Ms Holly Bowen-Salter

Holly Bowen-Salter is a senior academic researcher and PhD candidate with the International Centre for Allied Health Evidence at the University of South Australia. Her primary focus in all aspects of research is developing methodologies and strategies to help the under-represented practices which build health or provide salutogenesis gain respect and credibility politically, legislatively, and academically. Her work is focused in the areas of post-traumatic stress treatment and prevention, especially for Defence and Emergency Service personnel, early childhood mental health, and human-animal interactions. She has a keen interest around building collaborative, multidisciplinary trauma-informed research and practice teams in these research domains and is open to collaborations. 

Her current research investigates Art Therapy as a psychotherapeutic intervention for Defence and Emergency Service personnel with Post-Traumatic Stress symptoms and is focused on developing the foundations of robust research practice for art therapy in Australia. She was awarded a scholarship from the Road Home, a charity organisation dedicated to improving the health and well-being of Veterans, Emergency Service personnel and their families across Australia, to complete this Australian-first research. This 3-year project is supported by the University of South Australia Post-Graduate Award and the Commonwealth Program for South Australia Scholarship. 

Holly is the HDR candidate Representative for the Research Degrees Committee of the University of South Australia. She is also the HDR and South Australian Representative for the Australasian Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ASTSS). She will be running monthly multidisciplinary trauma-focused professional development seminars through 2020, sponsored by ASTSS and the Road Home. Please contact Holly directly via email if you're interested in these Professional Development seminars.