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  • Image of Professor Martin Jones (left) and Associate Professor Irene Ngune (right)

    Professor Martin Jones (left) and Associate Professor Irene Ngune (right)

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Psychosocial Interventions Clinical Trials Group (PICT)

Bringing Mental Health Support Closer to Communities

Based within the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Edith Cowan University, the Psychosocial Interventions Clinical Trials Group (PICT) brings together researchers, clinicians, consumers and community partners to improve access to evidence-based psychosocial interventions through high-quality clinical trials and implementation research.

PICT conducts high-quality research to improve access to effective, brief and scalable psychosocial interventions for people who may otherwise have limited access to specialist mental health services. Working in partnership with health services, schools and community organisations, PICT evaluates how evidence-based interventions can be successfully implemented in real-world settings to improve mental health outcomes. Through community-based research, PICT aims to strengthen local services, build workforce capability and improve access to mental health support, contributing to healthier and more resilient communities.

Psychosocial interventions are evidence-based approaches that improve mental health by addressing the relationship between thoughts, emotions, behaviours and everyday life. These interventions include approaches such as Behavioural Activation, Adherence Therapy, Working with Families and other brief psychological strategies that can often be delivered by trained health or community workers under appropriate supervision. By focusing on interventions that are practical, effective and scalable, PICT seeks to make high-quality mental health support more accessible to the people and communities who need it most.

Improving Health and Wellbeing

PICT conducts research to better understand how psychosocial interventions can improve the mental health and wellbeing of people living with common mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety, serious mental health conditions including schizophrenia, and the psychological impacts of chronic physical health conditions. Working in partnership with consumers, health services and community organisations, PICT develops, evaluates and implements practical, evidence-based interventions that can be integrated into routine care. By improving access to effective psychosocial interventions, PICT aims to enhance mental health, support recovery and improve quality of life.

Supporting Communities with the Greatest Need

PICT is committed to improving equitable access to mental health support for individuals and communities who experience the greatest barriers to care. Research focuses on developing, evaluating and implementing interventions that can be delivered where they are needed most.

Priority groups include:

  • Rural and remote communities
  • Young people
  • Older adults
  • People from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities
  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
  • People living with chronic physical health conditions
  • People transitioning from hospital to community care

Our Research Themes

PICT's research is organised around several interconnected themes that aim to improve mental health care through evidence generation and implementation:

  • Behavioural Activation, Adherence Therapy and Family Interventions
  • Implementation science and knowledge translation
  • Rural, regional and remote mental health
  • Consumer and community co-design
  • Clinical trials and health services research
  • Workforce development and capacity building
  • Mental health and chronic physical health
  • Digital and technology-enabled models of care

Current Research Programs

Current research within PICT includes:

Consumer-Led Maternal Mental Health Services

This programme investigates consumer-led models of care for women experiencing perinatal mental health problems. Working in partnership with women with lived experience, the programme aims to develop and evaluate peer-led interventions that improve engagement, recovery and maternal wellbeing. Future research will focus on implementation and evaluation across maternity and community mental health services.

Research Leads: Professor Martin Jones, Dr Amanuel Gebremedhin and MRes Student Cindy Owens.

Psychosocial Interventions to Reduce Suicide Risk

This programme focuses on improving outcomes for people discharged from acute psychiatric inpatient units, a period associated with elevated suicide risk. The programme includes a systematic review of psychosocial interventions, followed by the co-design of an implementation framework to support evidence-based care during transition to the community. Future work will evaluate implementation strategies and effectiveness through pragmatic clinical trials.

Research Leads: Associate Professor Irene NGUNE, Professor Martin Jones, Dr Jenny Hamilton, Professor Richard Gray and PhD Student Barnabus Sugutt.

Behavioural Activation for Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment

This programme examines the potential of Behavioural Activation to support older adults living with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). Initial work includes a systematic review evaluating the evidence for Behavioural Activation in this population, followed by feasibility and pilot clinical trials. The long-term objective is to determine clinical effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and implementation within aged care and community health services.

Research Leads: Professor Martin Jones, Associate Professor Irene NGUNE, Professor Richard Gray, Professor Dan BRESSINGTON and PhD Student Simon Genet.

