Rate My Professor Agatha Conrad

Dr Agatha Conrad is a Conjoint Lecturer in the School of Medicine and Public Health within the College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing at the University of Newcastle. She holds a PhD in psychology and a Doctorate in clinical psychology. Currently serving as Senior Research Development Officer and Research Manager for Hunter New England Mental Health, she is also co-director of the Healthy Minds Research program at the Hunter Medical Research Institute. Dr Conrad leads the Mental Health – Research, Evaluation, Analysis & Dissemination (MH-READ) unit, part of the University of Newcastle's Priority Research Centre for Brain and Mental Health Research. With over a decade of experience in research design, methodology, data management, and analysis, she supports grant applications, ethics submissions, and publication preparation. As a registered clinical psychologist, she conducts psychological assessments, delivers evidence-based psychotherapies and interventions for individuals with severe mental illness in acute inpatient and community settings, and provides clinical and research supervision to health professionals.

Dr Conrad's research focuses on improving mental health outcomes through innovative service models, technology integration, and evidence-based practices. Notable publications include 'Ten-year audit of clients presenting to a specialised service for young people experiencing or at increased risk for psychosis' (BMC Psychiatry, 2014), 'Implementation of a recovery-oriented model in a sub-acute Intermediate Stay Mental Health Unit (ISMHU)' (BMC Health Services Research, 2017), 'An Integrated Recovery-oriented Model (IRM) for mental health services: evolution and challenges' (BMC Psychiatry, 2017), 'Treatment of eating disorders in older people: a systematic review' (Systematic Reviews, 2021), 'Consumers Accessing Their Mobile Phone in an Acute Inpatient Mental Health Unit: Experiences of Consumers and Staff' (Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 2024), and 'Improving the time-efficiency of initial mental health assessment (triaging) using an online assessment tool followed by a clinical interview via phone: a randomised controlled trial' (BMC Psychiatry, 2025). Her contributions encompass 29 peer-reviewed journal articles with over 1000 citations. Dr Conrad has secured more than $1 million in research funding, advancing areas such as psychosis risk prediction, recovery-oriented care, and preventive interventions in mental health.