of A/Prof. Rodrigo Becerra, A/Prof. Kristin Gainey, Dr David Preece, and Prof. Wai Chen. Her research investigates ADHD traits and emotional processing, with a focus on emotional reactivity. Her goal for the future is to combine her passion for research and clinical practice to become an informed clinical psychologist. When she is not at her desk, you’ll find Anna reading at the beach.
Research: Anna’s research is investigating emotional processing in adults with ADHD traits, with a focus on emotional reactivity and emotional awareness. Previous research suggests that emotional symptoms are very common in adult ADHD and that they exhibit atypical emotional reactivity (i.e. increased intensity of emotions). It is not well understood how reactivity differs for positive and negative emotions, and what factors may influence levels of reactivity. Anna’s project will examine ADHD traits in the general adult population and the relationship with emotional processing areas such as emotional reactivity, emotional awareness, beliefs about emotion and emotion regulation. Anna also aims to investigate physiological changes associated with emotional reactivity.
Email: anna.hanran-smith@research.uwa.edu.au
Ria Singh
Research Assistant
Ria is currently pursuing Bachelors in Psychology at the University of Western Australia (UWA). She is volunteering as a research assistant with the Perth Emotion and Psychopathology lab under the supervision of A/Prof Rodrigo Becerra. Previously Ria has completed the McCusker Centre for Citizenship internship program at Telethon Kids Institute. She has also interned at the Learning, Individual Development, and Life lab at UWA. She has been closely associated with PsySoc- the UWA Psychology Society and with the International Students’ Department as the editor of the Lighthouse Magazine. Ria is passionate about understanding the dynamics of human behavior and learning about the implications of emotions in individual well-being. She hopes to be able to make a difference in the lives of people through meaningful research work and contribute towards the field of mental health.
Email: 23682621@student.uwa.edu.au
Student Members
Jack Brett
MPsych/PhD Candidate (Clinical Neuropsychology) (UWA)
Jack is a PhD candidate and clinical neuropsychology trainee at the University of Western Australia. He is interested in autism, emotion regulation, empathy, and Liverpool football club. He is currently working on a novel measure of empathy (that measures cognitive and affective empathy across positive and negative emotions) and investigating how autistic traits and emotion regulation relate to empathy.
Research: Jack’s research investigates the profile of empathy related to autism, and sees how emotion regulation may drive these relationships. People on the autism spectrum often find it challenging to infer others’ emotional states, suggesting reduced cognitive empathy (ability to infer others’ emotional states). However, many can share others’ emotions, suggesting an intact affective empathy (ability to experience others’ emotions vicariously). Jack is investigating this profile of empathy using a new measure of empathy, and by looking at potential causes of some of these difficulties.
Email: jack.brett@research.uwa.edu.au
Natalie Pepping
MPsych/PhD Candidate (Clinical Neuropsychology) (UWA)
Natalie completed a Bachelor of Science and First Class Honours at Murdoch University before moving to UWA for postgraduate study. Natalie is currently in her second year of the Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Clinical Neuropsychology course. Natalie’s main area of interest is brain injury research and neuropsychological intervention. In particular, Natalie is interested in the development of interventions for difficulties in emotional functioning after a brain injury. Difficulties regulating emotions are often reported following a brain injury and this can hamper recovery, and negatively impact psychological wellbeing and social relationships. During her time at UWA, Natalie’s main focus has been the adaptation of a group emotion regulation program for use in an acquired brain injury population.
Research: Our research will investigate the psychometric properties of the Perth Emotion Regulation Competency Inventory (PERCI), with the aim of determining its validity for use with individuals who have an acquired brain injury. In addition, guided by James Gross’ Extended Process Model, we aim to develop a group therapy program for individuals with a brain injury who have difficulty regulating their emotions. This program aims to improve emotion regulation ability by comprehensively addressing difficulties faced by individuals who have difficulty regulating their emotions, why and how these difficulties may occur and how we can overcome them, using examples drawn from the groups real-life experiences.
