Rate My Professor Monika Ferguson

Dr Monika Ferguson is a Senior Lecturer in Mental Health in the School of Nursing and Midwifery, College of Health, at Adelaide University. She is a suicide prevention and mental health researcher and lecturer whose expertise encompasses mixed-methods evaluations of suicide prevention initiatives in the health sector and community. Her qualifications include BPsyc(Hons), PhD, and GradCertSuicidePrevSt. Currently, she is undertaking a Research Fellowship funded by Suicide Prevention Australia to evaluate the impact of the safety planning intervention for people experiencing suicide-related distress. Ferguson also delivers suicide prevention training to health and human service professionals. Her career includes extensive involvement in research projects since at least 2015, with prior affiliations at the University of South Australia.

Ferguson's research interests include trauma-informed approaches to suicide prevention, suicide prevention education for nurses and other professionals, mental health of refugees and asylum seekers, and person-centred care in mental health. She has received several scholarships: Preventive Health SA Scholarship (11/09/2025 - 30/06/2029), SA Health Scholarship (01/03/2019 - 31/12/2025), and Open Minds Alliance CIC Scholarship (01/01/2017 - 30/05/2020). Key publications comprise 'Trauma-informed approaches to suicide prevention: a scoping review' (Ferguson et al., 2025, Crisis), 'The impact of trauma-informed suicide prevention approaches: a systematic review of evidence across the lifespan' (Procter et al., 2023, International Journal of Mental Health Nursing), 'Staff perspectives of safety planning as a suicide prevention intervention for people of refugee and asylum-seeker background: a qualitative investigation' (Ferguson et al., 2022, Crisis), 'The effectiveness of the safety planning intervention for adults experiencing suicide-related distress: a systematic review' (Ferguson et al., 2021, Archives of Suicide Research), and 'Suicide prevention training - improving the attitudes and confidence of rural Australian health and human service professionals' (Ferguson et al., 2019, Crisis). With over 1,300 citations on Google Scholar, her contributions have notable impact in suicide prevention research. She collaborates frequently with Professor Nicholas Procter on evaluations of programs for refugees, rural communities, and forensic settings.