Director, Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Wellbeing Research Clinic | University of Western Australia

Professor Stephen Houghton is Director of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Wellbeing Research Clinic at the University of Western Australia. He is an internationally recognised researcher and registered psychologist whose work focuses on the underlying mechanisms of developmental psychopathology, loneliness, and mental health in children and adolescents, with and without neurodevelopmental conditions.

Professor Houghton’s research, cited over 10,000 times, spans the prevention and treatment of adverse mental health outcomes in young people. His work includes the development and evaluation of 3-D animated serious games embedding cognitive therapeutic approaches, alongside large-scale, funded research supported by the Australian Research Council, the National Health & Medical Research Council, and other major health and research organisations.

Contribution to BrainWaves

Professor Houghton supports the BrainWaves mission through his expertise in child and adolescent brain health and mental wellbeing. His work on brain development, mental health trajectories, and early intervention helps generate evidence-based insights to improve outcomes for children and adolescents.