Rachel Brand

Dr. Rachel Brand is a Senior Lecturer in Clinical Psychology at the School of Health, University of the Sunshine Coast. She holds a BSc (Hons) from the University of Manchester, DClinPsy from the University of London (2009), and PhD in Health Sciences from Swinburne University of Technology (2020). Her clinical background includes specialist work in psychosis and PTSD services.

Brand's research focuses on psychological interventions for psychosis, trauma-psychosis relationships, and implementation of evidence-based therapies. She leads the NHMRC-funded AMETHYST trial on avatar-assisted therapy for auditory hallucinations and founded the Queensland Psychological Interventions for Psychosis clinic (Q-PIP). Her work integrates clinical practice with translational research to improve mental health services.

Analysis of her publications reveals consistent focus on trauma-informed interventions for psychosis, innovative therapies for auditory hallucinations, and implementation science. Research spans clinical trials, meta-analyses, phenomenological studies, and theoretical frameworks examining psychological mechanisms in severe mental illness.

Honors/Awards:

• Dean's Award for best HDR thesis (2020)
• Best short oral presentation, Early Career Hallucination Research Group ANZ (2020)
• Young Scientist Research Award runner-up (2019)

Research Leadership: Principal investigator on multiple grants including NHMRC trial ($1.7M), with roles spanning therapy development, training program design, and cross-institutional partnerships. Supervises postgraduate projects on psychological interventions and measurement validation.

Professional service includes associate editorship at Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice and committee membership in the Australian Psychological Society Psychology and Psychosis Special Interest Group.