Dr. Natasha Riard

Qualifications

• Doctor of Psychology (Clinical), James Cook University, 2010-2013
• Postgraduate Diploma in Psychology, Monash University, 2008-2009
• Bachelor of Art (Psychology & Communications), Monash University, 2005-2007

Biography

Natasha is a clinical psychologist and she is listed on the Singapore Register of Psychologists. She joined JCU (Singapore) in July 2021 as a Lecturer in Clinical Psychology. She is also the Psychology Clinic Manager in the JCUS Psychology Clinic. Natasha oversees the day-to-day operations of the psychology clinic, and supervises the clinical psychology interns who provide psychological services at the clinic to adult and child clients who present with a range of mental health needs.

Natasha was a Senior Psychologist at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH). She specialised in providing psychological services to preschool-aged children who presented with developmental delays and disorders, as well as behavioural and emotional difficulties. Her expertise includes helping parents understand and connect with their children, as well as how to apply positive parenting strategies to correct behaviours. Natasha also has expertise in the diagnosis of childhood disorders including Global Developmental Delay, Intellectual Disability, Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Her primary clinical interest is in Anxiety Disorders, particularly Selective Mutism. She led a team that specialised in providing clinical intervention to children with anxiety disorders, and was also the Principal Investigator in research evaluating the efficacy of a parent-based programme for preschool-aged children with anxiety disorders. This research was a collaboration with Professor Eli Lebowitz from the Yale Child Study Center. Natasha was also part of a team that created a comprehensive Selective Mutism Treatment Manual for preschool-aged children that involved working with children and parents. She was also the lead psychologist involved in creating digital content for a parent-based course on anxiety disorders.

Natasha has clinical and research experience in Autism Spectrum Disorder. She was part of a specialised team that managed Autism referrals at KKH. She is trained in both the ADOS and ADI-R. She was a co-investigator in various research studies including assessing the use of autologous umbilical cord blood infusion, as well as investigating sleep and screen time in children with Autism. She also headed a team that provided Social Skills Group intervention to children with Autism and other neurodevelopmental difficulties.

She continues to be a consultant to KidSTART Singapore Ltd.

Research Interests

Early intervention, anxiety disorders, attachment, pedagogy of clinical supervision.