Christine is an Educational & Developmental Psychologist, Fulbright Scholar & Academic. She works collaboratively with healthcare professionals, teachers, parents and young people to support the individual and unique needs of youth. Her research interests lie in engaging with the young person's perspective and experience. As a psychologist she has worked in schools, hospitals and in private practice in various supporting roles with young people and their families. Alongside clinical practice she lectures in inclusive education and psychology and supervise research students within this area. Underlying her research interest is her passion for supporting the needs of all students in the best ways possible through their active participation and agency. Christine's doctoral research examined three interventions for children of parents with a mental illness which received the Lewis & Lewis Educational & Developmental Psychology Postgraduate Research Award.

Christine's research interests have lead to bridging education and psychology to understand the experiences and needs of youth in schools and the community; including individuals with diverse and high needs. Projects Christine has led or actively contributed to have been funded by the Department of Education and Training, Department of Families, Fairness and Housing, Fulbright Association, VicHealth, AFL Australia, Mackillop Education, Australian Psychological Society, Special Olympics Australia, Victoria Tennis Association, Western Australian Health Promotion Foundation, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), NSW Correction Services, Victims Services, and the Queen Elizabeth Centre (QEC). She's provided expert advice to government and peak bodies at a national and international level. I was invited to attend European Parliament in Brussels to provide expert comment about the mental health of children and young carers (2019). Christine has also provided advise to a current Federal Shadow Minister about the mental health impacts of COVID-19 on children (2020-2021).

Her work has received excellence awards and recognition including a Fulbright Fellowship (2021-2022), Dean's Award for Innovation for Learning and Teaching (2021) which was further nominated for a Vice-Chancellors Award, and The Australian Teacher Education Association Research Recognition Award (2020). In 2019, Christine was listed as 1 of Australia’s top 50 thinkers nominated by The Conversation and I was a recipient of the Deans Early Career Researcher Award (Monash University, 2017) to develop and pilot online digital applications that provide educational mental health supports for youths. 

Christine is collaborating in two international research groups. One group aims to develop an international scale of recovery and mental health knowledge of youth with colleagues based in the USA, Netherlands and in Australia. The two scales are based on a holistic, stakeholder-informed, and pro-family model of mental illness. The scales were developed to establish an evidence of mental health programs and to generate an international database of youth mental health literacy. Currently, the scales are being translated into Chinese, Dutch, German, Norwegian, Danish, Bahasa, Portuguese, Czech and French. The second group she co-leads is the Child, Parent and Family Mental Health Worldwide Network Communications Group focused on translating and disseminating research knowledge where families have a parent with mental illness. 

Christine has held a number of leaderhsip positions in the Faculty of Education, Monash University. University and Faculty engagement activities include directing the Offshore programs as Education Coordinator in Singapore and Hong Kong (2017-2021) and an active member of the Education Faculty Committee and Student Engagement Committee. Previous activities include Student Adviser for Master of Teaching (Primary and Secondary), Master of Teaching (Secondary), Graduate Diploma in Education (2015- 2016) and International Placement Coordinator for the Cook Islands (2017-2018).

Beyond academia, Christine is an AHPRA Board Endorsed Supervisor, a fellow of the Australian Psychological Society (APS) (MAPS, FCEDP), treasurer of the Victorian branch Educational and Developmental College Committee, a member of The United Nations Association of Australia Academic Network (UNAA), an International Affiliate Member of the American Psychological Association (APA) and a previous member of the Golden Key International Honor Society. SHe is a volunteer of the APS Disaster Response Network, a national network of Psychologists who have a special interest and expertise in working with individuals and communities affected by disasters and emergencies, volunteering in response to bushfires, floods, cyclones, as well as community-violence events.

Keep updated about her research online: 

• Social and emotional learning
• Mental health and wellbeing of children and adolescents
• Youth voice and engagement
• Inclusion and special education
• Prevention and early intervention
• Children and families where a parent has a mental illness
• Therapy dogs in clinical and educational settings 

Research Methods

• Mixed-methods research design
• Participatory research methods
• Qualitative methodologies

Current Research Projects

• Developing a scale to understand youth knowledge of mental health and recovery
• Building an evidence base for animal assisted interventions: The use of Therapy dogs in clinical and educational settings
• Developing and evaluating an artificial intelligence application to support the mental health of young people
• Youth Reference Group to provide feedback on current research program to ensure they are addressing youth needs and to translate research to key stakeholders