Background and experience
Idun Røseth is a professor at the Department of Psychology at the University of Agder. She is also Head of Research and a clinical psychologist specialist at the Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Health (ABUP) at Telemark Hospital Trust.
Røseth holds a cand.polit. degree in psychology from NTNU and a cand.psych. degree from the University of Copenhagen. She completed her PhD at the University of Oslo in 2013 with a study on postpartum depression. She has also completed specialist training in clinical psychology with a focus on child and adolescent mental health.
She has extensive clinical experience from mental health services, including work at community mental health centres and child and adolescent mental health services. Her work has particularly focused on pregnant women, infants and toddlers, and their families.
Areas of responsibility
Røseth’s academic work focuses on developmental psychology, perinatal mental health, and infant and toddler mental health. Her work includes research, teaching, and clinical professional development within these areas.
An important part of her clinical work has been the assessment and treatment of interaction and attachment difficulties between parents and children. She has extensive experience working with vulnerable infants, young children, and their families.
At the University of Agder, she leads the PhD specialization committee at the Department of Psychology and is a member of the faculty’s PhD committee.
Teaching
Røseth teaches clinical psychology, developmental psychology, and qualitative research methods in the professional psychology programme.
Her teaching includes topics such as infant and toddler development and mental health, the psychology of pregnancy, mental health difficulties related to pregnancy and the postnatal period, and the assessment and treatment of interaction and attachment. In her teaching she uses case examples, video material, practice-oriented assignments, and discussions to connect theory with clinical practice.
Research
Røseth’s research focuses particularly on mental health during pregnancy, childbirth, and early parenthood. She also conducts studies on attachment, parenting, and infant and toddler mental health.
A central theme in her research is the importance of the earliest years of life and how psychological difficulties may influence children’s development. She also works with phenomenological approaches to qualitative research and studies of people’s experiences of mental health and health services.
Røseth leads the Mental Health Research Group at Telemark Hospital Trust. The group conducts research on mental health from a life-course perspective, with particular emphasis on children, young people, and families, and on developing knowledge that can strengthen clinical practice in health services. She is also a member of the research group Dialogical Practices at the University of Agder.
PhD supervision and research projects
Røseth supervises several doctoral projects related to mental health during pregnancy and early childhood, families in vulnerable life situations, and treatment for women with experiences of sexual trauma. The projects include studies of foster parents’ experiences in demanding caregiving situations, implementation of treatment models in clinical practice, and studies of vulnerable pregnant women’s experiences with health services and follow-up.
The research is conducted in collaboration with clinical environments in specialist health services and contributes to knowledge about prevention, treatment, and follow-up of mental health difficulties among children and families.