Dr Michael Tarren-Sweeney

Qualifications

• Graduate Diploma in Epidemiology, University of Newcastle
• Bachelor of Arts, University of New England
• Bachelor of Arts (Honours)(Psychology), Macquarie University

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Research

Research keywords

• Attachment disorders
• Developmental psychopathology
• Foster care
• Kinship care
• Psychiatric Epidemiology
• Social care policy

Research expertise

Overview

The inner world and subjective distress of children who have been harmed and emotionally deprived is mysterious and largely unknown. My journey towards understanding the minds of such children, as well as the causes of their psychic impairment, began in 1989, when I started to work as a child and family psychologist in child protection and alternate care. Aside from realising that working with such children was a great privilege, I was struck by the absence of empirical knowledge about their mental health and well-being of the lack of conceptual frameworks, of various phenomenological mysteries, and a reliance on non-standardised and subjective measurement tools. Few people in the world had researched these issues for maltreated children, and even fewer had looked in any detail at the problems of children in care. Over time I resolved to devote my lifes work to pursuing such research questions, and to develop more specific measurement tools, in the hope that this might lead to better prevention, identification and treatment of the psychological problems manifested by such children. I was also motivated by a strong intellectual curiosity. With this in mind I completed graduate training in psychiatric epidemiology, established a Psychologists Research group in the NSW Department of Community Services, and embarked on the Children in Care study.

Both the Children in Care study and the development of the Assessment Checklist for Children (see descriptions below) represent groundbreaking research in this specialised field. The findings from these studies are contributing to re-conceptualisation of the development and psychiatric problems of children in care. For example, patterns of aberrant eating behaviour have been identified for the first time in this population, leading to the proposal of a syndrome (termed Food Maintenance Syndrome). Some of the findings and theoretical formulations that have come from this research are published or submitted for publication (see publication list), while further research questions are to be addressed in a follow-up study (commencing later this year). With over half of the several hundred thousand children residing in long-term alternate care in the developed world estimated to have some form of psychiatric disturbance, my research program has major public health significance.

Research interests

• Developmental psychopathology, with special interest in the epidemiology, phenomenology and determinants of psychopathology among maltreated children, and children in alternate care

• Social policy for high-risk children (especially regarding primary prevention of psychopathology)

• Measurement and screening of mental health problems and attachment difficulties among children in care

• Attachment disorders, and the spectrum of attachment difficulties

• Significance of loss and disrupted attachments among maltreated children entering care

• Mental health of inter-country adoptees

• Mental health of indigenous children

• The mental health and wellbeing of children in rural and remote communities

• Teaching health equity

• Remote problem-based learning

Research skills / experience

• Large-scale epidemiological research

• Test development, psychometrics, mental health screening

• Phenomenological investigations and enquiry

• Qualitative methods

• Data analysis (STATA) and database management

• Meta-analysis and clinical reviews

Fields of Research

Code	Description	Percentage
170100	Psychology	50
169900	Other Studies In Human Society	30
111400	Paediatrics And Reproductive Medicine	20

Centres and Groups

Centre

• PRC - Priority Research Centre for Translational Neuroscience and Mental Health (CTNMH)

Memberships

Body relevant to professional practice.

• Member - Australian Psychological Society
• Full Member - Australian Psychological Society

Committee/Associations (relevant to research).

• Trustee - Cholmondeley Children's Home, Christchurch
• Member - Member of the Research Advisory Committee, Life Without Barriers Fostering Service

Editorial Board.

• Member - Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry

Appointments

British Academy Visiting Fellow The British Academy (United Kingdom)	01/04/2009 - 01/12/2009
Visiting Research Fellow for Policy Studies, University of Bristol (United Kingdom)	01/05/2009 - 01/05/2010
Senior Lecturer (Above the Bar) in Child and Family Psychology University of Canterbury, NZ (New Zealand)	01/01/2009
Deputy Director of Health Sciences University of Canterbury, NZ (New Zealand)	01/01/2008
Conjoint Senior Lecturer in Psychiatry University of Newcastle (Australia)	01/01/2006

