Dr Ester Klimkeit

Biography

I completed my DPsych (Clinical) in 2003. My thesis examined specific aspects of attention and motor functioning in children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. I joined the Monash University Centre for Developmental Psychiatry and Psychology at Monash Medical Centre in May 2003 as a Research Officer/Program Psychologist working on the Berriga: Time for a Future Adolescent Depression Program under Professor Bruce Tonge, Associate Professor Neville King and Dr Michael Gordon. I was fortunate to be able to combine my clinical interests (by providing cognitive behaviour therapy to adolescents with depression and their parents) and my research interests (treatment outcome study) by working on this project. I have also been able to introduce my interest in experimental neuropsychology to this research project.

In January 2005 I started a lecturer position in the Department of Psychological Medicine and am teaching and coordinating the Clinical Case Management subject for D Psych students, as well as coordinating the lecture series for the Health Psychology subject for Nutrition and Dietetics students (BND2031). I continue to work with adolescents in the adolescent depression program and will be involved in a new research program on a randomised controlled trial of cognitive behaviour therapy with and without fluoxetine for school refusal in children.

Email Dr Ester Klimkeit

Professional Activities

Teaching
Research
Clinical work with adolescents suffering from depression and their parents
Supervision of students on clinical placement
Supervision of research students
Provide CBT workshops for General Practitioners
Occasional reviewer for Child Neuropsychology, Neurocase, Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, and Brain and Cognition

Research Interests

Childhood psychopathology (eg. depression, anxiety, ADHD)
Developmental Psychology
Clinical Psychology
Experimental Neuropsychology

Postgraduate Research Projects

An investigation of factors associated with good outcomes in adolescents suffering from depression - Ms Karen Skinner (D Psych candidate)

Potential Student Projects

Please contact me for discussion of potential student projects in the areas of childhood psychopathology, developmental psychology, clinical psychology and experimental neuropsychology.

Teaching

I am teaching and coordinating the Clinical Case Management subject for D Psych students, as well as coordinating the lecture series for the Health Psychology subject for Nutrition and Dietetics students (BND2031), and teaching in other courses when invited.

Grant Support

The adolescent depression and school refusal research programs that I am involved in, are funded by beyondblue.