Master of Criminology (Forensic Psychology)

Forensic Psychology teaching staff

Senior Sergeant Deb Bennett.
Deb Bennett is a Detective Senior Sergeant with Victoria Police, where she has been employed for 23 years. She has spent 18 years as a detective, including three years with the Rape Squad. She is currently the Officer-In-Charge of the Behavioural Analysis Unit, Homicide Squad, where she also directs the Australian Forensic Reference Group. In 2001 Deb completed her training with the International Criminal Investigative Analysis Fellowship, a world-wide group providing FBI-approved training to law enforcement officers.

Astrid Birgden, BA, DipAppPsych, MPsych (Forensic).
Astrid Birgden has worked as a psychologist for the past 20 years, primarily in the area of offender rehabilitation (with the Victorian Department of Justice) and intellectual disability (Disability Services). In Victoria, this has included: 1991-1995, Senior Psychologist, Statewide Forensic Services; 1996-2001, Manager, Sex Offender Programs; 2001-2004, Manager, Rehabilitation Framework; 2004-present, Manager, Family Violence Division Development.

Dr Patricia Brown, BA(Hons), MA (Clinical Psych), PhD.
Pat Brown is the Director of the Children’s Court Clinic of Victoria. A clinical and forensic psychologist, she is also a teacher and researcher in her field. Her publications have most often addressed the role and practice of psychologists in the Courts and her special area of interest has been delinquency and language coping. She was a Principal Researcher for the Starke Sentencing Committee, and a past national Chairman of the College of Forensic Psychologists of the Australian Psychological Society (of which she is a Fellow). In 2000, she received an Australia Day Award for outstanding service to the Children’s Court Clinic. In 2002, she was awarded the Ian Campbell Prize for excellence in applied clinical psychology in Australia. Her current interests are the application of clinical forensic psychology in Children’s Courts; assessments, report writing and expert evidence in Children’s Court protection and clinical matters; risk and resilience; interviewing children, adolescent suicide; doli incapax; and the treatment of young offenders and prevention.

Mr Simon Brown-Greaves, BSc(Hons), MSc, DipCrim, MAPS.
Simon Brown-Greaves is an organisational psychologist and consultant with over 20 years experience in the field, including seven years as CEO of the OSA Group. He is currently Dean of Studies with the Institute of Public Safety. His principal research interests are: effective conflict management; post-traumatic stress disorder; forensic psychology and its practical applications; and the interconnections between forensic and organisational psychology.

Dr Lynne Eccleston D.Psych (Forensic), BA(Hons.Psych), BA.
Dr Lynne Eccleston is a registered psychologist and member of the Forensic College of the APS and is Course Convenor of the Forensic Psychology Program at the University of Melbourne. She has experience working with offenders in correctional and community settings displaying a wide range of issues associated with their offending behaviour. She has published in the areas of risk and dangerous offender, violent and sex offenders, and the assessment, treatment and rehabilitation of offenders. She also consults to Corrections Victoria and Victoria Police in relation to homicide investigations.

Lynne is also convenor of the Forensic Psychology Program. Phone +61 3 8344 9450 or email lecc@ unimelb.edu.au

Ms Jari Evertsz BSc (Hons), MSc, MAPS, PRB.
Jari Evertsz has a background of several years’ experience of specialist forensic work in prisons both here and in Europe, as well as providing programs for children and young people caught in patterns of violence or sexual perpetration. She is also a practising Clinical Psychologist and provides consultation to the State government and agencies such as the Police, Human Services and the Courts. In 1998 she was awarded the National Violence Prevention Award by the Federal Government for work in the prevention of sexual aggression. Research and clinical interests include children who show violence or sexual aggression; long-term issues for children in foster care, the origins of violence, multiple sourced forensic interventions, and complex etiologies of depression.

Professor Ian Freckelton, BA (Hons), LLB (Syd), PhD (Griff).
Barrister and Solicitor, Victoria, South Australia and the ACT; Barrister, NSW, Queensland, Tasmania and the Northern Territory. Adjunct Professor, Law School, Monash University; Adjunct Professor, Law School, La Trobe University; Visiting Professor, Law School, Macquarie University; Adjunct Professor, Department of Psychological Medicine, Monash University; Honorary Associate Professor, Department of Forensic Medicine, Monash University. Ian Freckelton’s research interests include: medical law; mental health law; coronial law; evidence law; criminal law; criminology; criminal procedure; torts; compensation and personal injury law; human rights and civil liberties; media law.

Dr William Glaser, MB, BS, BA, DipCrim, FRANZCP.
Bill Glaser is a Consultant Psychiatrist to the Statewide Forensic Services, Disability Services, Victoria. Dr Glaser has published extensively in the areas of assessment and treatment of sex offenders, mental health legislation, psychiatric problems of civil litigants, mental health in prisoners and the problems of offenders with an intellectual disability. His principal research interests are: sex offenders; offenders with an intellectual disability; ethical issues in forensic mental health; mental health legislation; and assessment of personal injury litigants.

Dr Laura Sorbello BA, BA(Hons)Psych, DPsych (Forensic)
Dr. Laura Sorbello (BA (Honours); DPsych (Forensic)) is a registered psychologist who has completed the Doctorate in Forensic Psychology at the University of Melbourne as well as additional subjects that fulfil the requirements of a Masters in Clinical Psychology.  Throughout her training and subsequent employment, she has worked as a clinician in a number of correctional environments including Barwon Prison, Forensicare- Community Clinic and Thomas Embling Hospital, Port Phillip Prison, Dame Phillis Frost Centre, and the Parkville Youth Residential Centre.  She has also been involved in consultancy work with the University of Melbourne which has entailed conducting various training workshops to clinicians and correctional staff on topics such as case conceptualization and suicide and self-harm; has published a number of papers on various aspects of offender rehabilitation; and currently engages in regular lecturing to Doctoral and Masters students at the University.   Laura is currently also employed by Corrections Victoria in 2002 in a program development role and has most recently moved into a project management, role managing a range of specialist projects.

Laura is the Fieldwork Placement Coordinator for the Forensic Psychology Program.

Professor Tony Ward, MA(Hons), DipClinPsych, PhD.
Tony Ward is a clinical psychologist by training and has been working in the clinical and forensic field since 1987. He was formerly Director of the Kia Marama Sexual Offenders’ Unit at Rolleston Prison in New Zealand, and has taught both clinical and forensic psychology at Victoria, Canterbury, and Melbourne Universities. He is currently the Director of Clinical Training at Victoria University of Wellington. Professor Ward’s research interests fall into five main areas: rehabilitation models and issues; cognition and sex offenders; the problem behaviour process in offenders; the implications of naturalism for theory construction and clinical practice and assessment and case formulation in clinical psychology.