Researcher biography

Dr Koa Whittingham is an Associate Investigator on the CRE and a member of two themes: Clinical Trials and Engagement & Health Policy themes.

Dr Koa Whittingham is a clinical and developmental psychologist and part-time NHMRC postdoctoral fellow with the QCPRRC at UQ. She has significant expertise in the application of evidence-based parenting interventions to neurodevelopmental disabilities and a leading researcher in the application of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, to parenting. In 2010, she received the Early Career Research Award at the International Helping Families Change Conference. In 2014, she received the Award for Best Paper for Effective Intervention for People Living with CP at the AusAACPDM. Dr Whittingham was a chief investigator on the first randomized controlled trial of a parenting intervention for families of children with cerebral palsy to test mindfulness-based therapeutic techniques. She is currently developing and testing a translatable by design online parenting support platform based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. She acts as a research consultant for the not-for-profit organisation Possums, and engages with the community through her blog Parenting from the Heart (www.koawhittingham.com) and her book Becoming Mum (www.becomingmum.com.au)