DrVilas Sawrikar

I am a Clinical Psychologist specialising in population mental health and health services research. My work focuses on improving the organisation and delivery of evidence-based interventions for children and young people experiencing developmental, behavioural, and emotional difficulties, including anxiety and depression, and their families. I aim to address the growing public health burden of psychological distress among young people, caregivers, and communities through service innovation and early intervention.

 

I lead the Psychology Service Innovation (PSI) Unit, a research lab dedicated to enhancing the reach, scalability, and adoption of evidence‑based  interventions and programs for children, youth, and families. Our mission is to address the major challenges faced by children, young people, families, service providers, and mental health systems by improving healthcare delivery and expanding access to evidence-based psychological interventions. This represents a priority area for reducing psychological distress at the population and individual level. We design and trial initiatives using rigorous clinical and implementation trial methodologies. Our work is supported by national translational research platforms such as the Growing Minds Australia Clinical Trials Network, Child Behaviour Research Clinic, Improving Mental Health Pathways to Child and Youth Treatments (IMPACT) program and extensive collaborations with health services across the country.