Dr Adrienne Withall

Dr Adrienne Withall (BSc [Hons] PhD) is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Dementia Collaborative Research Centre for Assessment and Better Care Outcomes through the University of NSW and a member of the DCRC’s Special Groups node.

She also works as a Research Psychologist within the Academic Department of Old Age Psychiatry at the Prince of Wales Hospital and as a member of the team at the Sydney Centre for Clinical Cognitive Research.

Currently Dr Withall's main focus is on younger people with dementia; determining their prevalence, symptoms, and service needs, as well as the experiences of their carers and children.

Younger onset dementia (defined as the onset of cognitive, language and/or behavioural symptoms under the age of 65) accounts for about 5% of all cases of dementia. Persons with younger onset dementia are at a very different stage of their life at the onset of their illness - they typically have young partners and children, are still working, still driving, have significant financial commitments and do not fit into mainstream dementia services. The burden associated with dementia at a young age is substantial. Dr Withall and Professor Brian Draper, as members of the Special Groups node, are leading a team examining the prevalence of younger onset dementia, the needs of this group, and are determining a model of optimal service provision and care. Dr Withall is also examining assessment and care for individual dementias that typically have an early age of onset - for example alcohol related dementia and alcohol related brain damage.

Her other areas of interest include depression, neuropsychology, positive psychology, successful ageing and the psychiatric sequelae of stroke.

Prior to taking this position, Dr Withall worked as a lecturer in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Sydney where she taught courses on biopsychology, neuropsychology, research design, health psychology and abnormal psychology.