Associate Professor Tess Patterson
Contact Details
- Phone
- +64 21 279 1727
- tess.patterson@otago.ac.nz
- Position
- Associate Professor and Head of Department
- Department
- Department of Psychological Medicine (Dunedin)
- Qualifications
- BA PGDipArts PhD(Otago)
- Research summary
- Clinical research on sexual abuse, sexual offending, forensic interviewing, alcohol and drug disorder
- Teaching
- Convenor ELM2, Second- , Third- , Fourth- , Fifth-Year Medicine, CBT for registrar programme, Masters and PhD research supervision
- Memberships
- Member, New Zealand College of Clinical Psychologists
- Member, New Zealand Psychologist Board
- Vice-Chair and founding Trustee, Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse Trust - Otago
Research
Associate Professor Patterson’s research interests are in applied clinical and forensic psychology domains. Her research interests focus on three broad areas:
- Childhood sexual abuse, the impact of sexual abuse, treatment, and investigative interviewing of those who may have been sexually abused
- Harmful sexual behaviour and sexual offending, the developmental pathways to adolescent harmful sexual behaviour ,and male versus female sexual offending
- Alcohol and drug treatment outcomes, evaluation of treatment programmes, and relapse and recovery
Associate Professor Patterson’s research interests in sexual abuse and offending are mirrored in her clinical work. Since 2010 she has worked as a specialist clinical psychologist assessing and treating adolescents and adults who have sexually harmed or offended. In this role she advises and informs legal practitioners, courts, Corrections, CYF social workers, teachers, other practising psychologists / psychiatrists, is called upon as a court witness, and provides comprehensive risk assessments. She is also an ACC registered health provider.
Publications
Patterson, T., Hobbs, L., Brown, E., & Barak, Y. (2023). Sexual assault in older-age adults: Criminal justice response in New Zealand. Journal of Aging & Social Policy. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/08959420.2023.2284575
Patterson, T., Egan, R., Gross, J., Leov, J., Hobbs, L., & La Rooy, D. (2023). Mentoring: A traditional Cook Island approach to support men. International Journal of Offender Therapy & Comparative Criminology. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1177/0306624x231172638
Egan, R., Gross, J., Cameron, C., Hobbs, L., & Patterson, T. (2023). Spirituality: A key component of the Salvation Army's Bridge Programme model of treatment in Aotearoa New Zealand. Journal of Religion & Health, 62, 2563-2584. doi: 10.1007/s10943-022-01674-7
Patterson, T., Campbell, A., La Rooy, D., Hobbs, L., Clearwater, K., & Rapsey, C. (2023). Impact, ramifications and taking back control: A qualitative study of male survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 38(1-2), 1868-1892. doi: 10.1177/08862605221094629
Burgstedt, C., Beeby, A., Hayne, H., Hobbs, L., Gross, J., & Patterson, T. (2023). Does gender affect judges' perceptions of sexual assault cases? Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 38(1-2), 466-508. doi: 10.1177/08862605221085034
Burgstedt, C., Beeby, A., Hayne, H., Hobbs, L., Gross, J., & Patterson, T. (2023). Does gender affect judges' perceptions of sexual assault cases? Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 38(1-2), 466-508. doi: 10.1177/08862605221085034
Journal - Research Article
Egan, R., Gross, J., Cameron, C., Hobbs, L., & Patterson, T. (2023). Spirituality: A key component of the Salvation Army's Bridge Programme model of treatment in Aotearoa New Zealand. Journal of Religion & Health, 62, 2563-2584. doi: 10.1007/s10943-022-01674-7
Journal - Research Article
Patterson, T., Campbell, A., La Rooy, D., Hobbs, L., Clearwater, K., & Rapsey, C. (2023). Impact, ramifications and taking back control: A qualitative study of male survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 38(1-2), 1868-1892. doi: 10.1177/08862605221094629
Journal - Research Article
Patterson, T., Egan, R., Gross, J., Leov, J., Hobbs, L., & La Rooy, D. (2023). Mentoring: A traditional Cook Island approach to support men. International Journal of Offender Therapy & Comparative Criminology. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1177/0306624x231172638
Journal - Research Article
Patterson, T., Hobbs, L., Brown, E., & Barak, Y. (2023). Sexual assault in older-age adults: Criminal justice response in New Zealand. Journal of Aging & Social Policy. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/08959420.2023.2284575
Journal - Research Article
Graham, K., Patterson, T., Justice, T., & Rapsey, C. (2022). "It's not a great boulder, it's just a piece of baggage": Older women's reflections on healing from childhood sexual abuse. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37(1-2), 705-725. doi: 10.1177/0886260520916270
Journal - Research Article
Macleod, E., Hobbs, L., Admiraal, A., La Rooy, D., & Patterson, T. (2022). The use and impact of repeated questions in diagnostic child abuse assessment interviews. Psychiatry, Psychology & Law, 29(3), 364-380. doi: 10.1080/13218719.2021.1910586
Journal - Research Article
Patterson, T., Hobbs, L., Lorimer, M., & Rapsey, C. (2022). Sexual developmental histories of adolescents who engaged in harmful sexual behaviour. Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, 33(6), 810-827. doi: 10.1080/14789949.2022.2122856
Journal - Research Article
Patterson, T., Hobbs, L., Treharne, G. J., & Beres, M. (2022). Seeking of help and support after experiencing sexual harm: Considerations for cisgender women, cisgender men and gender-diverse people. New Zealand Medical Journal, 135(1562), 56-62. Retrieved from https://journal.nzma.org.nz/
