Alysa Bachmann, who earned her Bachelor of Psychological Science with First Class Honours from CQUniversity in 2020, is a passionate advocate for mental health. Her professional journey as a Provisional Psychologist involved conducting assessments for children as well as supporting individuals living with psychosocial disabilities. These experiences have contributed to her interest in researching mental health challenges.

Currently, Alysa works as a Research Assistant with Dr Madeline Sprajcer at the Appleton Institute, focusing on projects related to fatigue management, road safety, and sleep health. Her role includes collecting and analysing data, conducting focus groups, and reviewing academic literature. Her dedication has led to multiple publications in respected academic journals.

Alysa is deeply committed to supporting and improving mental health in high-stress professions, particularly within the emergency services. Her hands-on experience and academic background drive her goal to create safer and healthier workplaces. By focusing on psychosocial safety and improving work conditions, Alysa aims to support the wellbeing of individuals in demanding roles, making a significant impact on their lives.

Emergency service workers in Australia (e.g., police, fire, and ambulance) face serious mental health challenges due to stress, high job demands, trauma, shiftwork (and associated impacts on sleep), poor management, lack of support, and bullying. New laws now require organisations to identify and manage these risks within the workplace.

My program of work aims to improve how these mental health risks are handled by:
1)  Reviewing the Research: I will investigate how mental health risks are currently managed in emergency services and how effective these methods are.
2) Reviewing Current Frameworks: I will check if current tools and methods meet legal requirements and identify any gaps.
3) Surveying Workers: I will ask emergency service workers about their experiences and how their mental health could be better supported.
4) Creating a New Tool for Emergency Services Organisations: I will develop, with input from experts, a new tool/s that emergency services organisations will be able to use to help better identify and manage psychosocial hazards in their workplaces.

This project aims to help emergency services organisations to create safer, healthier workplaces, comply with new laws, and improve overall health and wellbeing in workers.

Supervisors: Dr Madeline Sprajcer, Dr Grace Vincent and A/Professor Matthew Thomas.