Academy Fellow

Professor Nicola Reavley is Deputy Director of the Centre for Mental Health and Community Wellbeing in the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne. She leads programs of national and international research in population mental health, focusing on prevention, early intervention and social inclusion.

Her work has been influential in Improving mental health literacy and reducing social and economic exclusion of people with mental illness, which are critical to reducing the burden of mental illness. 

Her research has built the evidence base for interventions to reduce discrimination and improve population mental health literacy and support for people with mental illness. These include Mental Health First Aid (MHFA), a training program that aims to improve support for people developing a mental health problem or experiencing a crisis, such as suicide. She led a world-first trial of online and blended MHFA in public sector workplaces, which led to improvements in mental health literacy and supportive behaviours, including up to 2 years later. This work has made a major contribution to the global dissemination of MHFA, which has now been delivered to over 7 million people worldwide. She is now leading a program of work to culturally adapt MHFA for middle-income countries, including China, Argentina and Chile.

She has also led the design and implementation of national surveys assessing mental health literacy, stigma and discrimination, including the first nationally representative Survey of Experiences of Discrimination and Positive Treatment, which pointed to the need for action in health system settings and workplaces. Her work has informed recommendations by the Productivity Commission (2020), the Victorian Mental Health Royal Commission (2021) and the National Stigma and Discrimination Reduction Strategy (2023).

Her best practice guidelines and web resources on supporting people with mental health problems in workplace (https://workplace-mentalhealth.net.au/) have led to policy and practice changes in Australian organisations and has informed the work of international agencies.

Research Director, SANE Anne Deveson Research Collaborative

1. Reavley, N. J. and A. F. Jorm (2012). Public recognition of mental disorders and beliefs about treatment: changes in Australia over 16 years. Br J Psychiatry 200(5): 419-425.

2. Reavley, N. J. and A. F. Jorm (2012). Stigmatizing attitudes towards people with mental disorders: changes in Australia over 8 years. Psychiatry Research 197(3): 302-306.

3. Reavley, N. J. and A. F. Jorm (2015). Experiences of discrimination and positive treatment in people with mental health problems: Findings from an Australian national survey. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 49(10): 906-913.

4. Reavley, N. J., A. J. Morgan, J. A. Fischer, et al. (2018). Effectiveness of eLearning and blended modes of delivery of Mental Health First Aid training in the workplace: randomised controlled trial. BMC Psychiatry 18(1): 312.

5. Reavley, N. J., A. Ross, E. J. Killackey and A. F. Jorm (2012). Development of guidelines to assist organisations to support employees returning to work after an episode of anxiety, depression or a related disorder: a Delphi consensus study with Australian professionals and consumers. BMC Psychiatry 12: 135.