13th International Mental Health Conference

Prof Morris has medical qualifications MBBS (Hons), BSc(med) (Hons), and PhD. He is qualified in psychiatry and addiction medicine in Australia and is a Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (FRANZCP) and a Fellow of the Australasian Chapter of Addiction Medicine (FAChAM) of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP). He is qualified in general adult psychiatry and geriatric psychiatry in the USA and is Board Certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN).

He is a Certified Independent Medical Examiner (CIME) with the American Board of Independent Medical Examiners (ABIME). Prof Morris is Vice President and a Distinguished Fellow and Board Director of the Pacific Rim College of Psychiatry.

Prof Morris is Medical Director of Mirikai, a young adult drug and alcohol rehabilitation program on the Gold Coast, and is Medical Director of the Gold Coast – Tweed Memory Disorders Clinic. He has a private psychiatric and medico-legal practice on the Gold Coast and in Brisbane. He is a member of the Repatriation Pharmaceutical Reference Committee.

Prof Morris is Visiting Professorial Fellow at the Centre for Forensic Excellence, Bond University. Prof Morris has held professor positions in psychiatry at the University of Melbourne and the University of Queensland, and at the School of Health Sciences at Bond University. At the University of Melbourne he was chairman of the Department of Psychiatry Research Committee. He has been Medical Superintendent of Macquarie Psychiatric Hospital, North Ryde NSW, and Director of Mental Health for the Gold Coast District Health Service. He was the Foundation Director of the Australian Centre for Post Traumatic Mental Health at the University of Melbourne. He has been a member of the Queensland Compensation Commission (Q-Comp) Medical Assessment Tribunal – Psychiatric, and was chairman of the RANZCP Continuing Professional Development Subcommittee.

His clinical and research interests include the psychiatric care of adult patients, medical and surgical patients (consultation–liaison psychiatry), neuropsychiatry/psycho geriatrics, post-trauma syndromes, clinical drug trials, and co morbid drug and alcohol and psychiatric conditions. Prof Morris undertook post-graduate research and clinical training in the USA. He has published many scientific articles and reports and has won a number of competitive government research grants as well as pharmaceutical industry support for drug trials. He is an external assessor for the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

Prof Morris has extensive experience in medico-legal assessment for a range of legal jurisdictions. Prof Morris is trained in the application of the American Medical Association Guides for the Assessment of Permanent Impairment, the Psychiatric Impairment Rating Scale (PIRS), the Comcare Permanent Impairment Guides, and the Guide to the Assessment of Rates of Veteran Pensions (GARP).

Etty Matalon is a Clinical Psychologist and is Training Manager for the National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre at UNSW.

Etty has 20 years clinical experience in the alcohol and other drug field having worked at two major teaching hospitals in Sydney; as the Clinical Co-ordinator for a women’s detoxification service and as the Program Manager at a psychiatric hospital. 

Throughout her career she has worked closely with the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre.

Etty’s role at NCPIC is to coordinate and disseminate best practice information and education and deliver training over a range of treatment interventions

I was born in the sunny mediterranean island of Sicily in 1963, and I spent the first thirty years of my life there, where I enjoyed a balanced life style of sea, sun and good food.

During my college years I developed an interest in medicine and the world of metaphysics. The passion drove me to join one of the oldest medical schools at the University of Catania in Italy established in 1445. I became interested in the science of microbiology and I mastered histology slides and anatomy to gain an acknowledgement from the university and a bursary to join medical schools around Europe in Spain and Sweden.

During my final years at the university I became interested in plastic surgery and I regularly attended theatre sessions with one of the consultant surgeons.

Once graduated with merit in 1988 I joined the Italian army medical school in Florence where I became accustomed to warfare and injuries inflicted by nuclear biological and chemical weapons.

I served in the army forces for one year between 1989 and 1990 as a medical officer. It is during that time that I became interested in mental health while witnessing so much stress and anxiety caused by the sudden detachment of so many young soldiers forced to join the army for a compulsory service snatched away from their familiar background of home routine and comfort. I had a principal role in delivering the right psychological insight in such a difficult environment.
After my military service came to the end I went to Australia were I enjoyed a secondment at the surgical department of St. Vincent Hospital in Sydney. I was involved in routine surgical procedures with the consultant surgeons and registrars.
Back in Europe I decided to emigrate to Britain in 1994 where I began training in surgery at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle, Tyne & Ware. I got my first job at the Hartlepool General Hospital as house surgeon, followed by a job in medicine in Liverpool. I finally ended up in Doncaster near Sheffield where I joined a vocational training scheme in General Practice. During this time I was exposed to various medical and surgical disciplines, particularly in Accident & Emergency. I also joined the hospital department of psychiatry and after that experience I decided to follow my interest in psychology and psychotherapy.
Once I became a GP principal in Leeds I joined the HumanGivens institute of London and gained the postgraduate qualification in psychotherapy in 2007, just before moving to New Zealand.

I am one of the GP partners at the Waikanae Health Centre since 2008 and I work eight sessions per week offering medical consultations to local residents and casual patients. I also offer counselling sessions to clients via the local mental health provider Primary Solutions and privately in Wellington and Waikanae.
I have been appointed GP leader for the Wellington region in September 2011, dealing with clinical governance and evidence based practice.

I have recently been back to Britain for further training and discussion with the HumanGivens colleagues. Our data is collecting evidence the model is more effective than CBT and the data will be soon submitted to the British Government via the Ministry of Health to implement the approach around the country. All the documentation is available on line: www.humangivens.com

I have delivered talks on our model and its effectiveness at the International Mental Health Conference and at the Conference of Psychologists, and I held the first HumanGivens Conference in Nelson, New Zealand in 2008 with the help of another humangivens practitioner, Michael Grevis.

I remain committed to continue to implement and divulge the HumanGivens model in Australia and New Zealand for the foreseen future and holding the flag on behalf of the Institute in the southern hemisphere. I am also keen in continuing to use the innovative approach in my practice to help the increasing number of patients with mental health problems.

Kuruvilla George was born in Singapore and did his schooling in Singapore. He completed his medical education in India and his post-graduation as a psychiatrist in UK. He currently lives in Melbourne Australia, where he is the Director of Aged Person's Mental Health and Director of Medical Services at Peter James Centre and Wantirna Health. He is also the Deputy Chief Psychiatrist for the state of Victoria in Australia. KG as he is fondly known is a Clinical Professor at Deakin University, Clinical Associate Professor at Monash University and Adjunct Associate Professor at the University Of Notre Dame. He was recently appointed to the board of the Victorian Human Rights and Equal Rights Commission.

Janine Stevenson is currently working as a community psychiatrist and psycho geriatrician in the Western suburbs of Sydney. She graduated Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Sydney in 1974 with first class honours and was awarded a Master of Medicine (by research) in psychotherapy in 1992. She is currently completing a PhD in which she examines the effect of comorbid personality disorder on the outcome of Axis I disorders in psychiatric inpatients. She is a fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists and is a board member of the International Society for the Study of Personality Disorders and a member of the International Psychogeriatric Association. She was a founding member of the faculty of psychiatry of old-age of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists.

Janine is on the faculty of the Master of Medicine in psychotherapy program at Sydney University and a clinical senior lecturer at Sydney University. She has been engaged in research involving personality disorders for over 20 years and is the author of research articles on this topic. Her interests are primarily in old age psychiatry and personality disorders.