Karen Hazell-Raine

Dr. Karen Hazell-Raine is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Faculty of Health, Nursing at Charles Darwin University and an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Sydney. She holds leadership roles as Associate Professor of Nursing and Associate Dean of Research and Research Training. Her career spans nearly 40 years in mental healthcare, specializing in perinatal and infant mental health, with expertise in process-oriented group psychotherapy, integrative therapies, and parent-infant relationships. She focuses on maternal-infant relational quality, attachment theory, and early intervention for mental health challenges in priority populations.

Education & Qualifications:

• Registered Nurse
• Graduate accomplishments in applied psychology and specialist mental health
• Doctoral research on antenatal maternal personality as a predictor of postnatal mother-infant relationships

Research Interests:

• Mental health screening and intervention in perinatal periods
• Infant mental health and parental mental health linkages
• Observational methods for assessing adult-child relationships
• Policy and practice improvements in maternal-infant care

Key Research Trends: Her work emphasizes the critical role of maternal mental health in birth outcomes and long-term parent-child relationships. Recent studies focus on population-level data analysis (e.g., maternal mental health hospitalizations and adverse birth outcomes) and policy-driven initiatives like recreational cannabis reform's implications for mental health nursing.

Awards:

• Elaine Tolley Medal (Westmead Medical Research Foundation)

Grants & Projects:

• Lead Investigator on projects addressing ADHD in perinatal environments and nurse-midwife leadership in mental health screening
• Supervises Higher Degree Research (HDR) students

Professional Contributions: Founding President of the Northern Territory Branch of the Australian Association of Infant Mental Health (AAIMH), and active member of international infant mental health organizations.