Dr Caroline Donovan - Griffith University

Site Degrees

Caroline Donovan

BA (Honours), PhD Clinical Psychology

Lecturer, School of Psychology

Research expertise

Child and adolescent psychopathology and in particular, the areas of anxiety, depression and eating pathology.
Primary area of research involves efficacy trials of an internet-based cognitive-behavioural therapy program for anxious children and adolescents.
The BRAVE for Children -ONLINE and BRAVE for Teenagers -ONLINE programs are the first of their type in the world for anxious youth, and have the potential for widespread distribution.
This research is important given that anxiety disorders in youth are highly prevalent and are associated with an array of deleterious consequences if left untreated. Furthermore, the majority of anxious youth do not seek help for their problems for a variety of reasons, and internet therapy provides a convenient, low-cost, and easily accessible alternative to face-to-face therapy.

Caroline Donovan teaches at the Honours and Postgraduate levels in the area of clinical psychology.
Supervises Honours students for their research projects, with a particular interest in the areas of perfectionism, anxiety, depression, and eating pathology.

Spence, S.H., Donovan, C.L., March, S., Gamble, A., Kercher, A., Anderson, R., and Prosser, S. (in press). Online cognitive behaviour therapy in the treatment of child and adolescent anxiety disorders: Issues in program development and two case examples. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychology.
Cunningham, M.J., Donovan, C.L., and March, S. (2007). Developing and Delivering Computer-based CBT for Anxiety Disorders in Young People. In D. Einstein, (Ed). Innovations and Advances in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. Sydney: Australian Academic Press.
Donovan, C.L., Spence, S.H., and Sheffield, J.K. (2006). Investigation of a model of weight restricting behaviour amongst adolescent girls. European Eating Disorders Review, 14, 1-17.
Donovan, C.L. and Spence, S.H. (2005). Interpersonal problems. In P. Graham (ed.), Cognitive-behaviour therapy for children and families - Second Edition pp. 402-425. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Spence, S.H., Sheffield, J., and Donovan, C.L. (2005). Long-term outcome of a school-based, universal approach to prevention of depression in adolescents. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 73 (1), 160-167.