Email: natalie.pepping@research.uwa.edu.au
Aleisha Godenzie
PhD Candidate (Curtin)
Aleisha Godenzie completed her Bachelor of Science at Edith Cowan University, Graduate Diploma of Psychology at Murdoch university, and Master of Business Administration and Master of Psychology at Curtin University. Aleisha is a registered Psychologist and practices in Perth working predominantly with private patients. Aleisha’s areas of interest include mood, anxiety, trauma and personality disorders. Aleisha is active in the community with board experience including the Australian Psychological Society Perth Branch (former committee member and Chair of Professional Development Committee) and is the former Chairperson of the WA United Nations Association of Australia Gender Equity and UN Day Committees. Aleisha’s previous work with vulnerable and marginalised groups extends over a decade including advocacy and counselling of survivors of sexual and family violence. Aleisha has managed and rehabilitated offenders to reduce the harm of offending on the wider community and has represented the state in Magistrate and District Courts. Aleisha has worked across Private and Governmental managerial roles, to focus on enabling efficiency of services to improve the life of Western Australians.
Research: Loneliness is associated with an increased risk of mental and physical health problems, with estimates of up to an eight fold increase in a mental disorder diagnosis, and increased use of health care services. Recently the prevalence of loneliness has been amplified by COVID-19 and linked to the development of mental health problems in this context. Detecting and addressing loneliness will be critical in the ongoing recovery from the pandemic. Despite evidence that loneliness predisposes individuals to poor health outcomes, and evidence that it may be a condition in its own right, interventions for loneliness are in their infancy compared to the treatments of other mental health issues. The current PhD research project aims to explore the mechanisms underlying loneliness, and then use this knowledge to develop and evaluate a comprehensive group therapy intervention for the treatment of loneliness. This research is being supervised by Dr David Preece and Prof Peter McEvoy.
Email: aleisha.godenzie@postgrad.curtin.edu.au
Emily Clements
MPsych/PhD Candidate (Clinical Psychology) (UWA)
Emily is a 2nd-year student in the MPsych/Phd (Clinical Psychology) program at the University of Western Australia (UWA). She completed a Bachelor of Science (Hons) at UWA in 2021 and is also a graduate of the Hakomi Psychotherapy Professional Training. Her research centres on emotional wellbeing and social cognition following brain injury. Additional interests include neuropsychology, child and adolescent mental health and rehabilitation. Outside of uni, Emily enjoys playing and teaching flute, swimming, kayaking and above all, coffee!
Research: Emily’s research explores relationships between empathy, emotion regulation, and psychopathology in people with an acquired brain injury (ABI). Growing evidence suggests that empathy and emotion regulation processes are closely linked, however it is not clear how they interrelate in people with ABI. This is an important question, as emotion processing deficits are extremely common after brain injury, impacting survivors’ interpersonal relationships and emotional well-being. As part of this project, Emily also aims to validate a new measure for potential use in ABI populations – The Perth Empathy Scale.
Email: emily.clements@research.uwa.edu.au
Sarah de la Harpe
PhD/MPsych Candidate (Clinical Neuropsychology) (UWA)
Sarah is a second-year PhD Candidate and first-year MPsych (Clinical Neuropsychology) student at the University of Western Australia (UWA). She completed a Bachelor of Science at UWA and First Class Honours in Psychology at the University of Melbourne. Her research interests include emotion and face perception, particularly focused on the recognition of facial expressions. Her other interests include neuropsychology, alexithymia, and emotional wellbeing. When Sarah is not working, you’ll find her eating an acai bowl whilst reading a book at the beach.
Research: Sarah’s research investigates the perception of sad facial expressions, particularly focused on the impact of emotion genuineness, intensity and alexithymia, using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Sarah is currently finishing a qualitative study exploring the impact of perceived genuineness and culture on the meanings attributed to sad expressions. She is also working on a quantitative study investigating the relationships between emotional sensitivity and expression recognition in alexithymia.
Email: sarahhilary.delaharpe@research.uwa.edu.au
Khaiden Dow
PhD Candidate (Curtin)
Khaiden is currently undertaking a PhD under the supervision of Dr David Preece and Professor Wai Chen. Khaiden’s interests include furthering research into the dimensional approach of understanding a wide range of psychopathologies and neurodivergence. Khaiden is interested in the similarities between autism, ADHD, and psychotic-like conditions and how they relate to the broader structure of personality and clinical syndromes (e.g., OCD).
Research: The hierarchical taxonomy of psychopathology (HiTOP) utilises a dimensional approach (contrasting the traditional categorical approach of psychiatry), where mental health syndromes highlight three major higher-order factors (i.e., internalising, externalising, and thought disorder). These groups have gained substantial backing from the literature. However, a fourth neurodevelopmental factor may be included in future models due to frequent co-occurrence of neurodevelopmental disorders, but research on this higher-order factor remains sparse. Utilising a mixed-methods design, Khaiden’s overarching research aim is to then investigate the factors underlying a comprehensive assessment of neurodivergence, as well as create new assessment tools to map these dimensions more comprehensively.
