The Addiction and Mental Health Program is working to understand fundamental brain processes that underpin mental ill-health. We then translate our findings into clinical, lifestyle and technology-based interventions and treatments that actually work, and are cost-effective and accessible.
Much of our work is undertaken in our brand new next-generation mental health research facility, BrainPark.
At the same time, we’re investigating the interplay of neuroscience and society, as well as ethical treatment and research. We work across academia, health care, industry and the community, to conduct impactful research and to translate findings into tangible outcomes that will benefit all Australians.
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Program focus areas
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Addiction and Impulsivity (Antonio Verdejo-Garcia Lab)View
Our group is interested in understanding how addictive disorders change the brain and goal-oriented behaviour. We also apply this knowledge to create and test new interventions to improve goal-based decision-making.
We study impulsivity as a common symptom of substance and behavioural addictions, obesity and eating disorders. We use brain imaging, cognitive testing and digital technology to understand how people with these disorders make decisions about rewards and risks.
To design our interventions, we use principles of neuropsychology and behaviour change, and apply person-based approaches and co-design, cognitive remediation and persuasive technologies optimised to strengthen goal-driven choices.
Everyday behaviours such as the technologies we engage with, our physical exercise, sleep, diet, meditation, and social activities have a profound effect on our mental health, cognitive health and brain health.
We're working to harness this power by identifying which behaviours have the most positive effects, for whom, and what behaviour change strategies best help people embed them into their lifestyles for the long-term. Our group is highly multidisciplinary and incorporates neuroscience, cognitive science, behavioural science, exercise physiology, psychophysiology, clinical trials, and implementation research methods into our work.
Child Development and Digital Technologies (Hannah Kirk Lab)View
We focus on how children are developing within the digital age. Our goal is to assess the impact that digital technologies have on childhood mental health as well as cognitive, behavioural and academic development. We are interested in creating evidence-based digital technologies to optimise mental and cognitive health in childhood. We've created a series of novel virtual reality and game-based interventions for neurodivergent children that are used globally.
Over the next 5 years we'll continue to expand and refine our inventory of digital tools and interventions. We aim to understand the mechanisms that underlie digital interventions and delineate who these interventions work best for and why. In addition, we aim to document the impact of our every changing digital landscape on childhood mental and cognitive health.
Culture, Trauma and Mental Health (Laura Jobson Lab)View
We're undertaking cutting-edge translational research exploring the influence of culture on current understandings and treatment of trauma and mental health. For decades, psychology has predominantly focused on Western understandings of mental health. Thus, current understandings and treatment approaches prioritise Western cultural values, beliefs, and norms. Tailoring mental health interventions for culturally and linguistically diverse communities has been found to significantly improve treatment outcomes. However, to date, there is very little evidence to assist clinicians in tailoring treatments. The research conducted by members in this group attempts to address this concerning gap in the research. We work alongside communities to ensure our research is meaningful and has real world impact.
Our mission is to curtail the growing burden of cognitive impairment and dementia. We conduct several clinical and epidemiological studies to better understand the causes of cognitive impairment, develop dementia biomarkers, and evaluate preventative interventions. Our team has a specific interest in Alzheimer’s disease dementia, vascular cognitive impairment, cognitive assessment, and in the application of remote assessment and digital technologies. Our flagship initiatives are The Healthy Brain Project and The BetterBrains Trial.
Parenting and Youth Mental Health (Marie Yap Lab)View
We believe in the importance of empowering parents and carers in the important role they play in the mental health of children and young people. To that end, we conduct research involving the development and enhancement of scalable and sustainable parenting programs, as well as research into ways to increase the reach and uptake of these programs across the population in Australia and globally, across prevention and into treatment and maintenance of recovery from high-prevalence mental health problems like depression and anxiety disorders.
Cogstate A Melbourne-based company focused on optimising cognition measurements for better drug efficacy trials, healthcare, research and brain injury monitoring. The Turner Institute's Addiction program is working
with Cogstate to develop an online, computerized cognitive assessment battery for addiction and OCD designed to tailor treatments to individual clients.
Turning Point Alcohol & Drug Centre Part of UN-led efforts to provide leadership in drug and alcohol addiction treatment and research. Turning Point is part of Eastern Health, an Australian public-health
service provider. Addiction program researchers and Turning Point are developing novel cognitive assessment tools for predicting clinical outcomes, trialling cognitive-enhancement interventions, and educating addiction practitioners about cognitive assessment and the use of cognitive training.
Torus Games Torus Games is the most prolific independent game developer in the world. In almost 25 years, they have launched more than 120 titles across 200 stock keeping units. Torus is a quality game developer
for all popular gaming platforms, meaning that they are perfectly suited to partner with the Addiction team in their research.
Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation This independent statutory authority aims to foster greater understanding of responsible gambling. Researchers in the Addiction program
work with the authority to run conferences and professional workshops for allied health and research staff on the neuroscience of gambling behaviors and evidence-based approaches to treatment.
The D’Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR) Based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and led by Prof Jorge Moll, IDOR is a large clinical research, education and neuroimaging hub. The Turner Institute and
IDOR have a formal partnership and long history of collaboration in the study of addictive and compulsive behaviours.
Interested?
We’re always interested in new partnership opportunities. Are you interested in finding out more? Please contact us.