Behavioural Activation for Chronic Pain

This programme investigates whether Behavioural Activation can improve the wellbeing of people living with chronic pain. The research includes a systematic review examining the safety and effectiveness of Behavioural Activation, followed by feasibility testing of lay worker-delivered interventions. Future studies will examine clinical effectiveness, implementation and cost-effectiveness across healthcare settings.

Research Leads: Dr Laura Hynes, Professor Richard Gray, Associate Professor Irene NGUNE, Professor Martin Jones, Professor Jacqueline Sinn and PhD Student Fangyuan Zheng.

Improving Physical Health in People Living with Schizophrenia

This programme seeks to improve the physical health and wellbeing of people living with schizophrenia and other serious mental illnesses. The research includes an invited Cochrane systematic review of physical health interventions and the co-design of an implementation framework to support routine physical health monitoring in mental health services. Future work will evaluate implementation strategies and their impact on health outcomes.

Research Leads: Professor Richard Gray, Associate Professor Irene NGUNE, Professor Martin Jones and PhD Student Ash Badanapurkar.

Digital Behavioural Activation for Young People

This programme explores the use of digital technologies to improve access to Behavioural Activation for adolescents experiencing mood disorders. The programme includes a systematic review of digitally delivered Behavioural Activation, followed by the development and feasibility testing of school-based digital interventions. Future research will evaluate effectiveness through large-scale clinical trials and implementation studies within education and community settings.

Research Leads: Associate Professor Irene Ngune, Professor Martin Jones, Professor Kanos Karatzias and PhD Student Umama Hassan.

Psychosocial Interventions Following Stroke

This programme aims to improve the mental health and wellbeing of stroke survivors and their families through family-centred psychosocial interventions. The programme includes an integrative review examining the application of Behavioural Activation within family-centred stroke rehabilitation, followed by co-design and feasibility testing. Future research will progress to multicentre implementation and effectiveness trials to support integration into routine stroke rehabilitation services.

Research Leads: Professor Martin Jones, Professor Richard Gray, Professor Beth Armstrong and PhD Student Evelyn Hemme.

Behavioural Activation and Alcohol Use

This programme of research investigates the effectiveness of Behavioural Activation (BA) for reducing alcohol use among people experiencing alcohol misuse. The programme begins with a systematic review and meta-analysis evaluating the safety and effectiveness of BA for alcohol reduction, followed by intervention refinement and a feasibility randomised controlled trial. The longer-term goal is to establish an evidence base for larger clinical trials and implementation within alcohol and other drug services.

Research Leads: Associate Professor Irene Ngune, Professor Richard Gray, Professor Martin Jones, Dr Edah Anyango and PhD Student Rej Magaramombe.

Turning Research into Real-World Impact

PICT works closely with health, education and community partners to ensure research findings are translated into sustainable improvements in policy and practice. By co-designing and evaluating implementation strategies, the group seeks to embed evidence-based psychosocial interventions into routine services where they can have the greatest impact.

Over the next five years, PICT aims to expand its research programs across Western Australia, Australia and internationally. By embedding proven approaches into everyday settings, PICT seeks to create lasting improvements in mental health care, workforce capability and community wellbeing.

Building the next generation of researchers

PICT is committed to developing the next generation of researchers in psychosocial interventions and implementation science. Higher Degree by Research (HDR) students join a vibrant, multidisciplinary research team focused on improving access to evidence-based mental health care across diverse populations and settings. Students receive supervision and mentorship from leading researchers at Edith Cowan University while collaborating with nationally and internationally recognised leaders in psychosocial interventions, implementation science and clinical research.

Through involvement in clinical trials, implementation research, co-design and community-engaged research, HDR students develop the knowledge, skills and professional networks needed to become future leaders in mental health research and translation.

Contact Details

PICT is co-led by Professor Martin Jones and  Associate Professor Irene Ngune.

We welcome enquiries from prospective Higher Degree by Research students, researchers, clinicians, health services and community organisations interested in collaboration.

Email: martin.jones@ecu.edu.au or i.ngune@ecu.edu.au

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