Rate My Professor Carmela Pestell

Carmela Pestell is a Professor in the School of Psychological Science at the University of Western Australia and Deputy Chair of the UWA Academic Board. Holding a Doctor of Psychology, she is a registered Clinical Psychologist and Neuropsychologist and a Fellow of the Australian Psychological Society. With nearly 30 years of clinical and lecturing experience, Pestell directed the state-wide Neurosciences Unit for the Western Australia Health Department from 1996 to 2013 and served as Clinical Director of the Complex Attention and Hyperactivity Disorders Service on secondment from 2010 to 2011. She has operated a part-time private practice since 2003, treating children and adults with acquired brain injuries in clinical, medico-legal, and forensic settings across metropolitan, rural, and remote areas. Appointed Associate Professor at UWA in 2013 and promoted to full Professor, she is also an Honorary Research Fellow at Curtin University through the CREST concussion research program. Since joining UWA, she has co-supervised nearly 20 PhD students, four Masters students, and 20 Honours students.

Pestell's research examines the neuropsychological implications of neurodevelopmental disorders including Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and ADHD, acquired brain injury, and mood disorders in clinical and justice populations. Her work focuses on predictors of brain injury outcomes, such as mood, apathy, and executive functioning, to inform diagnosis, assessment, treatment, and rehabilitation. Key publications include 'Australian Guidelines for Assessment and Diagnosis of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: Overview of the Development Process and Revised Diagnostic Criteria' (2026), 'Analysis of risk factors associated with suicidality in children and adolescents with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder in Western Australia' (2025), 'Empathy in Adults with Acquired Brain Injury: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis' (2025), 'The Level and Nature of Impairment on the Iowa Gambling Task Following Acquired Brain Injury: A Meta-analysis' (2025), and 'Behavioral Sleep Interventions for Children With ADHD: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis' (2022). She has earned a Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning in the Australian Awards for University Teaching and special commendations in the 2023 UWA Vice-Chancellor's Research Awards. Pestell led development of UWA's FASD diagnostic course and delivered an invited talk on recognizing and responding to FASD to the Judicial College of Western Australia.