Dr Jaelea Skehan OAM

Dr Jaelea Skehan OAM is a respected leader in the prevention of mental ill-health and the prevention of suicide. She is the Director of Everymind, a registered psychologist, and holds a conjoint appointment with the School of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Newcastle. Jaelea is passionate about finding better connections between research and practice and ensuring knowledge translation in suicide prevention policy and practice.

Between August 2019 and December 2020, Jaelea was the Special Adviser to the National Suicide Prevention Taskforce, supporting the national work of the Prime Minister’s Suicide Prevention Adviser. She is a member of the Research Advisory Group for the National Suicide Prevention Research Fund, is a member of the Expert Advisory Group for the National Suicide and Self-Harm Monitoring System, sits on Movember’s Global Advisory Committee, is a member of the International Taskforce on Suicide and the Media, and contributes to local, national and international programs and research.

Jaelea has led and supported translational research across settings, but has a particular interest in media reporting of suicide, communication about suicide, workplace suicide prevention and finding better ways to harness and support those with lived experience of suicide, including families and friends. Her PhD was focussed on translating evidence into practice and the uptake of media and communication guidelines for the reporting of suicide.