Melissa is a dually registered Clinical Neuropsychologist and Forensic Psychologist.
She has experience providing both neuropsychological and forensic risk evaluations, as well as a combination of the two. She is experienced in assessing neuropsychological status and risk in both adolescents and adults with possible brain injury and cognitive impairments. These evaluations include assessment of associated impacts on daily functioning, and identifying rehabilitative needs for treatment and/or management.
Experience & Background
Melissa’s experience has been in forensic and non-forensic populations, in hospitals, prisons, and community settings. She has also provided training to practitioners working with clients with cognitive impairments resulting from injury and/or complex mental illness, as well as increasing wider community awareness of brain injury, including risks, consequences, identification, and management planning.
Specialization
Melissa is focused on increasing the presence of neuropsychological evaluation, particularly for those who are vulnerable or already involved with the justice system. Neuropsychological evaluation provides a key part in rehabilitation for people with brain injuries, mental health issues and/or offending behaviours where cognitive difficulties may be present.
Understanding cognitive functioning beyond the IQ score has been shown to inform an understanding of the risk of recidivism (reoffending). Unrecognised impairments are often important barriers to treatment. The identification of individual-specific neurocognitive issues assists treatment planning and access to appropriate services in both non-forensic and forensic clients alike.
Education & Qualifications
Melissa completed a Doctor of Psychology (Clinical Neuropsychology, Forensic specialisation) at Monash University. She then worked concurrently as a research fellow and a clinical neuropsychologist in Victoria, Australia, where her research focused primarily on understanding neurocognitive characteristics of risky populations.
She has also worked internationally, providing forensic neuropsychological services, neuropsychological and risk assessments for forensic clients at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), the largest addiction and mental health facility in Canada.
Professional Memberships
Melissa is fully registered and endorsed as a Clinical Neuropsychologist and Forensic Psychologist with the Psychology Board of Australia, as well as internationally with the college of psychologists of Ontario. She is an active member with a number of relevant organisations including the Australian Psychological Society, College of Clinical Neuropsychologists, College of Forensic Psychologists, ASSBI, Canadian Psychological Association, Ontario Psychological Association, and the Australasian Cognitive Neuroscience Society.