Patricia McNamara (Board)
PhD, School of Social Work & Social Policy,
La Trobe University
Melburne, Victoria, Australia

Patricia McNamara PhD is based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
She has practised as a clinical social worker and family therapist for over twenty-five years. She has worked in a range of child, adolescent and family welfare and mental health programs. She has also worked extensively in schools and in tertiary education counselling services.

Dr McNamara continues to conduct a private practice in psychotherapy and clinical supervision in Melbourne. She taught sessionally in the School of Social Work at the University of Melbourne for over twenty years and currently holds a tenured lectureship in the School of Social Work and Social Policy at La Trobe University, Victoria. She also lectures and supervises in the Postgraduate Diploma in Child, Adolescent and Family Mental Health at the University of Melbourne.

Her undergraduate and postgraduate teaching has been oriented to direct practice with individuals, families and groups. Her current research interests are focussed on process and outcome in child and family welfare intervention programs, parenting after separation in socially excluded families, children of parents living with a serious mental illness and the impact of maternal death through domestic violence.

Dr McNamara has a special interest in longitudinal qualitative research. She is currently conducting a fifteen year follow-up with former adolescent inpatients. This postdoctoral study is supported by the Anita Morawetz Scholarship in Family Therapy Research auspiced by the University of Melbourne. She consults regularly to a range of government and non-government organisations. She is also a member of the Research Advisory Committee for Take Two - an innovative state-wide intervention program targeting emotionally disturbed children and adolescents entering the Victorian child protection system.

Patricia is a foundation board member of the International Association for Outcome-Based Evaluation and Research in Family and Children's Services. Dr McNamara has attended the Association's meetings in Malosco and Abano Terme in 2003 and 2004 respectively. She also represented the Association as a presenter at an International Conference on Outcome Evaluation of Family Services in Florence, Italy in September, 2004. In May, 2005, under the auspice of the International Association, Dr McNamara hosted a visit to Melbourne by Professors Marianne Berry and Mark Ezell - both foundation members of Iaoberfcs. Whilst in Melbourne Professors Berry and Ezell presented to a range of academic institutions, peak child and family welfare bodies and non-government organisations. Their visit was enormously well received.

Recent publications
(McNamara is author or co-author of the following books)

McNamara P Assessing sensitive outcomes in child and family programs: interim report on the Melbourne component of a cross-national study. in Maluccio A, Canali C and Vecchiato T (eds) Outcome evaluation in services for families and children - international perspectives Aldine. in press

McNamara P Residential treatment. in Maluccio A, Canali C and Vecchiato T (eds) Outcome evaluation in services for families and children - international perspectives Aldine. in press

McNamara P Troubled teenagers reframed in the big picture: an ecological-developmental exploration of adolescent milieu treatment. (2005) Conference proceedings La Valuazione di outcome dei servizi per l'eta evolutiva e la familiglia aprendere dal confronto delle esperienze. Firenze, Italy, September 10th, 2004. Published Padova, Italy: Fondazione Zancan

McNamara P. In loco parentis revisited (July, 2005 ) Directions in Education Vol 14 No 7

McCormack J and McNamara P Australian social work graduate and postgraduate employment outcomes 2004.Advances in social work and welfare education. in press

Long M and McNamara P Television talk shows and the marginalised family Children Australia submitted

McNamara P Head, heart and hands: teaching reflective communication to early undergraduates Journal of Social Work Education. submitted

McNamara P (2004) Book review for Children Australia : Ann Deveson (2003) Resilience. Sydney: Allen and Unwin

McNamara P (2004) Book review for Australian Social Work: Fogleraiter F (2004,translated from the Italian) Relational social work: Toward networking and societal practices ). in press

McNamara P Book review for Australian Social Work Higgs J, Sefton A, Street A, McAllister L and Hay I (2005) Communicating in health and the social sciences. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. in press