Email: khaiden.dow@postgrad.curtin.edu.au
Tylah Johnston
MPsych/PhD Candidate (Clinical Psychology) (UWA)
Having completed her Honours and Masters research at Curtin within the lab, Tylah is now studying a Masters of Clinical Psychology and PhD at UWA. Tylah’s research is examining the relationships between emotion beliefs, emotion regulation, and emotion disorder symptoms. Tylah is passionate about empowering and supporting others. She currently actualises this passion through her role as a mental health support worker, peer specialist mentor, and instructor for a children’s wellness program.
Email: tylah.johnston@research.uwa.edu.au
Qianrong Liu
PhD Candidate (UWA)
Qianrong completed her Master of Science (Psychiatry and Mental Health) at Peking University. She is currently completing the Doctor of Philosophy in psychology at University of Western Australia (UWA), under the supervision of A/Prof. Rodrigo Becerra, A/Prof. Kristin Gainey and Dr David Preece. In her previous research endeavors, she focused on investigating emotional dysregulation within the ADHD population. Her research interests is to exploring emotional reactivity and emotion regulation across various trait groups. With the passion for helping people, she aspires to contribute to the intersection of clinical practice and scientific research.
Email: qianrong.liu@research.uwa.edu.au
Corwin Du Preez
PhD Candidate (Curtin)
Corwin completed his Bachelor of Psychology at Curtin University and his Master of Psychology (Professional). Corwin is currently working in private practice as a provisional psychologist. Previously, Corwin worked in the alcohol and other drug area for five years. During this time, he also worked as a research assistant on several clinical trials investigating novel pharmacotherapy treatments for alcohol and other drug treatments. These trials investigated the treatment of benzodiazepine dependence and withdrawal, alcohol withdrawal, marijuana use, and amphetamine use. Corwin is also a psychology tutor and facilitator at Edith Cowan University.
Research: Corwin’s research aims to investigate the emotion regulation of people experiencing death anxiety. His research will explore the prevalence of death anxiety in the community and the emotion regulation strategies people use when experiencing death anxiety. His PhD may also investigate the validity of a newly published death anxiety measure, an ecological momentary assessment of emotion regulation when experiencing death anxiety, or an emotion regulation-based treatment for death anxiety, depending on the findings from the initial studies.
Email: john.dupreez@student.curtin.edu.au
Maria Garland
PhD Candidate (Curtin)
Maria is a Clinical Nurse Consultant at Perth Children’s Hospital Eating Disorder Service. She is currently completing her PhD at Curtin University under the supervision of Dr David Preece, Dr Bethanie Gouldthorpe, and Assoiciate Professor Fenella Gill. Her research is exploring the role of alexithymia in anorexia nervosa, and trying to establish evidence-based treatments to address alexithymia in adolescents with eating disorders.
Email: maria.garland@postgrad.curtin.edu.au
Xanthe Muir
Mpsych/PhD Candidate (Clinical Psychology) (UWA)
Xanthe completed her Bachelor of Science with First Class Honours in Psychology at UWA, with support from the lab. Her Honours project interestingly revealed that the relationship between alexithymia and eating disorder symptoms may be partly driven by difficulties regulating positive emotions (in a non-clinical sample). This finding sparked her curiosity and led her to pursue a place in the combined Doctor of Philosophy/Master of Clinical Psychology program at UWA, where she is currently under the supervision of A/Prof. Rodrigo Becerra, Dr David Preece, and A/Prof. Kristin Gainey. Xanthe’s passion for clinical work is also informed by her experience as a mental health support worker and specialist peer mentor. Throughout her candidature, she is hoping to expand upon her Honours research and develop a more comprehensive understanding of the emotional processes underlying disordered eating, to inform treatment planning and address barriers to recovery. Xanthe’s long-term goal is to follow in the footsteps of her supervisors and practice as a clinical psychologist that is continuously informed by contemporary research. When she’s not working, you will find her crafting or listening to a podcast.
