Associate Professor Karen Turner

Karen Turner is a clinical psychologist and research academic. She is Deputy Director (Programs and Innovation) at the Parenting and Family Support Centre. Her research activity concerns the nature, causes, prevention and treatment of behavioural and emotional problems in children. She is a foundational co-author of the Triple P – Positive Parenting Program and has published 13 professional manuals, 20 parent workbooks and tip sheet series, and 14 DVD programs, which are currently being used in 27 countries, in 20 languages. She has also co-written television segments and four interactive online parenting programs. She has clinical and research experience relating to the prevention and treatment of a variety of childhood behavioural and emotional problems, including work with feeding disorders, pain syndromes and conduct problems. Her doctoral research focused on the development and evaluation of brief primary care interventions in the prevention of behaviour disorders in children, and the subsequent dissemination of these interventions to the professional community. She has also conducted series of research into: online delivery of parenting programs; the cultural tailoring of mainstream parenting programs for Indigenous families; and enhancing the training and post-training environment for Indigenous professionals. Her current work includes further resource development for primary care settings, early education settings, and an ongoing focus on making evidence-based parenting support programs more accessible for families in low-resource communities.