Dr Kishani Townshend (PhD) is an Australian trained, Registered Psychologist with over 15 years counselling experience. Her PhD was awarded by the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at University of Adelaide in 2019. Currently she is an Adjunct Research Fellow at The Cairns Institute and the Lead Psychologist, managing the training provision for seven remote Family Wellbeing Services in Far North Queensland. Her current research interests include understanding cross cultural strategies to improve perinatal mental health and reduce family violence. Kishani has a diverse cultural background, having been born in Sri Lanka, then growing up in Africa, England and Australia. This gives her a broad cross-cultural understanding of her clients enabling her to assist them develop their unique capacity for resilience. She explored the psychology of parental resilience for her Honours thesis. Her PhD dissertation critically analysed the associations between mindful parenting and affect regulation. During her PhD candidature, she published seven articles and presented at four international conferences. She is experienced in combining her clinical experience with both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Her clinical practice draws on the latest evidence-based treatments including cognitive behaviour therapy, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and trauma-informed practice. Some of her research interests include evaluating effective treatments for depression, anxiety, stress, trauma and perinatal depression. She is registered with the Psychology Board of Australia and a member of the Australian Psychological Society. Her research has been published in peer-reviewed journals. Dr Townshend has presented her research at national and international scientific conferences.

References

Townshend, K., & Caltabiano, N. J. (2019).   The Extended Nervous System: Affect Regulation, Somatic and Social Change Mechanisms Associated With Mindful Parenting.  BMC Psychology 7(1), 41. doi: 10.1186/s40359-019-0313-0. 

Townshend, K., & Caltabiano, N. J. (2019).  A Conceptual and Methodological Exploration of the Cognitive Processes Associated With Mindful Parenting:  Reflections on Translating Theory to Practice. Contemporary Perspectives in Family Research (in press)

Townshend, K. & Caltabiano, N. J. (2019).  Self-Compassion and Mindfulness:  Modelling Change Processes Associated with the Reduction of Perinatal Depression Journal of Child and Family Studies, 28:1790–1802.  doi: 10.1007/s10826-019-01371-2

Townshend, K. (2016). Conceptualizing the key processes of Mindful Parenting and its application to youth mental health. Australasian Psychiatry, 24(6), 575 - 577.  doi:10.1177/1039856216654392.

Townshend, K., Caltabiano, N. J., Powrie, R., & O’Grady, H. (2018). A preliminary study investigating the effectiveness of the Caring for Body and Mind in Pregnancy (CBMP) in reducing perinatal depression, anxiety and stress. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 27(5), 1556–1566.  doi:10.1007/s10826-017-0978-z.

Townshend, K., Jordan, Z., Stephenson, M., & Tsey, K. (2016). The effectiveness of Mindful Parenting programs in promoting parents' and children's wellbeing: A systematic review. JBI Database of Systematic Reviews and Implementation Reports, 14, 139 - 178.  doi:10.11124/JBISRIR-2016-2314.

Townshend, K., Jordan, Z., Peters, M., & Tsey, K. (2014). The effectiveness of Mindful Parenting programs in promoting parents' and childrens' wellbeing: a systematic review protocol. JBI Database of Systematic Reviews and Implementation Reports, 12(11), 184-196.  doi:10.11124/jbisrir-2014-1666.