Matthew Flinders Distinguished Professor Tracey Wade has worked as a clinician and researcher in mental health for over 30 years. She is the director of the Flinders University Services for Eating Disorders. She has cowritten 3 books on cognitive behaviour therapy for eating disorders and perfectionism and has over 300 publications in peer reviewed journals. In 2015 she was elected a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia.

In 2023 she was the recipient of the Australian Association for Cognitive and Behavioural Therapy Distinguished Career Award. In 2025 she received the Academy of Eating Disorders Leadership Award in Research, the Australia and New Zealand Academy of Eating Disorders Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Australian Psychological Society Distinguished Contribution to Psychological Science Award. Over 2024 to 2028 she is supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council Investigator Grant 2025665.

This project aims to improve the mental health of children aged 7–12 by addressing a key transdiagnostic (i.e., across different diagnoses) risk factor: perfectionism. Elevated perfectionism in childhood is linked to a range of adverse outcomes, including anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and academic concerns. Early intervention to teach children the skills to reduce perfectionism not only improves immediate wellbeing but also builds long-term resilience against future mental health difficulties. Whilst Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Perfectionism (CBT-P) has strong evidence for its effectiveness in improving a variety of mental health indicators in adolescents upwards, there is a lack of validated treatment options for perfectionism in children. Growing Strong Minds, based on our well established CBT-P protocol, has been piloted with promising results when delivered to children by parents receiving guided support. Unlike school-based or clinician-led programs, this model empowers caregivers to support their children directly – broadening access and allowing targeted delivery to those most in need. Involving parents also enhances modelling of adaptive behaviours and expectations in the home. This project is highly feasible: the team has completed a successful pilot, established recruitment pathways in the context of a strong track record of impactful research on perfectionism and intervention development. We
anticipate short-term improvements in participant mental health, with long-term benefits including greater resilience and the potential for scalable, non-specialist dissemination of a validated childhood perfectionism intervention.

Co-investigators: Dr Madelaine de Valle, Professor Sarah Egan and Emeritus Professor Roz Shafran