Dr Debbie Hocking has worked as a researcher and clinician with people seeking asylum for almost 15 years. After completing her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology in 2013 she commenced a postdoctoral researcher role at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental health. In 2016 she took up the position of research fellow at Cabrini Outreach, and has also held an appointment as Adjunct Research Fellow at Monash University, Department of Psychiatry, since 2016. 

Dr Hocking has a particular interest in the areas of social psychiatry and translational research. She has co-developed a screening tool for non-mental health workers to identify likely mental disorders in adult forced migrants and is developing similar screening tools for forced migrant youth. She is currently engaged in research prospectively exploring the relationship between immigration detention and health status.

Dr Hocking’s research has been published in international psychiatry journals and she has presented her findings extensively to Australian and international academic and clinical audiences through conferences and trainings.

Dr Hocking additionally works with asylum seekers in a clinical role at the Cabrini Asylum Seeker and Refugee Health Hub in Brunswick.