#10 – Refugee and Post-Conflict Mental Health with Dr Angela Nickerson

August 17, 2015 |
clinical psychologist dr angela nickerson

Dr Angela Nickerson is a Senior lecturer at the School of Psychology, UNSW Australia, and Director of the Refugee Trauma and Recovery Program.  Her research focuses on understanding the psychological mechanisms underpinning refugee and post-conflict mental health, and developing effective interventions for traumatic stress reactions in refugees. She is also interested in the impact of policy on refugee mental health, and cross-cultural considerations in psychological processes. She has worked with numerous refugee and post-conflict populations in Australia, Switzerland, the United States, and Timor Leste.

Prior to taking up her position at the University of NSW, Angela conducted post-doctoral research at Harvard University and Boston University, investigating psychological responses to loss and trauma. She is a practising clinical psychologist specialising in traumatic stress reactions. At the University of NSW, Angela is involved in training therapists on the Master of Clinical Psychology program, lecturing on anxiety and mood disorders, traumatic stress responses, refugee mental health, and cross-cultural considerations in mental health.

Suggested Resources

The NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS)

House of Welcome 

Asylum Seeker Resource Centre 

Refugee Trauma and Recovery Program 

Angela's Self-Care Tip

If you're planning an academic career choose an area that you care about!  Remember it's a marathon not a sprint.  Keep chipping away but don't feel like everything has to be done at once or you’ll miss out.  Take a measured approach.

In general, make sure you have a healthy work life balance.  Have interests and hobbies that you can do outside of work and develop healthy boundaries.    Angela says this is good for your wellbeing and probably makes you better at your job, because when you're there you're a bit more focussed and balanced.
Running is Angela’s choice!  Not checking emails on weekends is good to 🙂

Feedback

Leave me a comment or some feedback about this episode in the comments section.  I'll respond to everyone!

 

Amy Felman
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1 Comment

  1. Charlotte Hudson on August 17, 2015 at 9:26 pm

    Dear Amy,

    Just wanted to drop you a line to thank you for providing such a valuable resource for new psychologists. It’s great to hear about different career opportunities, plus the rewarding and challenging aspects of the work. I’m studying my clinical masters at La Trobe and have loved hearing mentions of local people and places. I’ve been recommending the podcast to everyone else in my cohort too, and they are loving it as well.

    You’ve got a lovely presentation style too. And as a bit of a podcast nerd, it’s also very refreshing to hear a relatively small podcast that has decent sound quality!

    Thanks again and keep up the great work!

    Cheers

    Charlotte

    Reply

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