Pathways Health and Research Centre

Pathways Health and Research Centre is a specialised psychology clinic and health centre located in West End, Brisbane, Australia that was founded in 2003 by Professor Paula Barrett. The clinic specialises in the treatment of anxiety, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and related adolescent/childhood disorders.

The specific services offered by Pathways Health and Research Centre include the Friends for Life Program , the FUN FRIENDS program adapted from the Friends for Life Program and designed specifically for 4, 5, and 6 year olds, the FOCUS program for the treatment of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Steps-2-Manhood program, Learning to Learn program, educational assessments, specialized learning to learn programs for Autistic Spectrum Disorder, as well as programs for adults. Pathways has recently developed Friends for Sport, an adapted version of the Friends for Life Program.

The clinic is known mostly for the Friends for Life Program, created in 1992 by the clinic's founder, Professor Paula Barrett. The Friends for Life Program (FRIENDS) is the only anxiety prevention program acknowledged by the World Health Organisation for its twelve years of comprehensive evaluation and practice.

Professor Paula Barrett's work has been sited in Cochrane reviews on the topics of anxiety and OCD. The Cochrane anxiety reviews reference 7 studies conducted by Barrett, Dadds, Shortt and Lowry-Webster validating the FRIENDS Program. Further, the OCD reviews cite the FOCUS program as one of only three treatments that have been proven effective worldwide. FOCUS is the only treatment for OCD that has been proven to work that was developed in Australia.

Over the past four years in excess of 5000 kids have visited Pathways and more than 1000 have completed the FRIENDS program. Additionally, through Pathways Health and Research Centre at West End thousands of Queensland school teachers, Guidance Officers, Principals, social workers, allied health professionals and therapists have been trained in the FRIENDS program.

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