Contact

Email

lhart@unimelb.edu.au

Credentials

Position
Principal RSRCH Fellow (Population Mental Health)
Melbourne School of Population and Global Health - Centres and Institutes
Education
Doctoral Degree (Research) / PhD
University of Melbourne
Bachelors Degree
University of Melbourne
Bachelors Degree (Honours)
University of Melbourne
ORCID

0000-0001-5894-4520

A/Prof Laura M Hart

Principal RSRCH Fellow (Population Mental Health)
Melbourne School of Population and Global Health
110 Scholarly works
17 Projects

HIGHLIGHTS

  • 2026

    Journal article

    Help-seeking intentions, barriers and associated variables for depression and social anxiety among adolescents in Bermuda
    DOI: 10.1186/s12888-025-07731-1
  • 2026

    Other

    Guidelines on providing mental health first aid for supporting children: How to talk to adults about your concerns for a child’s mental health and seeking help
    DOI: 10.26188/33948145
  • 2026

    Other

    Guidelines on providing mental health first aid for supporting children: How to talk to a child who is at risk of suicide or self-harm
    DOI: 10.26188/33948184
  • 2026

    Other

    Guidelines on providing mental health first aid for supporting children: How to talk to a child aged 5-12 years about their mental health and seeking help.
    DOI: 10.26188/33948085
  • 2025

    Research grants (ARC, NHMRC, MRFF)

    Mental Health in Schools: Research and Development of MHFA Training to Increase Early Intervention and Suicide Prevention in Primary and Secondary Schools
  • 2023

    Research grants (ARC, NHMRC, MRFF)

    ScreenED: Developing and Validating a Universal Eating Disorder Screening Tool for Children 5-12 Years
  • 2021

    Research grants (ARC, NHMRC, MRFF)

    Growing Minds Australia: A National Trials Strategy to Transform Child and Youth Mental Health Services
Laura M Hart

Latest Honours,
Awards and Fellowships

2024
<p><strong>Outstanding Contribution Award: Dr Claire Kelly and Dr Laura Hart </strong>(Joint winners for their collaboration on teen Mental Health First Aid)</p> <p>In recognition of the unique and powerful contributions made by both individuals and organisations... who work to reduce the rate and impact of suicide, and who have tremendous heart, skills and experience. Whether they are volunteers or working in paid positions or an organisation it is through their efforts, insight and initiative that our communities become stronger and more resilient. They support individuals and communities, and stand up for better services in suicide prevention, intervention and postvention. <span>The State Awards judging panel comprises three independent judges, who award a single nominee for the award in their State/Territory. National Awards are judged by independent third parties under the guidance of our National LiFE Awards Chair.</span></p> Suicide Prevention Australia
2024
<p><strong>Outstanding Contribution Award: Dr Claire Kelly and Dr Laura Hart </strong>(Joint winners for their collaboration on teen Mental Health First Aid)</p> <p>Dr Claire Kelly of Melbourne University along with Dr Laura Hart of Mental Health First Aid Australia developed the teen Mental Health First Aid program to train adolescents in how to better support peers with mental health problems, including those with suicidal thoughts. Since 2014 when it was first launched, 4,735 programs have been run across 578 Australian schools to almost 100,000 students. The program has also been licensed in 17 other countries, including the USA, Canada, India, UK, Germany and NZ. In the USA, Lady Gaga’s Born this Way Foundation funded its adaptation and roll out, leading to more than150,000 US teens having been trained. The course teaches students how to apply a 5-step action plan to help a friend experiencing a crisis, including suicidal thoughts and behaviours. The international version of the program has been adapted locally to address the culture for each country.</p> Suicide Prevention Australia
2019
<p>This award recognises excellence in knowledge dissemination and research translation. The prize is open to persons or organisations who demonstrate outstanding effort to disseminate knowledge about evidence‐based interventions in mental health and implement research findings into policy and practice. <span>The award is open to all researchers, clinicians and consumers and organisations who seek to advance the availability of evidence-based interventions for those who are experiencing mental illness in the Australian community. </span>The award consists of a plaque and the expenses of attending the SMHR conference. The expenses are for up to &#36;3,000 and include registration at SMHR conference for 2019 for two nights’ accommodation at the SMHR 2019 conference venue, and air travel.</p> Society for Mental Health Research / Australian Rotary Health
2018
Eating Disorder Research Society - Top Abstracts

RECENT SCHOLARLY WORKS

  • 2026

    Journal article

    Mental health literacy and stigma among culturally and linguistically diverse adolescents in Australia: a comparative study
    DOI: 10.1007/s00127-026-03086-4
  • 2026

    Book

    Supporting Child Mental Health: A program for adults to learn how to provide mental health first aid for children aged 5-12 years - Reflective Journal
    DOI: 10.26188/32537661
  • 2026

    Book

    Supporting Child Mental Health: Instructor presentation manual for delivering live training sessions. Version 2 RCT 2026
    DOI: 10.26188/32538582
  • 2026

    Journal article

    Development and validation of the Test of Mental Health Literacy for Supporting Children
    DOI: 10.1016/j.mhp.2026.200515
  • 2026

    Journal article

    Stigmatizing attitudes and causal beliefs for depression and social anxiety among adolescents in Bermuda
    DOI: 10.1007/s00127-025-02971-8
  • 2026

    Journal article

    State of the Science: Mental Health First Aid Training of the Public
    DOI: 10.1016/j.beth.2026.06.001

RECENT PROJECTS

  • 2026

    Research grants (ARC, NHMRC, MRFF)

    Urban Nature for Young Minds: Exploring the Impact of Green Spaces on Child Mental Health and Wellbeing
  • 2021

    Research Grant

    Growing Minds Australia: A National Trials Strategy to Transform Child and Youth Mental Health Services