Associate Professor and Clinical Psychologist

Flinders University

AUSTRALIA

Ryan Balzan is the Director of the Cognitive Neuropsychiatry Laboratory at Flinders University, a vibrant research collective within the Flinders Institute for Mental Health and Wellbeing. His work is dedicated to deepening our understanding of the psychological processes that underpin mental illness, specifically, how biased thinking styles contribute to the development and persistence of conditions such as psychosis, eating disorders, and depression.

Under Ryan’s leadership, the laboratory investigates the cognitive mechanisms responsible for problematic beliefs that are characteristic of various mental health challenges, including persecutory delusions in schizophrenia, overvalued ideas in anorexia nervosa, and, more recently, the endorsement of conspiracy and pseudoscientific beliefs.

Committed to making a tangible difference, Ryan and his team are pioneering the development and evaluation of innovative psychological interventions, such as metacognitive training. Their work focuses on creating brief, accessible, online digital programs designed both to reduce the severity of mental illness symptoms and to proactively prevent their onset in at-risk populations. In addition, they have developed public education modules aimed at combating the spread of harmful misinformation, including myths surrounding vaccination.

Ryan’s passion for advancing mental health understanding and intervention is reflected in his ongoing commitment to research, education, and public outreach.