A Brief Biography

I am credentialled mental health nurse and psychotherapist. I presently work for Southern Cross University as a Senior Lecturer and coordinate the SCU-Online post graduate mental health programmes. I completed my doctorate with James Cook University (Australia) whilst working at Dublin City University (Ireland) from 2007-2011. My recent posts have been as a clinical nurse consultant working in an Emergency Department and as an Adolescent Mental Health Nurse Navigator. I have previously worked as a a team leader for a homelessness outreach team, clinical nurse consultant on a community team and a mobile intensive treatment team, and for a year was a researcher/project officer. Whilst in Townsville I completed a post graduate diploma in psychotherapy with the University of Queensland and have subsquently completed a masters in psychotherapy have and done further training in EMDR. Prior to this I worked as a senior lecturer at the Eastern Institute of Technology in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand and completed undergraduate and an honors degrees at Massey University.

My clinical experience, research and teaching has largely been in the field of psychiatric and mental health nursing although more recently I've been working with the homeless sector. I have worked in a large rural (and infamous) psychiatric hospital (all areas) in New Zealand, regional in-patient units and a day hospital. I have taught and co-ordinated papers at both under-graduate and post-graduate / registration level. Teaching areas have included clinical mental health nursing, psychotherapy, research, ethics, sociology, clinical teaching and pharmacology. Current research interests include suicide, migrant mental health (not surprising given my serial migration) and recovery (also not surprising given my penchant for various excesses). My original training in nursing was undertaken at Wellington Polytechnic. I am privileged to have many fantastic people as my teachers, friends and mentors.

I have a commitment to developing the conditions necessary to promote mental health / wellbeing and to facilitate recovery.