Keynote Speakers
Keynote speakers are internationally recognised experts in their field, promising delegates an exciting and challenging program. Keynote speakers confirmed to attend include:
Professor Richard Velleman
University of Bath
Mental Health Research and Development Unit
Richard Velleman is Professor of Mental Health Research at the University of Bath and Consultant Clinical Psychologist within the Avon & Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust (AWP).
Richard has worked in the addiction field for over 30 years. In the early 1980s he helped to establish Alcohol Concern, the national alcohol agency in England & Wales. In 1998 he was appointed by the Home Secretary to be a member of the Council of the Alcohol Education Research Council (AERC), and was re-appointed up to the maximum of 6 years.
In 1994 he became the founding Head first of the Specialist Drug and Alcohol Services in the Bath Mental Health Care NHS Trust, and then of the Somerset Drug Service. Also in 1994, he became the Director of R&D for the Bath Mental Health Care NHS Trust, and created and became the first Director of the Mental Health Research & Development Unit (a joint unit between local NHS and the University of Bath). From 1999 to 2003 he was the Director of Strategic Development for the Avon & Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust, responsible for most of the Trust’s specialist services (such as Drug & Alcohol, Forensic, Research & Development) as well as Records Management, Performance Monitoring, Child Protection, Star Ratings, and being the Trust’s Caldicott Guardian. He left the Trust Board in 2004 to concentrate once more on his research and writing.
His research interests cover a wide spectrum within mental health, with a particular interest in the impact of substance misuse and mental health issues in children and other family members, as well as broader research interests in counselling, substance misuse, and children & families. He is particularly interested in the use of both qualitative and quantitative methods in combination. He has been awarded grants of more than £3,000,000 over his research career to date, and published over 200 items including books, chapters and journal papers.
Professor David Castle
Chair of Psychiatry
St Vincent's Hospital
David is currently Chair of Psychiatry at St Vincent’s Health and The University of Melbourne. He is a former MRC Research Scholar at the South African Institute for Medical Research, MRC Research Fellow at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (where he gained an MSc in epidemiology), and has trained both in clinical research and psychiatric epidemiology at London’s prestigious Maudsley Hospital and Institute of Psychiatry. Professor Castle’s extensive clinical, epidemiological and qualitative mental health research experience has spanned a number of domains. In the last ten years he has been awarded nearly $8 million dollars in grant funding.
Professor Castle’s clinical and academic work spans a number of key areas in relation to psychosocial treatment interventions. The novel programme of Collaborative Therapy for the holistic treatment of people with mental illness developed by David and his colleagues, has been widely acknowledged as a leading example of comprehensive consumer-oriented care, and has been adopted by mental health services both within Victoria and nationally. Its utility for people with mental illness has been dramatically evidenced by both an extraordinarily large number of people wishing to participate, the excellent linkages with GPs, and the exciting outcomes being achieved. Specific components address schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and substance use and mental illness comorbidity. A current area of particular interest is the physical health care of the mentally ill. Professor Castle is also a recognized international expert in the area of body image disorders, and his work on body dysmorphic disorder is widely known.
Professor Castle’s track record demonstrates a capacity and understanding to disseminate research findings to the scientific, academic and clinical communities through regular publications in peer reviewed journals. He has published over 200 articles and book chapters, and 15 books, aimed at clinical, academic and lay audiences. His peer reviewed publications have been cited over 1,000 times, an average of 15 cites per paper. He also shows a strong commitment to feeding back information to the populations he studies, and is regularly invited to present and scientific, local, and lay meetings.
Dr. Scott D. Miller
Co-director
Institute for the Study of Therapeutic Change, Chicago, USA
Scott D. Miller, Ph.D. is a co-founder of the Institute for the Study of Therapeutic Change, a private group of clinicians and researchers dedicated to studying “what works” in mental health and substance abuse treatment. He works as a therapist providing all clinical services pro bono to traditionally under served clients.
Dr. Miller conducts workshops and training in the United States and abroad and is known for his engaging and humorous presentation style. He has presented to many professional audiences including: the American Psychological Association, the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis, the International Conference on Ericksonian Approaches to Hypnosis and Psychotherapy, and the National Association of Social Workers.
Most recently, he served as an invited faculty member at the Evolution of Psychotherapy Conference”. He is the author of numerous articles and co-author of various books.
Amanda Baker
NHMRC Senior Research Fellow
Centre for Brain and Mental Health Research, Faculty of Health, University of Newcastle
Associate Professor Amanda Baker is a Clinical Psychologist who has practiced in both mental health and alcohol and other drug treatment settings in the United Kingdom and Australia and has specialized in the treatment of comorbidity.
Since taking up her position at the University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia, in 1995, Associate Professor Baker has successfully initiated and developed a Graduate Certificate, Master and Masters (Hons) of Health Science (Drug and Alcohol Studies), via distance learning mode.
Associate Professor Baker is a member of the Executive of the Australian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs (APSAD) and the Executive of the Editorial Board of the Society’s journal, Drug and Alcohol Review, and was its Book Review Editor for six years 2000-2006. She has been a Chief Investigator on numerous competitive national grants, including four National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) grants, and has published over 40 articles and over 20 book chapters.