Email: xanthe.muir@research.uwa.edu.au
Jessica Whyte
Master of Research Student (Curtin)
Jessica is currently completing her Masters of Research (Psychology) at Curtin University under the supervision of Dr David Preece, Dr James Clarke, and Professor Wai Chen. Her interests include emotion regulation, personality disorders, trauma, childhood experiences, attachment, and social justice issues. Jessica is a volunteer mentor at Raise Foundation – an organisation that provides support to young people who are at risk of disengagement or poor wellbeing. Currently, Jessica’s research focuses on exploring and mapping the profiles of emotion regulation and alexithymia that underpin Borderline Personality Disorder symptomology.
Email: jessica.l.whyte@student.curtin.edu.au
Luke How Son
Master of Research Student (Curtin)
Luke is currently completing his Masters of Research (Psychology) at Curtin University, being supervised by Dr David Preece, Dr James Clarke, and Professor Wai Chen. Luke’s research is exploring the links between autistic traits, emotion regulation, and alexithymia. His interests include neuropsychology, social psychology, neurodivergence, trauma, and various psychopathologies. He currently participates in a youth reference group for Headspace, aimed at advocating for youth mental health.
Email: luke.howson@student.curtin.edu.au
Michael Landman
PhD Candidate (Curtin)
Michael is currently completing his PhD in psychology at Curtin University, being supervised by Professor Warren Mansell. Michael’s research thesis is exploring the applications of Perceptual Control Theory (PCT).
Email: michael.landman@curtin.edu.au
Karis Hui En Koh
MPsych/PhD Candidate (Clinical Psychology) (UWA)
Karis is a first-year student in the combined PhD and Master of Clinical Psychology programme at the University of Western Australia (UWA) under the supervision of A/Prof. Rodrigo Becerra and A/Prof. Kristin Gainey. She completed her Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Psychology at the University of Alberta, Canada. Upon graduation, she worked as a clinical and research coordinator in the Psychiatry Department at Tan Tock Seng Hospital in Singapore. Currently, her research focuses on the role of emotional reactivity in mental health and mental well-being. Aside from research, she enjoys spending her time as a musician, sign language interpreter, and birder.
Email: karis.koh@research.uwa.edu.au
Jenna Riordan
Honours Student (UWA)
Jenna is an Honours student at the University of Western Australia (UWA) under the supervision of A/Prof. Rodrigo Becerra. Jenna’s research involves investigating individual differences that influence levels of coherence between people’s subjective experience of emotional stimuli and their physiological responses, with a particular focus on anxiety. Jenna is passionate about understanding behaviour and emotions to be able to provide meaningful help and support to people. She hopes to continue her academic career in Psychology.
Email: 23184879@student.uwa.edu.au
Kimberley Pace
Honours Student (UWA)
Kimberley is a current Psychology honours student supervised by Rodrigo Becerra at UWA. She came to psychology via an arts partway. After completing a Contemporary Art and Fashion BA(2011) and Master by Research degree(2015) at ECU, she had become interested in the motivations and processes behind human behaviour and completed a Psychology BA at UWA in 2022. Her interest in the research at the Emotion and Psychopathology Lab was established after volunteering as a research assistant in 2023. Her honours research is focused on exploring the relationships between emotional coherence, emotional regulation, and beliefs about emotions. She currently works in peer support and can sometimes be found sharing her enthusiasm for psychology by facilitating first year psychology labs as a demonstrator at UWA.
Email: 22801623@student.uwa.edu.au
External Collaborators
Lab Alumni
UWA
Jasmine Hancock, Honours (2019)
Courtney Stewart, Honours (2019)
Alison Monsoon, Honours (2020)
Toby Watkins, Honours (2020)
Tianah McBride, Honours (2020)
Savannah Moscarda, Masters (2021)
Jane Steinberg, Honours (2021)
Xanthe Muir, Honours (2021)
Valentina Correa Castillo, Honours (2022)
Erica Fay, Honours (2023)
Beck Greiner, Honours (2023)
Danielle Fynn, PhD (2023)
Joan Chan, PhD (2023)
Curtin
Alyssa Tan, Honours (2021)
Ethan Pemberton, Honours (2021)
Jessica De Agrela, Honours (2021)
Moriah Deaman, Honours (2022)
Lewis Stulcbauer, Honours (2022)
Michael Landman, Honours (2022)
Cecilia Starkstein, Honours (2023)
Sabrina Winterstein, Masters (2023)
Tylah Johnston, Masters (2023)
Jessica Whyte, Honours (2023)
Luke How Son, Honours (2023)
Samuel James, Honours (2023)
Jennifer Bohnet, Honours (2023)
Khaiden Dow, Masters (2023)