Alumni Spotlight - Cass

Cass completed her Honours with the IMAGE Otago group in 2022. After spending a couple of years travelling, she was fortunate to receive Commonwealth funding to pursue her PhD at the University of Cambridge.

Her research broadly explores how socioeconomic factors and contextual risks shape clinical outcomes for children and young people. Using a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods, Cass examines how factors such as housing, financial stress, and domestic abuse influence the clinical care received by young people who encounter mental health services.

Cass’s work builds on an interest in mental health developed during her time with the IMAGE Otago group. Her honours research explored personality, intrinsic motivation, and mental health, which sparked her wider interest in how social determinants shape children’s and young people’s experiences within mental health services.