Dr Rachel Reilly is a Health Psychologist who has been conducting collaborative research in Aboriginal health for almost 20 years alongside clinical practice in a range of settings. Rachel’s early work described psychosocial determinants of Aboriginal health in the Goulburn-Murray region of northern Victoria. This work contributed to a community-led program of work that sought to advance understanding of Aboriginal models of health promotion, their alignment with ecological models, and a rethinking of implementation issues. The consistent underlying theme to Rachel’s work has been the exploration of links between social, emotional and physical wellbeing, and finding culturally relevant assessment and intervention approaches at individual and community levels to improve health outcomes.

Rachel is currently Senior Research Fellow in the Adolescent Health and Wellbeing Platform within Wardliparingga Aboriginal Health Equity at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, where she is working across several projects seeking to better understand mental health needs and their determinants, and to develop trauma-informed assessment and health service responses that address those needs.