Prof. Louise O'Brien

Biography

Professor Louise O’Brien holds a joint appointment position with the University of Newcastle and Western NSW Local Health District. She is based at the Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health, Bloomfield Campus Orange NSW. Her research and clinical interests focus on aspects of mental health nursing models of care, the organisation and development of nursing practice, psychotherapeutic relationships, mental health aspects of health care, family–focused mental health services and mentorship and leadership. Professor O’Brien’s research is highly collaborative with clinical nurses, and other mental health professionals. She has twice received Mental Health Research Awards. She is an experienced research higher degree supervisor with fourteen completions and 8 current students. She has published 8 book chapters and fifty nine refereed journal articles. She sits on a number of editorial boards and manuscript review panels for nursing journals. Her teaching experience includes curriculum development and subject co-ordination and teaching of master of mental health nursing and nurse practitioner degrees.

Professor O'Brien has extensive experience in health service teaching and workshop facilitation. She has provided consultations to health services and to not-for-profity organisations and has sat on a range of national and state committees for mental health issues. She is an active member of the Australian College of Mental Halth Nurses holding positions of scientific convenor of the ACMHN International Conference 2009, Sydney, Australia; Chair of the ACMHN Research Committee; and Chair of the NSW Branch of the ACMHN Education Committee.

Previous academic positions include Professor of Nursing, Charles Sturt University NSW and Associate Professor of Nursing University of Western Sydney, NSW. She has adjunt professorial status at University of Western Sydney, NSW and Charles Sturt University NSW Australia.

Qualifications

• PhD, University of Technology Sydney, 1997
• Bachelor of Arts, University of New England, 1992

Research

Research keywords

• Hermeneutics
• Mixed Methods
• Phenomenology
• acute mental health inpatient services
• community mental health
• depression
• legal and ethical issues in mental health care
• mental health
• mental health nursing

Research expertise

Professor Louise O'Brien's research and clinical interests focus on aspects of mental health nursing models of care, the organisation and development of nursing practice, psychotherapeutic relationships, mental health aspects of health care, family –focused mental health services and mentorship and leadership. Professor O’Brien’s research is highly collaborative with clinical nurses, and other mental health professionals. She has twice received Mental Health Research Awards. She is an experienced research higher degree supervisor with seventeen completions and 7current students. Methodologies for research are primarily qualitative, with a particular emphasis on hermeneutic phenomenology, however she also has expertise in mixed methods studies. She has published 8 book chapters and fifty eight refereed journal articles.

Collaboration

Professor O'Brien has conducted research in collaboration with Associate Professor Kim Foster, University of Sydney; Dr Kay McCauley, Monash University, Victoria; and Professor Debra Jackson University of Technology, Sydney.

Languages

• English

Fields of Research

Administrative

Administrative expertise

Professor Louise O'Brien has held management and adminstative positions in both clinical and academic areas. She has provided management and leadership expertise to Nursing Unit Manager Positions. She has led academic teams in the delivery of mental health nursing education at both undergraduate and postgraduate positions; and co-ordinated postgraduate programmes. She has led research teams from idea conception to completion of projects.

Teaching

Teaching keywords

• Health
• Midwifery
• Nursing

Teaching expertise

Professor Louise O'Brien has taught both on-line and face-to-face courses at both undergraduate and post-graduate levels. She has extensive experience writing curriculum and teaching in masters level mental health nursing, nurse practitioner, and research methodology programs. Professor O'Brien has also extensive experience developing and conducting workshops and in-service training programmes in clinical supervison, mentorship, clinical decision-making, care of clients with borderline personality disorder, childhood abuse and its impact on adult mental health, clinical assessment in mental health services, managing abnormal illness behaviour in general hospitals.