Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Child Mental Health
BPsych (Hons), PhD
Dr Alix Woolard is a research fellow in Child Mental Health within the Youth Mental Health team and is working on the Embrace project. Alix’s current research is looking at childhood trauma and the ways we can identify, target, intervene and improve the lives of children and young people who have experienced trauma. She’s currently working on an intervention to improve the psychological recovery of children who experience a traumatic burn injury.
Alix completed her Bachelor’s degree and PhD in Psychology at the University of Newcastle under the supervision of a collaborative team including Professor Alison Lane, Dr Linda Campbell, Dr Titia Benders, Professor Frini Karayanidis, and Dr Daniel Barker. Alix is experienced in clinical developmental assessment and research methodology, and is passionate about cross-disciplinary collaboration. She has recently worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Sydney’s Brain and Mind Institute focussing on neurodevelopmental research across the lifespan. Alix’s research background is in parent-child interactions, social development, early signs of autism and neurodevelopmental disabilities, and most recently, childhood trauma.
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Projects
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Publications
January 2024
Treatment for Childhood and Adolescent Dissociation: A Systematic Review
Dissociative symptoms are linked to experiences of trauma, often originating in childhood and adolescence. Dissociative disorders are associated with a high burden of illness and a poor quality of life. Despite evidence suggesting that early intervention can improve outcomes, little research exists on the treatment of dissociative disorders in childhood and adolescence.
Published research Early Childhood Development Children's Lung Health Youth Mental Health Child and adolescent healthMarch 2024Pre-service teachers’ experiences with students impacted by Trauma in the school setting
Experiencing trauma can adversely impact a child's education and their lifelong social, physical and mental health. Trauma is poorly understood by those working within the education sector. Teachers play a pivotal role in recognising and helping when children display trauma-related behaviours, but risk re-traumatising children if not adequately trained. Pre-service teachers have limited exposure and experience in responding to the different needs experienced by children impacted by trauma.
Published research Early Childhood Development School Attendance Youth Mental Health Mental healthFebruary 2024A wellbeing program to promote mental health in paediatric burn patients: Study protocol
One of the most traumatic injuries a child can experience is a severe burn. Despite improvements in medical treatments which have led to better physical outcomes and reduced mortality rates for paediatric burns patients, the psychological impact associated with experiencing such a traumatic injury has mostly been overlooked. This is concerning given the high incidence of psychopathology amongst paediatric burn survivors.
Published research Children's Lung Health Youth Mental Health Mental healthJun 2023“It's a big trauma for the family”: A qualitative insight into the psychological trauma of paediatric burns from the perspective of mothers
Despite the medical and surgical improvements of paediatric burn injuries, burn injuries can be a painful and traumatic experience for the child and their family. It is therefore important to explore the experiences of caregivers who support their child throughout the burn journey. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore the traumatic nature of paediatric burns on the family from a caregiver's perspective.
Published research Youth Mental HealthSeptember 2023The queers are all right: a content analysis of LGBTQIA + mental health on TikTok
The formation of online communities instils a sense of connectedness which can ameliorate the mental health concerns that result from minority stressors for lesbian, gay, queer, intersex, asexual, and other diverse genders/sexualities (LGBTQIA+). The aim of this study was to explore how LGBTQIA + people communicate social and mental health concerns on TikTok.
Published research Human Development and Community Wellbeing Gender Diversity Youth Mental HealthJuly 2023The relationship between pitch contours in infant-directed speech and early signs of autism in infancy
Mother-infant interactions during the first year of life are crucial to healthy infant development. The infant-directed speech (IDS), and specifically pitch contours, used by mothers during interactions are associated with infant language and social development.
Autism Spectrum Published research Early Childhood Development Youth Mental HealthMarch 2023The Investigation of Health-Related Topics on TikTok: A Descriptive Study Protocol
The social media application TikTok allows users to view and upload short-form videos. Recent evidence suggests it has significant potential for both industry and health promoters to influence public health behaviours. This protocol describes a standardised, replicable process for investigations that can be tailored to various areas of research interest, allowing comparison of content and features across public health topics.
Published research Child Disability Ear Health Youth Mental Health Healthy Skin and ARF Prevention Food and Nutrition Early Years SystemsJun 2023"I just get scared it's going to happen again": a qualitative study of the psychosocial impact of pediatric burns from the child's perspective
Advances in medicine have improved the chances of survival following burn injuries, however, psychosocial outcomes have not seen the same improvement, and burn injuries can be distressing for both the child or young person, negatively affecting their wellbeing. Pediatric burn patients are at a higher risk of developing psychopathology compared to the general population.
Published research Youth Mental HealthApril 2023The effectiveness of a day hospital mentalization-based therapy programme for adolescents with borderline personality traits: Findings from Touchstone—Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service
Individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) are at a substantial risk of harm to themselves and others, experience high levels of functional impairment and typically are high users of tertiary healthcare to address their mental health concerns. As indicators for BPD typically emerge in adolescence, a day therapy service in Bentley, Western Australia, Touchstone Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), was developed as an intensive intervention for adolescents with indicators for BPD and its associated symptomology.
Published research Human Development and Community Wellbeing Youth Mental Health Early Neurodevelopment and Mental Health Youth mental healthDecember 2022Reach and perceived effectiveness of a community-led active outreach postvention intervention for people bereaved by suicide
Postvention is a core component of suicide prevention strategies, internationally. However, the types of supports provided to people impacted by suicide vary widely. This study examines the perceived effectiveness of the Primary Care Navigator (PCN) model for people bereaved by suicide. The PCN model was implemented in response to a suicide cluster.
Published research Youth Mental Health Geospatial Health and Development Youth mental healthJuly 2022Parent-infant interaction quality is related to preterm status and sensory processing
Parent-infant interactions provide the foundation for the development of infant socioemotional wellbeing. Preterm birth can have a substantial, and often detrimental, impact on the quality of early parent-infant interactions. Sensory processing difficulties, common in preterm infants, are further associated with poorer interaction quality.
Published research Early Childhood Development Youth Mental Health Pre-term birthFebruary 2022Resilience and Posttraumatic Growth after Burn: A Review of Barriers, Enablers, and Interventions to Improve Psychological Recovery
Burn injuries are traumatic experiences that can detrimentally impact an individual’s psychological and emotional wellbeing. Despite this, some survivors adapt to psychosocial challenges better than others despite similar characteristics relating to the burn.
Published research Youth Mental HealthDecember 2021The psychological impact of paediatric burn injuries: a systematic review
To review and synthesise qualitative literature regarding the psychological outcomes following paediatric burn injuries, and to determine if children and adolescents who experience a burn injury have elevated risk of psychopathology following the injury.
Published research Youth Mental Health Youth mental health -
Education and Qualifications
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Awards/Honours
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Active Collaborations