Journal - Research Article
Beeby, A., Hobbs, L., Gross, J., Hayne, H., & Patterson, T. (2021). Gender disparities in sentencing outcomes for sexual offenders. Journal of Sexual Aggression, 27(3), 319-337. doi: 10.1080/13552600.2020.1784476
Journal - Research Article
Damiris, I. K., McKillop, N., Christensen, L. S., Rayment-McHugh, S., Burton, K., & Patterson, T. (2021). Gendered judicial discourse in the sentencing of sexual offenders: A new explanatory model. Current Issues in Criminal Justice, 33(2), 228-246. doi: 10.1080/10345329.2020.1837716
Journal - Research Article
Flett, J. A. M., Conner, T. S., Riordan, B. C., Patterson, T., & Hayne, H. (2020). App-based mindfulness meditation for psychological distress and adjustment to college in incoming university students: A pragmatic, randomised, waitlist-controlled trial. Psychology & Health, 35(9), 1049-1074. doi: 10.1080/08870446.2019.1711089
Journal - Research Article
Rapsey, C., Campbell, A., Clearwater, K., & Patterson, T. (2020). Listening to the therapeutic needs of male survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 35(9-10), 2033-2054. doi: 10.1177/0886260517701453
Journal - Research Article
Flett, J. A. M., Fletcher, B. D., Riordan, B. C., Patterson, T., Hayne, H., & Conner, T. S. (2019). The peril of self-reported adherence in digital interventions: A brief example. Internet Interventions, 18, 100267. doi: 10.1016/j.invent.2019.100267
Journal - Research Article
Patterson, T., Hobbs, L., McKillop, N., & Burton, K. (2019). Disparities in police proceedings and court sentencing for females versus males who commit sexual offences in New Zealand. Journal of Sexual Aggression, 25(2), 161-176. doi: 10.1080/13552600.2019.1581281
Journal - Research Article
Patterson, T., Macleod, E., Hobbs, L., Egan, R., Cameron, C., & Gross, J. (2019). Measuring both primary and secondary outcomes when evaluating treatment effectiveness in alcohol and drug treatment programmes. Clinical Psychologist, 23(2), 152-164. doi: 10.1111/cp.12156
Journal - Research Article
Rapsey, C. M., Scott, K. M., & Patterson, T. (2019). Childhood sexual abuse, poly-victimization and internalizing disorders across adulthood and older age: Findings from a 25-year longitudinal study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 244, 171-179. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2018.10.095
Journal - Research Article
Macleod, E., Woolford, J., Hobbs, L., Gross, J., Hayne, H., & Patterson, T. (2017). Interviews with children about their mental health problems: The congruence and validity of information that children report. Clinical Child Psychology & Psychiatry, 22(2), 229-244. doi: 10.1177/1359104516653642
Journal - Research Article
Glue, P., Courts, J., Gray, A., & Patterson, T. (2016). Influence of law changes affecting synthetic cannabinoid availability and frequency of hospital presentations: 4-year national survey. New Zealand Medical Journal, 129(1433), 41-44. Retrieved from http://www.nzma.org.nz/journal
Journal - Research Article
Woolford, J., Patterson, T., Macleod, E., Hobbs, L., & Hayne, H. (2015). Drawing helps children to talk about their presenting problems during a mental health assessment. Clinical Child Psychology & Psychiatry, 20(1), 68-83. doi: 10.1177/1359104513496261
Journal - Research Article
Patterson, T., & Scott, C. (2013). Behavioral Management of inappropriate masturbation in an 8-year-old girl. Child & Family Behavior Therapy, 35(3), 256-263. doi: 10.1080/07317107.2013.818907
Journal - Research Article
Patterson, T., Rapsey, C. M., & Glue, P. (2013). Systematic review of cognitive development across childhood in Down syndrome: Implications for treatment interventions. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 57(4), 306-318. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2788.2012.01536.x
Journal - Research Article
Crawford, E., Gross, J., Patterson, T., & Hayne, H. (2012). Does children’s colour use reflect the emotional content of their drawings? Infant & Child Development, 21(2), 198-215. doi: 10.1002/icd.742
Journal - Research Article
Gale, C., Skegg, K., Mullen, R., Patterson, T., & Gray, A. (2012). Thoughts of suicide and stage of recovery in patients with schizophrenia in community mental health care. Australasian Psychiatry, 20(4), 313-317. doi: 10.1177/1039856212449669
Journal - Research Article
Patterson, T., & Hayne, H. (2011). Does drawing facilitate older children's reports of emotionally laden events? Applied Cognitive Psychology, 25(1), 119-126. doi: 10.1002/acp.1650
Journal - Research Article
Patterson, T., Mullen, R., Gale, C., & Gray, A. (2011). Compulsory community treatment and patients' perception of recovery in schizophrenia. Australasian Psychiatry, 19(5), 431-433. doi: 10.3109/10398562.2011.603330
Journal - Research Article
Glue, P., & Patterson, T. (2009). Can drug treatments enhance learning in subjects with intellectual disability? Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 43(10), 899-904. doi: 10.1080/00048670903179178
Journal - Research Article
Patterson, T., & Pipe, M.-E. (2009). Exploratory assessments of child abuse: Children's responses to interviewer's questions across multiple interview sessions. Child Abuse & Neglect, 33(8), 490-504. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2008.12.012
Journal - Research Article
Gale, C., Mullen, R., & Patterson, T. (2012). Letter to the editor. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 58(4), 449-450. doi: 10.1177/0020764010394522
Journal - Research Other