Professor Bridianne O'Dea is a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) Investigator at the Flinders Institute for Mental Health and Wellbeing.

Professor O'Dea leads a rigorous program of research that uses novel digital technologies for the prevention, early intervention, and treatment of mental health problems in adolescents. Professor O'Dea's work integrates the disciplines of psychology, public health, and computer science to design and test digital solutions for mental health problems that are not only effective but engaging and scalable. Professor O'Dea's vision is to ensure that all young Australians have timely access to appropriate and effective mental healthcare.

• Child and adolescent mental health 
• Digital mental health 
• Suicide prevention 

Current team members 'Little Heroes Lab':

• Dr Catherine Johnson
• Dr Madelaine De Valle
• Dr Robyn da Silva
• Dr Larissa Roberts
• Dr Samra Naz
• Jessica Zuvela
• James Budd
• Isobelle McKenzie
• Cindy Mcconville (Masters)
• Jemima Alford (Masters)
• Isobelle Mcgreevy (Psychology Student)
• Portia Rogers (Psychology Student)

Past team members:

• Dr Mirjana Subotic-Kerry (Black Dog Institute)
• Dr Taylor Braund (Black Dog Institute)
• Melinda Achilles (Black Dog Institute)
• Dr Sophie Li (Black Dog Institute)
• Dr Sally Rooke (Black Dog Institute)
• Dr Belinda Parker (Black Dog Institute)
• Bojana Vilus (Black Dog Institute)
• Neelesh Paravastu (Black Dog Institute)
• Roisin McNamara (Black Dog Institute)
• Fergus Lyons (Black Dog Institute)
• Eliza-Rose Gordon (Black Dog Institute)
• Catherine King (Black Dog Institute)
• Melissa Anderson (Black Dog Institute)
• Cassandra Chakouch (Black Dog Institute)

• Dr Laura Kampel (PhD, UNSW Sydney)
• Dr May (Crystal) The Zin (ILP, UNSW Sydney)
• Dr Jarrod Chakos (ILP, UNSW Sydney)
• Dr Jia (Joel) Wei Tan (ILP, UNSW Sydney)
• Dr Emma Dennis (ILP, UNSW Sydney)
• Dr Amira Bajema (ILP, UNSW Sydney)
• Dr Jayden Choi (ILP, UNSW Sydney)
• Dr Khin Thida Win (ILP, UNSW Sydney)
• Bethany Yu (ILP, UNSW Sydney)
• Benjamin Neithe (ILP, UNSW Sydney)
• Samantha Chen (Masters, University of Sydney)

The ENRICH Alliance

O'Dea established and leads The ENRICH Alliance within the Flinders University Institute for Mental Health and Wellbeing. The Alliance brings together multidisciplinary researchers and evidence-based practitioners committed to improving the mental health and wellbeing of children and adolescents. Through innovative approaches, rigorous science, and meaningful partnerships, The ENRICH Alliance aims to enhance the quality, relevance, and global impact of child and adolescent mental health research conducted at Flinders University. 

The ENRICH Alliance Newsletters

• June 2025

Working with Youth with Lived Experience (YLE)

O'Dea has a strong and consistent commitment to involving young people with lived experience (YLE) across all projects, in a variety of meaningful ways. Here are some examples:

• Co-design of a CBT-app with young people
• Co-design of a relationships-focussed app with young people
• Co-design of a smartphone app for teen sleep

Working with other types of Lived Experience and Service Experts

O'Dea is strongly committed to engaging service providers and individuals with diverse lived experiences across all projects, ensuring their insights inform research design, implementation, and impact in meaningful and practical ways. Here are some examples:

• Working with GPs
• Working with School Counsellors
• Working with Parents
• Working with Teachers
• Working with Year Advisors

ClearlyMe® - the first evidence-based smartphone app for depressed teens. 

Developed by O'Dea's team at the Black Dog Institute and generously funded by the Goodman Foundation, ClearlyMe® is Australia’s first free self-guided smartphone app to deliver Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT; the gold-standard treatment) for teen depression, filling a critical treatment gap. Developed through co-design and tested in a world-first clinical trial, ClearlyMe® reduced depression and improved quality of life. Since its release in 2024, the app has >61,000 views and >25,000 downloads. You can read more about the project here. 

Smooth Sailing Digital Mental Health Service for Secondary Schools

Developed by O'Dea's team at the Black Dog Institute, Smooth Sailing is a world-first digital mental health screening service for secondary schools. Developed through co-design, and tested in a pilot trial, cluster-randomised controlled trial, COVID-19 trial, an implementation trial, and supplemented with a harms analysis, this work has generated new knowledge of the safety and effectiveness of school-based mental health screening and digital mental health service provision. This work featured in Research Australia's INSPIRE Magazine, NewsGP, The Educator, and the Sydney Morning Herald. You can read more about this work here.

Building Secondary School Educators' Skills in Adolescent Mental Health (BEAM)

Also developed by O'Dea's team at the Black Dog Institute, BEAM is a novel teacher training program that blends online learning with peer mentoring to improve teachers' skills in supporting student mental health. Developed through co-design and a systematic review, BEAM has been shown to be effective for improving teachers' capabilities in a pilot and cluster-randomised controlled trial. You can view the pre-registered protocol for the pilot here. The pre-registed RCT protocol is here and the published RCT protocol here. This research also featured in the Teacher Magazine and Education Australia. The program was accredited by NESA and included in ACER's approved wellbeing programs. It received the Black Dog Institute's Knowledge Translation Award and has been integrated into the Institute's training offerings. It featured in the Institute's 2023 submission to Australia's Review to Inform a Better and Fairer Education System. To learn more about the research, click here.

Presentations and Features

• Is Your Phone Bad for Your Mental Health? | TEDxYouth@Sydney
• CHOIR 2025 Clinical Trial Speaker Series
• Leading Technology for Good Mental Health
• Australasian Research Management Society Ethics Network Keynote 2015 | Social Media Research and Ethics Committees