Dr Rosie Rooney will talk about POSITIVE THINKING.
Dr Rooney is a senior lecturer at Curtin University of technology in Western Australia and has obtained a number of large grants as well as published in the areas of childhood depression and anxiety.
She has been the principal investigator in the development and evaluation of the Aussie Optimism Positive Thinking Skills Program (AOP-PTS) aimed preventing depression and anxiety in 8-9 year old children and has received a number of grants which have enabled her to follow-up a cohort of 900 children between 2004 and 2009.
She has also been the principal investigator in the development of the Aussie Optimism Feelings and Friends Program, aimed at preventing anxiety and depression in 6-8 year old children. She is a member of the International Comparative Study of Ethnocultural Groups (ICSEY) and was a co-author in a collaborative book on adaptation of CALD youth with a special interest in adaptation of Vietnamese youth across seven different countries.
Along with her colleagues, she has been instrumental in writing guidelines for reducing the stigma of mental illness in CALD mental health (e.g., L. Bakshi, R.Rooney., & K .O’Neil, Reducing stigma about mental illness in transcultural settings: A guide. Melbourne: Australian Transcultural Mental Health Network), as well as producing a cultural awareness tool for the management of mental health in CALD settings which is on its second print run Australia wide.
She has carried out a wide range of research projects on CALD mental health including understanding explanatory models of Iraqi women’s experiences in the year following the birth of their baby and a support group for Iraqi women in the year following the birth of their baby in partnership with WA Perinatal Mental Health.
She worked at King Edward Hospital in the area of prevention of Postnatal depression working with Associate Professor Sherryl Pope from 1992-1998 as well as working in the private and public sector as a clinical psychologist in areas such as postnatal depression, adult anxiety and depression and child clinical settings.