Invitations

Tarren-Sweeney, M. Out-of-Home Care Outcomes for Children What works best? Seminar presentation for the NSW Department of Community Services, Sydney June 30, 2005 NSW Department of Community Services, Australia (Conference Presentation - non published.)	2005
Tarren-Sweeney, M. Assessment of Children in Care. Invited presentation at Clinical and Psychometric Assessment in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Practice conference Sydney University, Australia (Conference Presentation - non published.)	2004

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Administrative

Administrative expertise

University of Newcastle

2004 - 2005 Member of the Medical School Executive

2003 - 2006 Director of Health Equity training, responsible for academic supervision of six academic stream coordinators within the Health Equity Selective

2003 - 2006 Member of the Bachelor of Medicine Program Committee

University of Canterbury

2006 - present Acting Programme Director, Postgraduate Child and Family Psychology programme

2007 - present Coordinator of Postgraduate Studies, School of Educational Studies and Human Development

2006 - present Chair of the Postgraduate Examination Committee, School of Educational Studies and Human Development

2006 - present Privacy officer, School of Educational Studies and Human Development

2007 - present Standing Faculty representative on the Academic Appeals Committee

Course co-ordination

University of Newcastle

1996 - 2006 MEDI6190 Psychiatric Epidemiology (Postgraduate)

2004 - 2006 MEDI6290 Psychological Solutions (Postgraduate)

2003 - 2006 MEDI3014 Health Equity Selective (Year 3, Bachelor of Medicine)

2001 - 2006 Coordination and delivery of all Psychiatry training in Year 3 of the medical degree

University of Canterbury

2006 - present EDUC623 Professional development in Child and Family Psychology (Practicum year)

EDUC624 Child and Family Psychology practicum (Practicum year)

EDUC501 Advanced academic development (Internship year)

EDUC502 Advanced professional practice in Child and Family Psychology (Internship year)

EDUC503 Structuring and examining professional practice (Internship year)

2007 EDUC616 Applied Developmental and Paediatric Psychology (Foundation year - co-coordinator)

Research management

1997 - ongoing Chief investigator of the Children in Care Study. (Recruited and supervised three research staff)

1999 - 2000 Project manager of the Disruptive Behaviour Study (Recruited and supervised seven research staff)

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Teaching

Teaching keywords

• Development of multidisciplinary mental health learning modules
• Ecological analysis and complex formulations
• Health Equity Training in Medicine
• Problem-based learning for trainee Psychologists
• Professional training in Child and Family Psychology

Teaching expertise

University of Canterbury

2006 - Engaged to teach in the Master of Education (Child and Family Psychology) and Post-Grad Diploma in Child and Family Psychology. Lecturing in the practicum and internship years.

Practicum Year: Professional Development in C+F Psychology

C+F Psychology Practicum

Internship Year: Advanced Academic Development

Advanced Professional Practice

Structuring and Examining Professional Practice

2006 - 2007 Supervision of 5 Masters research theses and dissertations

University of Newcastle

1996 - 2005 MEDI6190 Psychiatric Epidemiology

Postgraduate 1 semester course. Initially internal, later distance learning

Elective for postgraduate programs in Population Health (Clinical epidemiology, Health Social Science, etc), Drug and Alcohol Studies, Nursing and Psychology.

2004 - 2005 MEDI6290 Psychological Solutions

Postgraduate, 1 semester course by distance learning. Elective for postgraduate programs in Population Health (Clinical epidemiology, Health Social Science, etc), Drug and Alcohol Studies, Nursing and Psychology

2003 - 2006 MEDI3014 Health Equity Selective

Year 3, Bachelor of Medicine. Offered four times a year. Innovative approach to medical education, replacing the traditional clinical health elective. Students focus on social disadvantage, access to care, and health inequity. Consists of a common week of teaching and an eight-week health equity field placement in one of eight streams: Aged and Community Care; Indigenous health (mostly in remote Aboriginal communities); Global Health (in developing countries); Rural Health (with rural physicians); Mental Health; Child Health; Prison Health; and Drug and Alcohol health.

2001 - 2006 Coordination and delivery of all Psychiatry training in Year 3 of the medical degree

2001 - 2005 Supervision of mental health clinical reviews by Year 3 medical students (NUGGETS)

2005 Problem-Based Learning Tutor for Year 2 medical students