Committee Information
Below are details of the current committee and vacancies. The APS is always on the look out for members who are interested in joining a Member Group committee, to help support and promote members, the profession, and the APS. For more information about joining a Member Groups committee, click here.
Have questions? Please feel free to contact committee members via PsyCommunity direct message here or reach out to APS Member Groups via [email protected].
Convener
Dr Nigar Khawaja
Nigar has been an academic, researcher and a multilingual clinical psychologist. She is a Fellow at APS and the College of Clinical Psychology. As a Professor at the Queensland University of Technology, she has trained postgraduate students as clinical psychologists. She has supported the culturally reflective practice of psychologists through her training programs and resources. Nigar uses expert advice, public lectures and debates to educate the public and stakeholders about the issues of vulnerable communities. Her cross-cultural and transcultural research examines the challenges of migrants, refugees, asylum seekers and international students. She developed culturally safe and sensitive assessment measures and interventions for the ethnic minorities in Australia. She has published and presented her research nationally and internationally and been successful with competitive grants. http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6343-9833;http://eprints.qut.edu.au/view/person/Khawaja,_Nigar.html
Committee Member
Dr Alice-Viviana Bercean
Alice has extensive experience teaching psychology and counselling in higher education. Being passionate about the intersection between psychology and culture, she completed her PhD in Psychology at Curtin University in 2019, focusing on the cultural adaptation of cognitive behavioural therapy for Chinese migrants experiencing depression. In 2025, she was awarded a small grant from the International Society for the Science of Existential Psychotherapy to lead a research project investigating the existential concerns of migrants to Australia. Her research explores how migrants navigate these challenges and the meaning-making processes that support them through acculturation. Alice’s personal experience as a migrant, combined with her academic work, has reinforced her strong commitment to culturally responsive practice.
Committee Member
Dr Judy Tang
Judy is Director and a Clinical Neuropsychologist with Jurmaine Health, which provides neuropsychological assessments and neuro-musculoskeletal treatment. She provides neuropsychological services for medico-legal and community settings, workshops and seminars both to her professional peers and wider community, as well as advocacy in the areas of health and community care.
Simultaneously, She also works with the Lincoln Centre for Research on Ageing, researching persons with dementia and their carers, as well as the ACAS evaluation unit. Her mastery of quantitative research has been utilised on the state and national level for its Aged Care Assessment Program.
Among numerous organizations, she is an executive member of the Australian Association of Gerontology’s Victorian branch (AAG), a member of the Australian Psychological Society’s College of Clinical Neuropsychologists (CCN), and the Victorian Police and Multicultural Advisory Committee.
Student Representative
Ms Daniela Ho Tan
Daniela is a Psychologist, Advanced Schema Therapist and researcher based in Sydney. She runs a small private practice and is also currently completing her PhD at the University of Sydney on “Transcultural applications of schema therapy in Asian populations”. Daniela works primarily with clients presenting with complex trauma, intergenerational trauma, attachment/interpersonal difficulties and emotion dysregulation.
Many of her clients also identify as being of the Asian diaspora and she finds it beneficial weaving in both her lived experience and understanding of Asian culture to promote culturally responsive practice. In 2023, Daniela launched Project HoriZen, a training and supervision initiative aimed at promoting culturally responsive practice, with a focus on Asian mental health.