Dr
Jessica Paterson
— Clinical Psychologist
BPsych(Hons), MPsych(Clin), PhD, MAPS
Dr Paterson (Jess) completed her psychology Masters and PhD training at the University of South Australia, and has since worked at multiple Australian and international universities as a Research Fellow and Senior Lecturer, and in private practice as a Clinical Psychologist specializing in the treatment of sleep disturbance and traumatic stress. Jess is an Associate Professor in Clinical Psychology and actively contributes to research and teaching in the area, as well as providing clinical supervision to provisional psychologists and clinical psychology registrars.
Jess works with children and adolescents (3-18 years) who have experienced or witnessed one or more traumatic events, and have cooccurring sleep disturbance. These kinds of events can include:
o Transportation accident
o Rape, sexual abuse or assault, or any unwanted or uncomfortable sexual experience
o Violence or physical assault with or without a weapon
o Neglect
o Natural disaster (eg. flood, bushfire, earthquake)
o Exposure to a toxic substance
o Combat or exposure to a war zone
o Captivity (eg. being kidnapped, held hostage, prisoner of war)
o Serious or life threatening illness or injury, including to a loved one
o Sudden violent or accidental death, or suicide
o Any other very stressful event or experience