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Dr. Marlies Alvarenga

Senior Lecturer, Psychology

Contact

Campus

Berwick Campus

Biography

Dr Marlies Alvarenga is an academic and clinical psychologist with expertise in the delivery of evidence-based psychological interventions across the lifespan within community, hospital and research environments. Her clinical practice integrates empirically supported modalities within multidisciplinary healthcare systems, with particular attention to complex presentations at the interface of psychological and medical conditions.

Marlies is an AHPRA-endorsed clinical supervisor with substantial experience in competency-based supervision of both university trainees and practising clinicians, applying contemporary supervision frameworks to support the development of advanced clinical reasoning, ethical practice and reflective professional identity. 

Marlies’ primary research interest sits within the domain of psychosomatic medicine, with a specialised focus on cardiac neurosciences and psychocardiology. Her work investigates the biopsychosocial mechanisms linking chronic stress exposure, affective psychopathology and dysregulated neurocardiac functioning with the onset, progression and clinical outcomes of cardiovascular disease. This includes research on behavioural risk pathways, psychophysiological stress reactivity and the role of psychological distress in cardiometabolic morbidity. In addition, her research extends to preventative health and behavioural cardiology, examining psychological determinants of health behaviour change and cardiovascular risk reduction.

Marlies has contributed to scholarly dissemination in this field through the development and editorial leadership of multiple special issues in Frontiers in Psychiatry, focusing on the intersection of mental health, chronic disease and preventative medicine.

Collectively, her research and translational work contribute to the advancement of global health priorities aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being, particularly through the integration of psychological science into the prevention and management of chronic cardiovascular disease.

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More about Marlies

Qualifications

  • Doctor in Clinical Psychology
  • Master in Public Health
  • Graduate Diploma in Educational Psychology
  • Bachelor in Educational Studies
  • Bachelor of Science

Areas of interest

  • Chronic disease prevention and management – development of psychologically informed approaches to improve quality of life and health outcomes in individuals living with chronic illness. 
  • Psychocardiology and cardiac neurosciences – investigation of biopsychosocial and neurocardiac mechanisms linking psychological processes with cardiovascular disease risk, progression and clinical outcomes. 
  • Women’s cardiovascular health – examination of gender-specific cardiovascular risk pathways, including psychosocial stressors, health inequities, and structural determinants affecting women’s cardiac outcomes. 
  • Psychosomatic medicine and mind–body Interactions – research on the interplay between psychological distress, physiological regulation and chronic disease processes. 
  • Behavioural cardiology and health behaviour change – development and evaluation of psychologically informed interventions to improve prevention, treatment adherence and lifestyle modification in cardiovascular populations. 
  • Psychological wellbeing and quality of life in chronic disease – assessment and intervention targeting distress, adjustment and psychosocial functioning in individuals living with complex medical conditions.

  • Health psychology
  • Clinical and counselling psychology
  • Professional practice

Specialist roles

  • Research Fellow Australian Centre for Heart Health
  • Adjunct Senior Lecturer Monash University 

Professional association memberships

  • Australian Psychological Society
  • Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Agency  

Collaborative Evaluation and Research Centre (CERC)

Marlies is part of the Collaborative Evaluation and Research Centre (CERC), which provides training, workshops and mentoring to build capacity and enable organisations to conduct meaningful evaluations.
  • Publications

The prevalence of panic disorder in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-regression