Dr. Catherine Brasier

B.A., B.S.W (hons), Ph.D, Cert IV Alcohol and other drug counselling, Cert IV TAE

Connecting research and industry with those who matter most

Catherine is also currently employed as a Consumer Academic and Post-doctoral Research Fellow at the Social Work and Social Policy at La Trobe University. She also provides private consulting.

Her work is informed by her own lived experience of mental distress and recovery, as well as her experiences as a community mental health worker. Catherine worked as a community mental health worker from 2007 to 2014 with a focus on people with complex service needs and residential support.

She has completed projects for the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health Services and is published in World Psychiatry [Impact Factor 49.55] (see publications). She has demonstrated that she can complete compelling pieces of social research using her unique combination of perspectives – lived experience, service delivery and research.

Catherine provides specialist consulting for research, service delivery and industry projects. Including:

Peer supervision and mentoring for the Lived Experience workforce
Support to increase the optimal incorporation of people with lived experience in research and service delivery
Training, mentoring and support for researchers (including grant and publication support)
Communication and relationship development with consumers, community members and key stakeholders
Facilitation services
Reviews of evidence (including systematic reviews and quality appraisal/risk of bias)
Evaluations
Study design
Specialist and government reports

Catherine leads projects that aim to increase the participation of consumers in research and service development, especially in leadership and decision making roles. She has been invited to complete work for the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System, University of Melbourne, Office of the Chief Psychiatrist, Department of Health and Human Services, NorthWestern Mental Health, Melbourne Health, Australian Social Workers Association, Victorian Interprofessional Leadership Network. She concluded her role as Consumer Academic (2019-20) in the Recovery and Social Justice Unit, Centre for Mental Health at the University of Melbourne. She led the academic underpinnings for the ‘Peer Personality’ program at Barwon Health.

She was awarded a competitive scholarship ($90,000) for her PhD evaluating the effectiveness of a psychosocial intervention ‘The Stroke and Carer Optimal Health Program’. The papers from this RCT (n=173) is listed in ‘Publications’.

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