Research

At CAO we strive to improve the lives of those living with anxiety, OCD and related disorders. We invite our clients to participate in research in order to better our understanding of these conditions and improve available treatments. Currently, there are no research projects underway at CAO, however your therapist will provide you with information regarding any future research projects.

Journal Articles

Through their previous or current work with colleagues at various institutions (including Griffith University, Macquarie University and King’s College London), psychologists at CAO have contributed to the following research articles:

  • Lavell, C. H., Oar, E. L., & Rapee, R. M. (2025). Body dysmorphic disorder in adolescents: Family history, parental distress, rearing, and accommodation. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 1–15.

  • Lavell, C. H., Oar, E. L., & Rapee, R. M. (2024). Peer relationships and social media use in adolescents with body dysmorphic disorder. Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, 1-13.

  • Suvarna, V., Farrell, L., Adams, D., Emerson, L. M., & Paynter, J. (2024). Differing relationships between parenting stress, parenting practices and externalising behaviours in autistic children. Autism, 13623613241287569.

  • Cadman, J. & Turner, C. (2024). A clinician’s quick guide to evidence-based approaches: Body dysmorphic disorder. Clinical Psychologist, 1-6.

  • Dickson, S. J., Oar, E. L., Kangas, M., Johnco, C. J., Lavell, C. H., Seaton, A. H., ... & Rapee, R. M. (2024). A systematic review and meta-analysis of impairment and quality of life in children and adolescents with anxiety disorders. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 1-15.

  • Suvarna, V., Farrell, L., Adams, D., Emerson, L. M., & Paynter, J. (2024). Parenting practices and externalizing behaviors in Autistic children: A Systematic Literature Review. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 1-22.

  • Dickson, S. J., Kuhnert, R. L., Lavell, C. H., & Rapee, R. M. (2022). Impact of psychotherapy for children and adolescents with anxiety disorders on global and domain-specific functioning: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 25(4), 720-736.

  • Kroon, R., Bothma, N., Mathieu, S., Fontenelle, L. F., & Farrell, L. J. (2022). Parental surveillance of OCD and mental health symptoms during COVID-19: A longitudinal study of Australian children, adolescents and families. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 152, 225-232.

  • Farrell, L. J., Nabinger de Diaz, N. A., Mathieu, S., McKenzie, M. L., Miyamoto, T., Donovan, C. L., Waters, A. M., March, S., Bothma, N., Kroon, R., Simcock, G., Ware, R. S., Selles, R. R., Storch, E. A., & Ollendick, T. (2022). FAST CBT for pediatric OCD: A multiple-baseline controlled pilot trial of parent training in exposure and response prevention delivered via telehealth. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 1009735.

  • Kroon, R., Neumann, D. L., Piatkowski, T. M., & Moffitt, R. L. (2022). How the physical appearance of companions affects females with high or low social physique anxiety: A virtual reality exercise study. Virtual Reality, 1–11.

  • Farrell, L. J., Waters, A. M., Tiralongo, E., Mathieu, S., McKenzie, M., Garbharran, V., Ware, R. S., Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J., McConnell, H., Lavell, C., Cadman, J., … Storch, E. A. (2022). Efficacy of D-cycloserine augmented brief intensive cognitive-behavioural therapy for paediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder: A randomised clinical trial. Depression & Anxiety, 1-13.

  • Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J., Webb, H. J., Kerin, J., Waters, A. M., & Farrell, L. J. (2021). Risk factors and temporal patterns of disordered eating differ in adolescent boys and girls: Testing gender-specific appearance anxiety models. Development and Psychopathology, 33(3), 856-867.

  • Webb, H. J., Kerin, J. L., & Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J. (2021). Increases in emotional eating during early adolescence and associations with appearance teasing by parents and peers, rejection, victimization, depression, and social anxiety. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 41(5), 754-777.

  • Krisch, K. A., Bandarian-Balooch, S., Neumann, D. L., & Zhong, J. (2020). Eliciting and attenuating reinstatement of fear: Effects of an unextinguished CS. Learning and Motivation, 71, 101650.

  • Farrell, L. J., Miyamoto, T., Donovan, C. L., Waters, A. M., Krisch, K. A., & Ollendick, T. H. (2020). Virtual reality one-session treatment of child-specific phobia of dogs: A controlled, multiple baseline case series. Behavior Therapy.

  • Farrell, L. J., Lavell, C. H., Baras, E., Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J., & Waters, A. M. (2020). Clinical expression and treatment response among children with comorbid obsessive compulsive disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Journal of Affective Disorders.

  • Kerin, J. L., Webb, H. J., & Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J. (2019). Intuitive, mindful, emotional, external and regulatory eating behaviours and beliefs: An investigation of the core components. Appetite, 132, 139-146.

  • Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J., Kerin, J. L., Webb, H. J., Gardner, A. A., Campbell, S. M., Swan, K., & Timmer, S. G. (2019). Improved perceptions of emotion regulation and reflective functioning in parents: Two additional positive outcomes of parent-child interaction therapy. Behavior therapy, 50(2), 340-352.

  • Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J., Joyce, J., Kerin, J., Webb, H., Morrissey, S., & McKay, A. (2019). Self-determination theory and food-related parenting: The Parent Socioemotional Context of Feeding Questionnaire. Journal of Family Psychology, 33(4), 476.

  • Lavell, C. H., Webb, H. J., Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J., & Farrell, L. J. (2018). A prospective study of adolescents’ body dysmorphic symptoms: Peer victimization and the direct and protective roles of emotion regulation and mindfulness. Body image, 24, 17-25.

  • Roberts, C., Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J., Lavell, C., Miyamoto, T., Gregertsen, E., & Farrell, L. J. (2018). The Appearance Anxiety Inventory: Factor structure and associations with appearance-based rejection sensitivity and social anxiety. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders.

  • Kerin, J. L., Webb, H. J., & Zimmer‐Gembeck, M. J. (2018). Resisting the temptation of food: Regulating overeating and associations with emotion regulation, mindfulness, and eating pathology. Australian Journal of Psychology, 70(2), 167-178.

  • Krebs, G., Cruz, L. F. de la, Monzani, B., Bowyer, L., Anson, M., Cadman, J., … Mataix-Cols, D. (2017). Long-term outcomes of cognitive-behavioral therapy for adolescent body dysmorphic disorder. Behavior Therapy, 48(4), 462–473.

  • Krisch, K. A., Bandarian-Balooch, S., & Neumann, D. L. (2017). Effects of extended extinction and multiple extinction contexts on ABA renewal. Learning and Motivation, 63, 1-10.

  • Turner, C., & Cadman, J. (2017). When adolescents feel ugly: Cognitive behavioral therapy for body dysmorphic disorder in youth. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 31(4), 242–254.

  • Lavell, C. H., Farrell, L. J., Waters, A. M., & Cadman, J. (2016). Predictors of treatment response to group cognitive behavioural therapy for pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder. Psychiatry research, 245, 186-193.

  • Mataix-Cols, D., Cruz, L. F. de la, Isomura, K., Anson, M., Turner, C., Monzani, B., Cadman, J., … Krebs, G. (2015). A pilot randomized controlled trial of cognitive-behavioral therapy for adolescents with body dysmorphic disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 54(11), 895–904.

  • Webb, H. J., Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J., Mastro, S., Farrell, L. J., Waters, A. M., & Lavell, C. H. (2015). Young adolescents’ body dysmorphic symptoms: Associations with same-and cross-sex peer teasing via appearance-based rejection sensitivity. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 43(6), 1161-1173.

  • Lavell, C. H., Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J., Farrell, L. J., & Webb, H. (2014). Victimization, social anxiety, and body dysmorphic concerns: Appearance-based rejection sensitivity as a mediator. Body Image, 11(4), 391-395.

  • Lavell, C. H., Farrell, L. J., & Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J. (2014). Do obsessional belief domains relate to body dysmorphic concerns in undergraduate students?. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, 3(4), 354-358.

  • Ashton, A. A., & Boschen, M. J. (2011). Thought suppression of multiple personally relevant target thoughts. Asia Pacific Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy, 2(2), 138-150.

Book Chapters

  • Oar, E. L., Lavell, C. H. & Ollendick, T. H. (2023). Specific Phobia, In Friedman, H. S. & Markey, C. H. (Eds), Encyclopedia of Mental Health, Third Edition: Volume 1-3. Elsevier.

  • Lavell, C. H., Cadman, J., Waters, A., & Farrell, L. J. (2020). Psychoeducation for Exposure Therapy, In Peris, T. S., Storch, E. A., & McGuire, J. F. (Eds), Exposure Therapy for Children with Anxiety and OCD: Clinician's Guide to Integrated Treatment. Academic Press.

  • Farrell, L. J., Mathieu, S. L., & Lavell, C. H. (2018). Obsessive–Compulsive and Related Disorders. In Ollendick, T. H., White, S. W., & White, B. A. (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. Oxford Library of Psychology.

  • Krisch, K. A., Bandarian-Balooch, S., O’Donnell, A. W., and Neumann, D. L. (2016). Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy for Specific Phobia and its Clinical Application to Reduce Return of Fear. In Virtual Reality: Advances in Research and Applications. Nova Science Publishers New York.

  • Oar, E., Cadman, J., & Farrell, L. (2016). Treatment of Aggressive Obsessions in Childhood Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. In Clinical Handbook of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders (pp. 149–169).