History
Service History
Our service was founded in 1998 by Paula Nathan, and was originally called the West Australian Institute for Psychotherapy Research (WAIPR). We were later renamed as the Centre for Clinical Interventions (CCI) in 2002. CCI was established with the strongly held belief that effective treatments for psychological disorders should be accessible for everyone, and this remains at the core of our service values today.
At the heart of the work we do at CCI is the way our four core areas of business support and depend on each other. The evidence-based treatments we provide are developed from clinical research literature; these are then evaluated through our quality assurance program which also allows us to investigate psychological maintaining factors of anxiety, mood and eating disorders. This information is then fed back to the clinical and research communities through publications and presentations. The resources that our clinical psychologists develop as part of these treatments are made available to our patients and practitioners around WA, Australia and the world via our website. In order to share the knowledge arising from our experience in delivering these treatments, we provide regular workshops for other health professionals, and provide training placements for post-graduate psychology students.
This constant interaction of drawing on research evidence to inform our clinical practice, and using the results of our clinical practice to inform research exemplifies the ‘Scientist-Practitioner’ model of clinical psychology. Our service has been described as “a nationally recognised model of excellence” by the Australian Clinical Psychology Association.
Previous Directors
Paula Nathan, AO (1998-2014)
CCI was created with Paula’s vision; to provide expert psychological treatments for people with mood and anxiety disorders. In 2005 she gained additional resources to allow CCI to offer treatment for people with eating disorders. Paula’s vision for CCI was to offer people in the WA community treatments based on the most up to date research, and to help improve psychological treatments by evaluating what works in a ‘real world’ setting outside of research laboratories.
Paula’s career in clinical psychology has left a lasting impact in many areas. Paula led the development of evidence based treatment manuals for a range of psychological problems, which are used by other mental health professionals across Australia and internationally. She initiated the development of the CCI website, and led the creation of a huge library of mental health resources which are made freely available through our website for anyone to use. Paula’s research work has made significant contributions to the enhancement of psychological treatments. She has also taught and inspired a generation of Clinical Psychologists through her roles as a lecturer and a trainer, her work supervising trainees and registrars, and her leadership within the profession. Paula’s passionate work in advocating for mental health services has benefited the WA community through improving available services, and she has been an important advocate for the profession of clinical psychology.
Paula was the director of our service for 16 years, before retiring in 2014. In recognition of her significant professional achievements, Paula has received many awards. These include the Ian Campbell Prize in Clinical Psychology (Australian Psychological Society - APS) for contribution to the science of Clinical Psychology (2012), the APS College of Clinical Psychology for contribution to the scientific and professional status of Clinical Psychology (2012), The Australian Clinical Psychology Association - "In recognition of her outstanding leadership in Clinical Psychology" (2014), and Officer (AO) in the General Division of the Order of Australia - For distinguished service to community health as a psychologist, particularly to understanding mental health disorders, and to establishing specialised treatment and support services (2018).
Dr Anthea Fursland (2014-2017)
Dr. Fursland joined the CCI team in 2005. She had moved from California, USA where she worked with eating disorders at Kaiser Permanente, a leading American health care provider. She brought this profound professional experience in the area of mental health and eating disorders to CCI. In her role as the Principal Clinical Psychologist (Eating Disorders), she managed, coordinated and developed the services for eating disorders with the clinicians at CCI. Anthea’s work at CCI covered a wide scope, including clinical work, clinical research, service development, supervision, consultation, training and education (of GPs, mental health practitioners and carers), and development of the CCI web-based self-help resource on eating disorders. Anthea later took on the role of Director of CCI between 2014-2017. During this time, Anthea was also instrumental in the development of the WA Eating Disorders Outreach & Consultation Service (WAEDOCS), and left CCI in 2017 to direct this service. Anthea was elected a Fellow of the Academy for Eating Disorders (2011) and she received the Distinguished Achievement Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Australia and New Zealand Academy for Eating Disorders (2016) in recognition of her significant contributions to the field.
Last Updated:
25/03/2020