Psychology Research Projects

Associate Professor Madelyn Geldenhuys

Madelyn is a mid-career researcher with an established program of psychology research. She has been working as a researcher for over 17 years specialising in organisational psychology, specifically self-regulation, psychological well-being, stress and burnout management, personality and career progression. She has an extensive career in student research project supervision, secured research funding and collaborates on research at a national and international level.

Research projects:

• The role of self-determination strategies on reducing burnout in the workplace.
• Tolerance of uncertainty in counsellors, psychotherapists and psychologists.

Associate Professor Melissa Davis

Associate Professor Melissa Davis’s work focuses on teaching and learning in psychology, particularly, but not exclusively related to postgraduate professional psychology training and competency-based assessment. She is also involved in work on how professional accreditation standards relate to registration standards to drive required professional competencies. Melissa also has an interest in interprofessional education for psychology students and wellbeing in tertiary education students more broadly.

Research projects:

• Projects may involve quantitative and/or qualitative methodology.

Dr Raquel Peel

Dr Raquel Peel is an internationally recognised relationships expert and an award-winning educator and researcher. Her TEDx talk on relationship sabotage was featured as one of the most popular talks in the TED series 'How to Be a Better Human' and TEDxShorts. Her current research program encompasses studies on interpersonal relationships, mental health, suicide, and education.

Research projects:

• The cycle of relationship sabotage: From communication of romantic interest to dissolution of intimate engagements.
• Fake Date: Combating romance and dating scams.

Dr Jonas Chan

Jonas’ research focuses on understanding the basic learning principles that underlie behavioural and mental processes such as reasoning, decision-making, and problem solving.

Research projects:

• Cognitive and Behavioural Factors Underlying Human Causal Learning.

Dr Jesse Bourke

Jesse is a clinical psychologist, cognitive neuroscientist, and academic teaching and supervising in professional psychology. Clinically he works primarily with trauma, personality, and dissociative conditions and is currently conducting psychological research exploring how mentalizing and epistemic trust are related to these constructs, especially in non-clinical populations. As a neuroscientist he studies the physiology, anatomy, and connectivity of the brain in relation to the auditory system. As a clinician-researcher who works with minds in 'talk therapy' and studies brains in 'speech processing' he is most enthusiastic about ‘active inference’ as a unifying model of mind, brain, and behaviour for clinical psychological science and practice.

Research projects:

• Relationships of Mentalizing and Epistemic Trust to Social-Emotional Well-Being.

Jonathan O’Neill

Jonathan is a Counselling Psychologist and Lecturer in Psychology at Notre Dame’s Fremantle campus. He has worked extensively as a practitioner in both public and private settings specialising in trauma, sexuality and gender. Jonathan continues to work in private practice, providing therapeutic services for a wide range of clients and presenting issues. Jonathan’s research experience has focused on gender diversity. His Masters research focused on the lived experiences of transgender people in Western Australia, and his current PhD research is exploring the lived experiences of gender de- and retransition across Australia. Jonathan has presented at numerous conferences worldwide in the fields of sexuality and gender.

Research projects:

• Gender identity and the lived experiences of gender de- and retransition across Australia.

Dr Sara Parsafar

Dr. Parsafar has extensive knowledge and experience in clinical practice, teaching, and coordinating psychology units, courses, programs, and research projects. She is a highly skilled researcher with significant experience supervising PhD, Master's, and Honours theses across a diverse range of topics. Her research expertise spans several key areas, with a current focus on Mental Health, Trauma, Cross-cultural Psychology, and the Wellbeing of First Nations populations. Dr. Parsafar is dedicated to advancing impactful research that addresses complex psychological issues through systematic reviews, as well as qualitative and mixed-methods research. Her work focuses on understanding and addressing the unique psychological challenges faced by diverse populations

Research projects:

• Systematic reviews on topics to be discussed and tailored to reflect students' areas of interest and expertise.

Dr Robbie Busch

Robbie is a mid-career researcher with an established program in critical psychology and experience in teaching and applying qualitative research. His PhD examined theoretical differences between narrative therapy and evidence-based practice. His current interests are in social power relations, wellbeing, environments, media, and masculinity.

Research projects:

• Constructions of masculinity and gendered power relations in an Australian reality television program.
• Workplace civility and defence mechanisms of politicians during national or state parliamentary debates.
• Constructions and moral positionings of justice, health, gender or ethnicity in Australian talkback radio.
• Conversational dilemmas, strategies and emotional geographies with caller phone-ins during an emergency broadcast.

Sarah Gaudieri

Sarah Gaudieri is an experienced educator with a background in psychology and education. Her PhD research explored the lived experiences of developmental neurological differences from a former student and teacher perspective. Sarah’s qualitative research interests include neurodevelopmental diagnoses, developmental psychology, mental health and wellbeing.

Research projects:

• Inclusive education and policy development.
• Autism and employment.
• The role of the classroom for students with ADHD.
• Tertiary-level health educators’ knowledge of teaching students with disabilities.

Dr Geoff Lyons

Dr Geoff Lyons has a background in clinical psychology and counselling. He practices as a holistic healer and counsellor, integrating empirically-supported talking therapies with emerging spiritual and energetic-based healing therapies. His research focuses on the use of spiritually-based complementary therapies to enhance health and wellness in both religious and non-religious populations. Dr Lyons has a particular interest in the role of spiritual and shamanic healing as adjunctive treatments for stress, trauma, and chronic pain. Other approaches of interest can include things such as yoga, breathwork, prayer, energy and sound therapies.

Research projects:

• An exploration of therapeutic outcomes and clinical experiences of shamanic healing practitioners and their clients
• Literature reviews related to the use of spiritually-based therapies for mental health
• Literature reviews related to the development of counselling competencies

Professor Abraham Francis

Professor Francis is passionate about working and researching strengths-based practice in mental health. He has extensively contributed to the literature on Social Work Practice in mental health through his publications, convening conferences, establishing research networks, and developing consortiums. His research interests are in the fields of communities, mental health, wellness at the workplace, flourishing, collective flourishing, criminal justice, international social work, and gerontological social work.

Research projects:

• These are to be determined with students. Professor Francis will co-supervise projects with Dr Raquel Peel.

Associate Professor Dion Khlentzos

Dion is a counsellor and psychologist and has been an educator, researcher and clinician for over 15 years. Dion’s research has covered topics of counselling education, faith, gender, mental health, and domestic violence. His research has included qualitative and quantitative methodologies.

Research projects:

• Parenting programs for fathers in recovery from addictions.
• Attachment in higher education students.
• Christianity, cultural diversity and viewpoint diversity.
• Domestic and family violence in Australia.