Research Experience

• Visiting Research Fellow - Disaster Research Unit (DRU), Department of Political and Social Sciences, Free University of Berlin (July 2015-present)
• Research Fellow (Mental Health) - Centre for Mental Health, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne (June 2010-present)
• Research Internship - International Conflict Resolution Centre (ICRC), Department of Psychology, University of Melbourne (March 2000-September 2001)

Qualifications

• PhD Public Health (University of Melbourne, 2014)
• Dipl.-Psych. (Free University of Berlin, 2003)
• Advanced Diploma Community Services Management (NMIT, 2010)
• Certificate IV Training and Assessment (AIET, 2007)

Lehre / Teaching

• Guest Lecturer (Mental Health Systems) - University of Melbourne (August 2010-present)
• National Training Manager - Neami National (October 2006-May 2010)

Research Interests

• Disaster Mental Health Risk Reduction
• Strategic Climate Change Adaptation
• Catastrophe Culture
• Population Warning systems
• Austerity Mortality (with Greece as reference point)
• Radicalisation and de-radicalisation in disaster contexts

Professional Affiliations

• European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ESTSS)
• Natural Disaster Management Research Initiative (NDMRI)
• Centre for Disaster Management and Public Safety (CDMPS)
• National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility (NCCARF)
• Health and Disaster Risk Reduction Network
• Health Social Sciences Network (HSSN)

Scientific Editorship

• BMC Health Services Research (Associate Editor / Editorial Board Member)

Peer Review Involvement

• BMC Health Services Research
• Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness
• Psychological Medicine
• BMC Psychiatry
• Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health
• Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare

Peer Reviewed Publications

• Reifels L, Bassilios B, Spittal MJ, King K, Fletcher J, Pirkis J (2015) Patterns and predictors of primary mental health service use following bushfire and flood disasters. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness. 9(3), 275-282. doi: 10.1017/dmp.2015.23

• Reifels L, Bassilios B, Nicholas A, Fletcher J,King K, Ewen S, Pirkis J (2015) Improving access to primary mental healthcare for Indigenous Australians. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. 49(2), 118-128. doi: 10.1177/0004867414562046

• King K, Nicholas A, Fletcher J, Bassilios B, Reifels L, Blashki G, Pirkis J (2015) Why did Divisions of General Practice implement some Access to Allied Psychological Services mental health initiatives and not others? Australian Health Review. 39(1), 18–25. doi: 10.1071/AH14044

• King K, Bassilios B, Nicholas A, Fletcher J, Reifels L, Pirkis J (2014) Assessing patient satisfaction in an Australian primary mental health care context. Advances in Mental Health. 12(3), 161-166. doi: 10.5172/jamh.2014.12.3.161

• Reifels L, Naccarella L, Blashki G, Pirkis J (2014) Examining disaster mental health workforce capacity. Psychiatry: Interpersonal & Biological Processes, 77(2), 199-205. doi: 10.1521/psyc.2014.77.2.199

• Bassilios B, Nicholas A, Reifels L, Pirkis J (2014) Uptake of a national primary mental health program by young people in Australia. International Journal of Mental Health Systems. 8: 10. doi: 10.1186/1752-4458-8-10

• Reifels L,Pietrantoni L, Prati G, Kim Y, Kilpatrick DG, Dyb G, Halpern J, Olff M, Brewin CR, O’Donnell M, (2013) Lessons learned about psychosocial responses to disaster and mass trauma: An international perspective. European Journal of Psychotraumatology. 4: 22897. doi: 10.3402/ejpt.v4i0.22897

• King K, Bassilios B, Reifels L, Fletcher J, Ftanou M, Blashki G, Burgess P, Pirkis J (2013) Suicide prevention: Evaluation of a pilot intervention in a primary care context. Journal of Mental Health. 22(5), 439–448. doi: 10.3109/09638237.2013.815334

• Reifels L, Bassilios B, Forbes D, Creamer M, Wade D, Coates S, Hopwood M, Pirkis J (2013) A systematic approach to building the mental health response capacity of practitioners in a post-disaster context. Advances in Mental Health. 11(3), 246-256. doi: 10.5172/jamh.2013.11.3.246

• Reifels L, Bassilios B, Pirkis J (2013) Extending the role of primary care agencies in mental health responses to disaster. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness. 7(2), 122-123 doi: 10.1017/dmp.2013.18

• Reifels L, Bassilios B, King K, Fletcher J, Blashki G, Pirkis J (2013) Innovations in primary mental health care. Australian Health Review. 37(3), 312-317. doi: 10.1071/AH12203

• Bassilios B, Reifels L, Pirkis J (2012) Enhanced primary mental health services in response to disaster. Psychiatric Services. 63(9), 868-74. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.201100534

• Reifels L, Bassilios B & Pirkis J (2012) National telemental health responses to a major bushfire disaster. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare. 18(4), 226-230. doi: 10.1258/jtt.2012.110902

• Reifels L, Pirkis J (2012) Meso and micro level workforce challenges in psychiatric rehabilitation. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal. 35(4), 341-343. doi: 10.2975/35.4.2012.341.343

Selected Technical Reports

• Reifels L, Naccarella L, Blashki G, Pirkis J (2012) The Victorian Disaster Mental Health Workforce Capacity Survey: Final project report. The University of Melbourne: Melbourne.

• Reifels L, Bassilios B, King K, Fletcher J, Pirkis J (2012) Evaluation of the Australian Government’s Mental Health Response to the 2010-11 Floods and Cyclone Yasi: Evaluation Report. Centre for Health Policy, Programs and Economics: Melbourne.

• Reifels L, Bassilios B, Pirkis J (2010) Evaluation of the Australian Federal Government Mental Health Response to the Victorian Bushfires. Centre for Health Policy, Programs and Economics: Melbourne.

Selected Conference Presentations

• Reifels L, Bassilios B, Spittal M, King K, Fletcher J, Pirkis J (2014) Patterns and predictors of primary mental health service use following bushfire and flood disasters. Joint Conference of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS), The Seventh Hospital of Hangzhou, and the Zhejiang Behavior Medicine Association: Post-traumatic stress - State of the art research and clinical implications for China. Hangzhou, China 17-19 October 2014.

• Reifels L, Bassilios B, Nicholas A, Fletcher J, King K, Pirkis J (2014) Improving access to primary mental healthcare for Indigenous Australians. 15th International Mental Health Conference: Mental Health - Innovation, Integration, Early Intervention. Gold Coast, 25 –27 August 2014.

• Reifels L, Naccarella L, Blashki G, Pirkis J (2013) Examining disaster mental health workforce capacity. XIII Conference of the European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ESTSS): Trauma and its clinical pathways: PTSD and beyond. Bologna, Italy 6-9 June 2013.

• Reifels L, Naccarella L, Blashki G, Pirkis J (2012) The Victorian Disaster Mental Health Workforce Capacity Survey: Harnessing the ‘tsunami of good will’. Creating Healthy Sustainable Societies Conference. University of Melbourne: Melbourne 22 November 2012.

• Reifels L, Naccarella L, Blashki G, Pirkis J(2012) The Victorian Disaster Mental Health Workforce Capacity Survey: Examining the state of Victoria’s disaster preparedness (Preliminary findings). Australasian Conference on Traumatic Stress, Perth 6-8 September 2012.