Prof. Ronald Rapee

Background

My research focuses mostly on anxiety and related disorders in both children and adults. There are two main directions. First is a focus on laboratory-based, longitudinal, and naturalistic paradigms that borrow heavily from experimental, developmental, and social psychology to address questions on aetiology and maintenance of disorder. Second is a focus on intervention, prevention, and dissemination of treatments using large clinical trials. Much of this latter work is currently focussed on examining innovative methods of improving efficacy and access to these treatments and also in the prevention of anxiety and depression. Much of my more recent work has focused on family and social influences and on the influence of culture on the experience of disorder. Most of my research is motivated by “real-world” applications and, as part of this focus, I am Director of the Centre for Emotional Health (CEH), which includes the Emotional Health Clinic.

Publications

Hudson, J.L., Rapee, R.M., Deveney, C., Schniering, C.A., Lyneham, H.J. & Bovopoulous, N (2009). Cognitive Behavioral Treatment versus an active control for children and adolescents with anxiety disorders: A randomized trial. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 48 (5), 533-544.

Rapee, R. M., Schniering, C. A., & Hudson, J. L. (2009). Anxiety disorders during childhood and adolescence: Origins and treatment. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 5, 335-365.

Cuming, Samantha; Rapee, Ronald M; Kemp, Nicola; Abbott, Maree J; Peters, Lorna; Gaston, Jonathan E. (2009). A self-report measure of subtle avoidance and safety behaviors relevant to social anxiety: Development and psychometric properties. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 23, 879-883.

Rapee, Ronald M; Gaston, Jonathan E; Abbott, Maree J. (2009). Testing the efficacy of theoretically derived improvements in the treatment of social phobia. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 77, 317-327.

Hudson, J.L., Rapee, R.M., Deveney, C., Schniering, C.A., Lyneham, H.J. & Bovopoulous, N. (2009). Cognitive Behavioral Treatment versus an Active Control for Children and Adolescents with Anxiety Disorders: A randomized trial. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 48 (5), 533-544.

Cunningham, M.J., Wuthrich, V.M., Rapee, R.M., Lyneham, H.J., Schniering, C.A. & Hudson, J.L. (2009). The Cool Teens CD-ROM for anxiety disorders in adolescents: A pilot case series. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 18 (2), 125-129.

Guastella, Adam J; Richardson, Rick; Lovibond, Peter F; Rapee, Ronald M; Gaston, Jonathan E; Mitchell, Philip; Dadds, Mark R. (2008). A randomized controlled trial of D-cycloserine enhancement of exposure therapy for social anxiety disorder. Biological Psychiatry, 63, 544-549.

Edwards, S.L., Rapee, R.M., & Kennedy, S. (2010). Prediction of anxiety symptoms in preschool-aged children: Examination of maternal and paternal perspectives. Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry, 51 (3), 313-321.

Edwards, S.L., Rapee, R.M., Kennedy, S.J., & Spence, S.H. (2010). The assessment of anxiety symptoms in preschool-aged children: The Revised Preschool Anxiety Scale. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 39(3), 400-409.

Rapee, R.M., Kennedy, S., Ingram, M., Edwards, S., & Sweeney, L. (in press). Altering the trajectory of anxiety in at-risk young children. American Journal of Psychiatry.