Joanna Barlas

Joanna is an Associate Professor in Clinical Psychology and a Chartered Clinical Psychologist. She currently lectures on the professional program in clinical psychology at James Cook University Singapore (JCUS) where she is responsible for coursework teaching, as well as the clinical and research supervision of trainee clinical psychologists. She supervises PhD students on a range of health and sociocultural topics.

Joanna also continues to practice clinically in Singapore, assessing and treating adults with a wide range of mental health problems. Prior to joining JCUS in 2013, Joanna worked for five years in the UK National Health Service, specialising in working with adults with severe and enduring mental health problems and offending behaviour in both inpatient secure hospitals and community settings.

Joanna has two main focuses within her research reflecting her passion for understanding and supporting the mental health and wellbeing of marginalised groups in the community and her clinical interest in schema therapy. In her research with marginalised groups, Joanna primarily uses qualitative methodology to investigate the phenomenological experiences of members of these groups and give voice to them in an effort to guide clinical interventions and influence policy change.

In her schema therapy research, Joanna combines her clinical and academic experience to advance understanding of the schema model and its applications to explain the links between early experiences and adaptive and maladaptive functioning in adulthood. With her background in forensic mental health, Joanna is also interested in investigating the relationships between traumatic experiences, mental health and risk-behaviours.