Profile
Rachael Williams is a Senior Clinical Psychologist & Clinical Director.
I provide individual and couples counselling at Cygnet Clinic in Midland, utilising a range of therapeutic techniques, individually tailored to each clients assessed requirements.
Experience
Senior Clinical Psychologist, Forensic Consultant Team, Department of Corrective Services; Perth, WA – 2014-2022
As per below as well as the provision of specialist consultant advice, the development of clinical, applied and evaluative research, the supervision of other Psychologists and contribute to Policy development.
Clinical Psychologist, Forensic Consultant Team, Department of Corrective Services; Perth, Wa - 2011-2013 (Registrar 2011-2012).
Conduct complex psychological assessments of life and indeterminate sentenced offenders including treatment needs assessments, updates regarding prisoner’s psychological issues (e.g., risk of reoffending, changes to mental state) and assessment of suitability to engage in re-socialisation programs. Provide counselling to prisoners who have a life or indeterminate sentence, to address criminogenic and mental health treatment needs which can’t be addressed in a group format as well as to augment or prepare the offenders for inclusion in treatment programs.
Policy Project Officer, Rural Psychiatry, Royal Australian and New Zealand College Of Psychiatrists; Perth, WA – 2005-2011.
Policy, project and secretariat support functions, including project development and implementation, research, report and submission writing and liaison with key stakeholders. Project work to provide access to Continuing Professional Development (CPD) opportunities for rural psychiatrists. Establish and co-ordinate Australian psychiatrists rural peer review groups, involving interactive case discussion via videoconferencing and teleconferencing technology. Present research findings at conferences and prepare manuscripts for research publication.
Clinical Psychology Registrar, Psychological Services, Community and Juvenile Justice, Corrective Services, Perth, WA – 2009.
Conduct counselling assessments of, and provide therapy to, adolescent clients and their families who present with a range of issues and/ or psychological disorders in the community. Write pre-sentence court reports on regional and metropolitan adolescent offenders to provide recommendations to magistrates for ongoing intervention and support.
Research Associate, University of Western Australia, Department of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, Perth, WA – 2007.
Research into the impact of hospital smoking cessation policies on mental health consumers and related health morbidity. Supervise students conducting focus groups, data collection and data entry. Construct data base for survey data and clinical audit data. Analysis of comparative data post implementation and contribute to final report preparation.
Diagnostic Interviewer, Curtin University Of Technology, Perth, Wa – 2005.
Conduct diagnostic interviews with high school students using the Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents-IV (DICA-IV). Provide feedback to parents and information regarding referral agencies in the event of confirmed diagnoses and/ or suicide ideation. Supervise the administration of student Aussie Optimism Dissemination Project questionnaires.
Sessional Academic, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, WA – 2005.
Prepare and conduct tutorials for the Foundations of Psychology unit. Mark assignments and oral presentations and providing feedback to students.
Research Officer, Centre for Clinical Research in Neuropsychiatry, North Metropolitan Health Service, Perth, WA –2002-2005.
Neurocognitive and neurophysiological assessment of clinical and non-clinical populations to inform the Western Australian Family Study of Schizophrenia. The development of experimental tasks, and the management and analysis of a neurocognitive assessment database. Development of a cross cultural neurocognitive assessment battery and on-site training of Indonesian collaborating investigators in a variety of administration and research matters. Clinical interviewing using the Diagnostic Interview for Psychoses and the Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry (SCAN). Present research at national and international conferences and prepare manuscripts for research publication.
Research Assistant, University of Western Australia, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Science, Perth, WA –2000-2002.
Psychometric and psychological assessment of clinical and non-clinical populations. Project management tasks and the design, development and implementation of the neurocognitive database application.
Research Assistant, University of Western Australia & Hollywood Private Hospital (Collaboration), Perth, WA, 1999.
Administration and scoring of a range of psychological and psychiatric instruments to determine possible predictors of cognitive deterioration in subclinical memory disturbances, with older adult research participants.
Education
Curtin University of Technology, Perth, WA, Master of Clinical Psychology, 2009.
University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, B.A (Hons) Psychology, 2000.
Clinical Interests
I have clinical interest in and expertise working with the following presentations: Psychosis and Bipolar Disorders, Cross-Cultural Psychology, Depression, Trauma, Stress and Anxiety Disorders, Substance Misuse/Addiction, Anger Issues, Adjustment and Relationship Difficulties.
Select Publications
Roberts, C., Williams, R., Kane, R, Pintabona, Y, Cross, D, Zubrick, S. & Silburn, S. (2011). Impact of a mental health promotion program on substance use in young adolescents. Advances in Mental Health, 10(1), 69-79.
Greenwood, J & Williams, R. (2008). Continuing professional development for Australian rural psychiatrists by videoconference. Australasian Psychiatry, 16(4), 273-276.
Hallmayer, J. F., Kalaydjieva, L., Badcock, J., Dragović, M., Howell, S., Michie, P.T., Rock, D., Vile, D., Williams, R., Corder, E., Hollingsworth, K. & Jablensky, A. (2005) Genetic Evidence for a Distinct Subtype of Schizophrenia Characterized by Pervasive Cognitive Deficit. American Journal of Human Genetics, 77(3), 468-476.
Badcock, J.C., Williams, R.J., Anderson, M. & Jablensky, A. (2004) Speed of processing and individual differences in IQ in schizophrenia: General or specific cognitive deficits? Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, 9(4), 233-247.
Fees
Fees for clinical consultations can be found on www.cygnetclinic.com.au/fees
Referrals
I accept referrals from General Practitioners under Mental Health Care Plans, as well as those clients who self refer.