Trauma Support Providers

Professional Biography

Dr Pam Connor is a registered psychologist (Registration Number PSY0001407041) in the ACT, specialising in clinical psychology. She holds Full Membership with the Australian Psychology Society (APS), with Full Membership of both the Clinical and Health Colleges of the APS. Dr Connor has worked in the field of mental health since 1997, in both the public and private sector. She is currently in full-time private practice, having retired from a long public-sector career at the end of 2014. Dr Connor was in private practice (part-time) for 15 years (alongside public-sector work) prior to leaving the public sector to undertake clinical work full-time.
Dr Connor has specialised in providing trauma-informed care to individuals who have experienced long-term and multiple trauma experiences as children, adolescents, and adults. Her interest in this stemmed from having undertaken many assessments of children who had experienced abuse and trauma, and in the process, developing a strong desire to support these children as they grew older, to help them reverse the impact of some of their harmful experiences. This has evolved into a broader interest in assisting not only young people, but also adults who are still suffering from the traumas they have experienced. Dr Connor has provided trauma-informed care to individuals over many years. Her doctoral research was in the field of complex trauma, and for this award, she developed a treatment framework for adults who had suffered multiple and complex trauma experiences as children , adolescents, and adults. Her two research papers related to her research are as follows:
• Connor, P.K. & Higgins, D.J. (2008). The ‘‘HEALTH’’ model – Part 1: treatment program guidelines for Complex PTSD. Sexual and Relationship Therapy, Vol. 23, No. 4, 293–303
• Connor, P.K. & Higgins, D.J. (2008). The ‘‘HEALTH’’ model – Part 2: case study of a guideline-based treatment program for Complex PTSD relating to childhood sexual abuse. This study outlines some of the practical issues for practitioners in the use of a guideline-based treatment program: HEALTH, Sexual and Relationship Therapy, Vol. 24.
Dr Connor also has a strong interest in the field of neuroscience, having recently completed further post-graduate studies in this field at Sydney University (Brain and Mind Research Institute) and sees that the knowledge gained in this additional study is essential to assisting individuals understand more about the impact of trauma on early brain development, and subsequent emergence of specific behaviours. It has also been important in explaining with understanding how different forms of support and intervention can assist the individual with long-term changes, which requires some ‘rewiring’ of the brain.

Client Types

• Child
• Adolescent
• Adult
• Couple
• Family