Professor Ian Shochet

Research highlights

Professor Shochet’s contributions over the last 10 years to the development of interventions for promoting resilience have achieved national and international recognition.

His published research on school-based approaches to promoting resilience and preventing depression in young people represented the world’s first successful trial in this area. This work has resulted in invited book chapters from international authors and publications in peer reviewed journals and numerous citations in ISI journals as well as invited keynote addresses and conference presentations.

The work has attracted large NCGs and consultancies of over $2 million. It has also been the subject of media reports (e.g. The Bulletin) and has been represented in parliamentary proceedings, a Premier speech and Catalyst (A Queensland Government publication that show-cases Queensland generated scientific advances of international consequences).

The depression prevention programs (Resourceful Adolescent Program - RAP) developed by Professor Shochet are listed in numerous Commonwealth Govt. publications (e.g. National Mental Health Priority Areas Report on depression 1998; the National Action Plan for Promotion, Prevention and Early Intervention for Mental Health 2000) as evidence-based interventions for adolescent depression.

His research has resulted in intervention products that have achieved National and International dissemination. Over five thousand professionals from hundreds of organisations in education or health across the country have been trained in the use of the RAP resilience-building interventions developed by Professor Shochet. Approximately 55,000 adolescents in hundreds of high schools and health centres across Australia have received these programs.

The RAP program has been translated into a number of languages (French, Dutch, Chinese, Vietnamese, Braille) and have been disseminated internationally (including Canada, New Zealand, China, Netherlands, Mauritius, Germany, Serbia, Switzerland, Zimbabwe, Fiji, United Kingdom and Morocco).

Professor Shochet was previously invited by the Commonwealth Director of Mental Health to be a member of the National Think Tank on Depression, and was invited to attend the National Depression Workshop, a gathering of leading figures in the field, held in Canberra. He has been a consultant on the MindMatters Plus project and Beyond Blue National School-Based Initiative and was an invited member of Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY).

Recent advances on his resilience-building work has extended to the development and pilot of the Promoting Adult Resilience (PAR) funded by the Australian Rotary Health Research Fund (2006), an ARC Discovery Grant (2008-2011) on promoting resilience in primary school children with intellectual disabilities and an ARC Linkage grant (2008-2012) on promoting resilience in employees working in high stress occupations such as the police service.  

Research areas

• Adolescent mental health: prevention and early intervention
• Promoting resilience and wellbeing
• Psychotherapy process research.

Project highlights

Over the last 10 years Professor Shochet has attracted over $2.5 million in competitive research grants and tenders.

• 2008-2012: Shochet, I.M., Shakespeare-Finch, J., Young, R.M., Craig, C., & Brough, P. Promoting resilience in employees working in high stress occupations. ARC Linkage, $350,000
• 2008-2010: Gilmore L.A., Campbell, M.A., Shochet, I.M. & Roberts, C.M. “Investigating and promoting resilience in children with intellectual disabilities”.ARC Discovery, $393,000
• 2007: Shochet, I.M., Donald, M., Biggs, H, & Liossis, P. “Promoting Adult Resilience in the workforce: Synthesizing Mental HealthPromotion and Work-life Balance Approaches.”Brisbane City Council, $17,000
• 2006: Shochet, I.M, Donald,M., Biggs, H., & Liossis, P. “Promoting Adult Resilience in the Workforce: Synthesizing Mental Health Promotion and Work-life Balance Approaches.” Australian Rotary Health Research Fund (ARHF), $37,000
• 2004-2006: Shochet, I.M., & Homel, R. “Promoting Positive Adolescent Psychosocial Development Through Enhancing School Connectedness: Evaluation of an Innovative Program for Teachers.”ARC Linkage, $396,000
• 2003-2005: Dadds, M.R., Shochet, I.M. & Lamar S. “The Evaluation of an Early Intervention and Prevention Program for Children and Families At-risk of Conduct Problems.” Australian Rotary Health Research Fund (ARHF), $100,000
• 2000– 2003: Shochet, I.M., Dadds, M.R., Montague, R. & Oscarby, S. “The Resourceful Adolescent Program: Universal Controlled Trial for reducing Risk and Increasing Protective Factors in Adolescent Depression and Suicide.” NH&MRC, $300,000
• Dyck, M. & Shochet, I.M “How Malleable are the Psychological Structures that Underlie Empathic Ability?”
• 1999: “The Development of Empathic Ability in Blind and Deaf Children.” ARC Small, $19,000
• 1998: Dyck, M. & Shochet, I.M “Differences in Empathic Ability Between Children Diagnosed with Autistic Disorder, Mental Retardation, Attention Deficit Disorder, Separation Anxiety Disorder and with no Psychological Disorder.” ARC Small, $14,000
• 1997-1998: Shochet, I.M., & Dadds, M. “Preventing Adolescent Depression: The follow-up Study.” Commonwealth Department of Health and Human Services – (RADGAC), $20,000
• 1996-1997: Shochet, I.M., & Dadds, M. “Preventing Adolescent Depression.”Commonwealth Department of Health and Human Services (RADGAC), $44,000
• 1998-2008: Government Community Grants, Tenders and Consultancies Shochet, I.M. “The Dissemination of the Resourceful Adolescent Program.” Consultancy, $800,000
• 1998-1999: Shochet, I.M., Harnett, P. & Dadds, M. “Resourceful Family Project – The Role of Parent Interventions in Promoting Adolescent Mental Health- A National Parenting Initiative Project.” Commonwealth Department of Health and Family Services, $350,000
• 1997-1998: Shochet I.M., & Dadds M.R, “Promoting Adolescent Mental Health.” Queensland Health Promotion Council, $37,000
• 1996 – 1998: Dadds, M., Shochet, I.M. & Barrett, P. “Griffith Early Intervention Project.” Commonwealth Department of Health and Human Services, $411,000.