Dr Violette McGaw is a psychologist, researcher and lecturer within the School of Educational Psychology and Counselling, Faculty of Education, Monash University. She is also a Board-Approved supervisor and scientist-practitioner. In 2021 Dr McGaw was nominated for the Mollie Holman Award for Best Doctoral Thesis in the Faculty of Education. Her doctoral thesis explored the lived experiences of veterans,  partners and youth, where the veteran parent has PTSD related to military service. Findings from this study have been presented at: the 5th International Conference on Families with Parental Mental Health Challenges (Switzerland) in 2016; the International Conference of the Parenal and Family Mental Health Worldwide Collaborative (Prato, Italy); and the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide (Australia) in 2022. 

Dr McGaw is an Educational & Developmental Psychologist, fellow of the College of Educational and Developmental Psychology, with extensive counselling experience with adults, teens and children in both private practice and hospital settings. She has a strong background in military and veteran clients, specialising in trauma and associated issues.

Dr McGaw also has a special interest in working with neurodiverse clients across the lifespan, particularly adults with late diagnoses. Her research areas focus on families living with trauma, veteran families, trauma-informed practices, families living with adversity, neurodiversity and those where a parent experiences mental health challenges.

• Families where a parent has a mental illness
• Intergenerational trauma and the intersection with neurodiversity
• Family focused practice within mental healthcare
• Trauma-Informed practices within educational settings
• ADHD within families, schools and workplaces

• Trauma and intersection with neurodiversity, particularly in military and first responder families
• Teacher experiences with trauma informed practices within schools 
• Family focused practice within veteran mental healthcare systems
• Evaluation of EASE: a training package for mental health professionals

• EDF4605 Introduction to Counselling Psychology
• EDF5062 Grief and Trauma Counselling
• EDF 5561 Clinical Case Formulation