The Youth Mental Health and Technology Team
Putting young people are the heart of their care.
The Youth Mental Health & Technology Team, based at the Brain & Mind Centre, puts young people at the centre of their own care.
Our team of researchers, clinicians, and lived experience advocates are dedicated to improving the mental health and wellbeing of young people. We’re working to understand how mental ill-health develops and to create innovative digital technologies that make mental health support more personal, accessible and effective.
Our mission is simple: to make sure all young people get the right support at the right time, no matter what.
Meet the Team
This is our academic leadership team. Each of our academic team leads brings their own expertise, passion and creativity to our shared mission of improving young people’s mental health.
Ian Hickie
Professor Hickie has led major public health and health services developments in Australia, particularly focusing on early intervention for young people with depression, suicidal thoughts and behaviours and complex mood disorders. He is active in the development through codesign, implementation and continuous evaluation of new health information and personal monitoring technologies to drive highly-personalized and measurement-based care.
Liz Scott
Associate Professor Scott specialises in youth mood disorders, youth mental health service development, and the impact of sleep and circadian dysfunction. She has extensive experience in developing and evaluating comprehensive assessment and management programs for young people with mental health problems through her work with the Brain and Mind Centre as well as headspace programs in Central and Eastern Sydney.
Frank Iorfino
Dr Frank Iorfino is a researcher passionate about improving youth mental health and wellbeing. His work explores how digital tools can help us better understand, predict and treat mental health problems. He collaborates with industry, lived experience experts and health services to design and evaluate personalised solutions that support early intervention and drive meaningful behaviour change, shaping the future of youth mental health care. When he isn't working, you'll find him running, swimming, or reading about history.
Haley LaMonica
Dr Haley LaMonica's research focuses on the co-design of digital mental health technologies in collaboration with young people and clinicians to ensure they are easy to use, genuinely helpful and empower young people to have a real voice in their care. Haley's goal is to help young people and clinicians make decisions together about what works best. When she's not working, Haley loves travelling, discovering new foods, and soaking up the sun at the beach.
Jake Crouse
Dr Jake Crouse is passionate about improving outcomes for people living with mental health conditions, and depression and bipolar disorder in particular. As a life-long sleep walker and sleep talker, Jake has always been curious about how our sleep and circadian rhythms (body clocks) shape our mental health. He uses tools from genetics, biology and wearables to probe this question. He's happiest at the beach with a good book and an ice-cold coffee.
Keen to learn more about the team and our work?