After completing a double degree in Psychology and Marketing at the University of Wollongong, I found that I had a very strong passion for psychology, and decided to undertake my honours year in Psychological Science. The research experience was highly enjoyable and rewarding, and this sparked my interest in starting a PhD. I was very fortunate to be accepted to commence a PhD in Clinical Psychology at UOW in 2018 and have loved the experience so far!

I am particularly interested in examining help-seeking behaviours in individuals such as emergency services personnel, who constantly help others but who often struggle to seek appropriate help for themselves. I am very much looking forward to the years ahead, and hope that my research will assist to improve the health and wellbeing of Australian emergency services personnel.”

This research aims to develop a deeper understanding of the factors influencing mental health help-seeking in Australian paramedics, with a specific focus on factors that may be inherent to the occupation. There is a particular interest in understanding how role identity impacts help-seeking in paramedics, and examining the influence of educational training experiences.

There are three key phases for the project:

1. A systematic review will provide a thorough overview of the literature, with the aim to consolidate previous research on barriers and facilitators to help-seeking in emergency services employees, and identify current gaps in the research. These gaps will form recommendations to stimulate future research in the area.
2. A qualitative study will be conducted to examine the ‘occupation-specific’ factors influencing help-seeking in paramedics. Through a series of in-depth interviews with Australian paramedics, the study aims to understand how paramedics frame their identity, and how help-seeking does (or does not) fit into this identity.
3. Building upon the findings of the prior study, this quantitative phase of the research aims to determine the strength of relationships between paramedic identity and help-seeking, and examine whether educational experiences can play a moderating role. These educational experiences include initial paramedic training courses via Australian institutions, as well as current educational programs, workshops and interventions implemented at workplaces and via continuing professional development. The findings of this study will have key relevance for the design and implementation of successful interventions and strategies to increase mental health help-seeking in current and future Australian paramedics.

Supervisors: Professor Peter Caputi, Professor Frank Deane, Dr Paul Simpson, Dr Liz Thyer