Rate My Professor Lisa Olive

Associate Professor Lisa Olive is a clinical psychologist at Deakin University's School of Psychology within the Faculty of Health. She holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the Australian National University awarded in 2016, a Master's degree in Clinical Psychology from ANU in 2014, and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Psychology (Sports Coaching) with Honours from the University of Canberra in 2007. Her career trajectory includes positions as Senior Research Fellow since 2019 and Lecturer from 2016 to 2018 at Deakin University, Psychologist at the ACT Academy of Sport from 2015 to 2016, Research Assistant at the Australian National University from 2009 to 2014, and Residential Welfare Officer at the Australian Institute of Sport from 2006 to 2009. Olive serves as an Honorary Senior Research Fellow with Orygen's Mental Health in Elite Sport team and practices as a clinical psychologist supporting high-performance athletes and individuals in the sports system with mental health concerns.

Olive specializes in mental health and wellbeing for elite and professional sportspeople, the relationship between physical activity and mood and anxiety disorders among young people, and the connections between mental and physical health. She is a recipient of an NHMRC Emerging Leader Fellowship (Early Career Fellowship #1158487) and has contributed to major funding successes, such as a project within the $10.8 million Deakin health and medical research grants for optimising and embedding lifestyle therapy into routine childhood mental health services through her role at the Centre for Social and Early Emotional Development (SEED). Her influential publications include 'Why are girls less physically active than boys? Findings from the LOOK longitudinal study' (PLoS One, 2016), 'From "It Has Stopped Our Lives" to "Spending More Time Together Has Strengthened Bonds": The Varied Experiences of Australian Families During COVID-19' (Frontiers in Psychology, 2020), 'Child, parent, and family mental health and functioning in Australia during COVID-19: comparison to pre-pandemic data' (European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 2023), and research on surf therapy's benefits for youth mental health. Olive's work has practical impact through collaborations with organisations like Ocean Mind and the Australian Sports Commission, advancing interventions in sports psychology, youth wellbeing, and mind-body health.