In 2003 Associate Professor Baker commenced a five year NHMRC Career Development Award to further develop evidence-based practice in clinical settings and to progress further randomised controlled trials. She is the chief editor of National Drug Strategy Monograph 32: “Models of intervention and care for psychostimulant users, 2nd edition” (2004) and the chief author of the clinical manual published by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing, “A brief cognitive behavioural intervention for regular amphetamine users” (2003). Recently the book entitled “Clinical Handbook of Co-existing Mental Health and Drug and Alcohol Problems”, edited by Associate Professor Baker and Professor Richard Velleman was published by Routledge (January, 2007). She is Deputy Director of the newly formed University of Newcastle Priority Research Centre for Brain and Mental Health Research.
Dr. Toni Makkai
Dean
College of Arts and Social Sciences, Australian National University
Toni Makkai has written widely on the links between drugs and crime. She established the Drug Use Monitoring Program in Australia (DUMA) at the Australian Institute of Criminology and the evaluation of the Queensland drug courts. She is a member of the Australian National Council on Drugs (ANCD) and the Editorial Board of the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology. She has recently updated the attributable fractions for drug related crime used to estimate the costs of alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs in Australia (with Jeromey Temple). She was the Director of the Australian Institute of Criminology and is now the Dean of the College of Arts and Social Sciences at the Australian National University.
Dr. Simon Lenton
Associate Professor & Deputy Director National Drug Research Institute
Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University of Technology
Associate Professor Simon Lenton MPsych(Clin), PhD is a Deputy Director at the National Drug Research Institute and works as a Clinical Psychologist in private practice. He has published extensively in the drug field on a range of topics and has provided advice on drug issues to a number of government and private organisations, both in Australia and internationally. Simon’s current interest is in bridging the gap between drug policy research and drug policy practice. He is the Deputy Editor - illicit drugs of Drug and Alcohol Review and edits the ‘Harm Reduction Digest’ that regularly appears in that journal.
The Hon Wayne Martin
Chief Justice of Western Australia
The Honourable Wayne Martin was appointed as Western Australia's 13th Chief Justice on 1 May 2006. He joined the Independent Bar in 1988 and was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1993. From 2001 - 2003, he took on the role of counsel assisting the HIH Royal Commission in Sydney.
The Chief Justice was President of the WA Bar Association between 1996 and 1999, and Chairman of the Western Australian Law Reform Commission from 1996 to 2001, when the commission completed the Review of the Criminal and Civil Justice System in Western Australia. The Chief Justice was also a member of the Council of the Law Society of Western Australia, and was President of the Society when appointed to his current office.
In 2007, the Chief Justice was awarded WA Citizen of the Year for the Professions.
His Honour holds a number of positions, including Chairman, Advisory Board, Crime Research Centre, University of WA; Board Member, Holyoake - Australian Institute for Alcohol and Drug Addiction Resolutions; Patron, Homeless Person's Legal Advice Clinic (WA) Steering Committee; and Patron, Homeless Person's Legal Advice Clinic (WA) Steering Committee.
Professor Colleen Hayward
Manager of the Kulunga Research Network
Telethon Institute for Child Health Research
Professor Colleen Hayward is a senior Noongar woman with family ties throughout the south-west of Western Australia and currently works as the Manager of the Kulunga Research Network at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research in Western Australia.
For more than 20 years, Professor Hayward has provided significant input to policies and programs on a wide range of issues, reflecting the needs of minority groups at State Government, national and community levels. She has an extensive background in a range of areas including health, education, training, employment and housing as well as significant experience in policy and management.
She was previously deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Aboriginal Legal Service of WA, having started her working life as a teacher and maintaining ties to, and an interest in, Education and Training for more than 30 years. Professor Hayward is the only Indigenous member of the WA State Training Board and brings to it an extensive policy and management background in a range of areas.
Professor Hayward is a well respected and strong advocate for the rights of Indigenous people and is an inspiring and well sought after speaker with an inherent ability to communicate across cultural and other boundaries. She has built lasting partnerships and initiatives between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Western Australians.
In March 2006, Professor Hayward was awarded the prestigious Premier of Western Australia's Multicultural Ambassador Award for her commitment to progressing human rights and addressing racism in our community. She has demonstrated a long-term commitment to human rights, anti-racism and advocating for the rights of Indigenous peoples as well as Indigenous reconciliation in Western Australia.
In October 2007, Professor Hayward was celebrated as a Finalist in the Telstra Business Women's WA Awards in the IBM Community and Government category. Of the Finalists in the WA Awards, Colleen was the only person from a research institute.
In 2008, Professor Hayward was nominated and selected to undertake the Postgraduate Certificate in Cross-sector Partnership at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.
Professor Hayward was also one of 1000 leading Australians selected to participate in the Prime Minister's 2020 Summit at Parliament House. Most recently, Professor Hayward was recognised as the 2008 National NAIDOC Aboriginal Person of the Year for her long-standing work for and on behalf of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia.
