Rate My Professor Angela Nickerson

Professor Angela Nickerson is a Professor in the School of Psychology at the University of New South Wales. She serves as Director of the Refugee Trauma and Recovery Program. Her research examines the psychological and social mechanisms that underpin refugee and post-conflict mental health and develops effective interventions for traumatic stress reactions in refugees. She also investigates the impact of policy on refugee mental health and cross-cultural considerations in psychological processes. Professor Nickerson has conducted research with refugee and post-conflict populations in Australia, Switzerland, the United States and Timor-Leste. She is a practising clinical psychologist specialising in traumatic stress reactions and contributes to training on the Master of Clinical Psychology program at UNSW, lecturing on anxiety and mood disorders, traumatic stress responses, refugee mental health and cross-cultural considerations in mental health.

Prior to her position at UNSW, Professor Nickerson completed postdoctoral research fellowships at Harvard University, Boston University and the VA Boston, investigating psychological responses to loss and trauma. She holds a BA (Hons) from the University of Queensland and a PhD combined with a Master of Psychology (Clinical) from UNSW. Her fellowships include an American Australian Association Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, an NHMRC Clinical Early Career Fellowship and an NHMRC Clinical Career Development Fellowship. She has received the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies Chaim and Bela Danieli Young Professional Award and the Royal Society of NSW Edgeworth David Medal. In 2025 she was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia. Professor Nickerson co-edited the 2018 book Mental Health of Refugee and Conflict-Affected Populations: Theory, Research and Clinical Practice and has published extensively in leading journals including Lancet Psychiatry, Psychological Medicine and Clinical Psychological Science.