Associate Professor Ryan Balzan
Associate Professor
College of Education, Psychology and Social Work
I am Director of the Cognitive Neuropsychiatry Laboratory, a thriving research collective within the Flinders Institute for Mental Health and Wellbeing. My lab is dedicated to improving our understanding of the psychological processes that underlie mental illness (e.g., how biased thinking styles contribute to the formation and maintenance of psychosis, eating disorders, depression). We investigate the cognitive factors responsible for problematic beliefs characteristic of mental disorders (e.g., persecutory delusions in schizophrenia, overvalued ideas in anorexia nervosa), and, more recently, conspiracy and pseudoscience beliefs.
We are also actively engaged in the development and evaluation of novel psychological interventions to assist people with these conditions (e.g., metacognitive training). We focus on brief, online digital psychological interventions that aim to (i) reduce the symptoms and severity of mental illness and (ii) prevent their onset within `at-risk' populations. We have also developed online modules designed to educate the public about harmful misinformation that fuels conspiracy beliefs (e.g., “vaccination is harmful”).
BPsych (Hons), MPsych (Clin), PhD
Clinical Psychologist (PSY0001891984)
- Academic Award for Integrity and Excellence (Flinders)
- Innovation in Learning and Teaching Award (Flinders)
- South Australian Young Tall Poppy Award
- Australian Psychological Society Early Career Research Award
- Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy Student Scholarship
- Vice-Chancellor's Award for Early Career Researchers (Flinders)
- Frank Dalziel Prize for Best PhD, School of Psychology (University of Adelaide)
- University of Adelaide Medal
- Australian Psychological Society (APS) Prize in Honours Psychology
- Max and Bette Mendelson Foundation Scholarship
Clinic Director, Flinders University Psychology Clinic
- Belief formation
- Clinical psychology
- Counselling
- Human development
- Delusions
- Psychosis
- Eating disorders
- Pseudoscience
I am committed to maintaining a professional activity profile within psychology. I am a registered Clinical Psychologist with the Psychology Board of Australia (Registration Number: PSY0001891984) and am an active member of several national and international professional clinical practitioner bodies, including the Australian Psychological Society, Australian Association for Cognitive and Behaviour Therapy, Healthy Development Adelaide, and the Association for Psychological Science. I am also the Clinic Director of the Flinders University Psychology Clinic.
I aim to raise public awareness of how psychological science can help to explain the symptoms of mental illness (e.g., delusions in psychosis). My research and clinical work have featured in five media publications, including In Daily, Flinders in Touch, and Southern Health News, and I have been interviewed on science radio broadcasts, such as Radio Adelaide’s Orbit, particularly on the underlying theory behind the latest psychological interventions for psychosis.
I am proud to devote time promoting psychological science for several reasons. It encourages greater understanding and acceptance of severe mental illnesses, reduces stigma, and empowers consumers. This is particularly important in the ‘post-truth’ era where people can easily be misinformed.
Sturt Rd, Bedford Park
South Australia 5042
South Australia | Northern Territory
Global | Online
Follow Flinders
