Harms, Louise
Position: Deputy Head, Social Work; Director, Teaching and Learning, Melbourne School of Health Sciences
Phone: +61 3 8344 9413
Email: louisekh@unimelb.edu.au
BA Melb., BSW Melb., MSW Melb., PhD Melb
Associate Professor Lou Harms has extensive experience both as a social worker and educator. Her interest in social work comes from a strong interest in working with people to change their personal psychosocial experiences and an interest in influencing the broader community experiences of individuals.
Lou holds the portfolio of Director, Learning and Teaching for the School of Health Sciences at the University of Melbourne. In this capacity Lou manages all aspects of academic programs curriculum development and the learning and teaching experience of our students from entry-to-practice to specialty and advanced practice.
Her background in psychology, trauma counselling and psychotherapy have informed, and been informed by, her research interests in grief and trauma impacts on individuals and families. Her recent research projects in this area hope to inform best practice for families with a relative in an Intensive Care Unit, Palliative Care and with children with an acquired brain injury. She works one day a fortnight at the Alfred Hospital with the Social Work Department, working with them on a research agenda.
Lou coordinates the Trauma and Resilience Research Unit which is established to coordinate research activities around trauma and resilience, bring together a community of researchers and practitioners interested in trauma and resilience issues, support MSW and post-graduate research projects exploring trauma and resilience themes and contribute to the published literature on trauma, grief and resilience issues.
Lou’s other key research area is trauma experiences in indigenous communities. She is recently in receipt of a grant to research the effectiveness of social work in indigenous communities. The outcomes of this research should enable Lou to make recommendations on best practice, and to inform and develop the inclusion of national curricula standards for indigenous and cross-cultural studies in social work degrees.
As of 2009, she is the chair of the Editorial Board of Australian Social Work. Her other research interests include grief; road trauma; trauma and loss; post-traumatic growth and resilience; medical social work; counselling skills and psychotherapy; spirituality and religion; university students and transition; drug and alcohol services; lifespan development.
Researcher profile
Lou's Find an Expert profile further details her achievements, including: