Dr Catherine Johnson

I work as a Research Fellow in the Colleges of Education, Psychology and Social Work / Nursing and Health Sciences.

Prior to studying psychology I was a physiotherapist in private practice. I also hold qualifications as an adult and adolescent mindfulness teacher. My PhD developed a new measure of mindfulness for early adolescents, and found that 8-week mindfulness programs are not robust in this population. Currently I work across a range of projects (mental health programmes in schools, eating disorder research and community mental health trials) under the broad banner of research translation into real world contexts.

I have a particular focus on increasing the effectiveness of wellbeing education programs in schools, and sustaining their successful implementation. This work targets shared risk factors for depression, anxiety and eating disorders in sequenced programs across the school journey, matched to developmental age.

I enjoy working in industry partnerships with schools to collect local school data, understand local culture and traditions, and navigate the dizzying array of wellbeing programs on offer in a structured, evidence-based and effective way.