All consultants within the COGNITION team are registered with the Psychology Board of Australia and bring with them a breadth of experience. The team consists of psychologists of different ages and backgrounds, who have a range of interests and expertise, so that we may offer a comprehensive service to our clients. We encourage our clients to work with the psychologist who provides the “best fit”.
We have a mix of male and female practitioners, with a range of interests and expertise, to offer a comprehensive service to our clients. We encourage our clients to work with the psychologist who provides the “best fit” for them, so that they are comfortable in working together to address presenting problems.
At COGNITION, our psychologists adhere to the codes of ethics of the Australian Psychological Society and the Institute of Private Practising Psychologists (IPPP). Each holds membership of appropriate professional bodies and demonstrates commitment to on-going professional development.
Managing Director
Dr Denise Keenan, PhD, has been registered as a Psychologist since 1986 and has been in private practice as the Managing Director of COGNITION since 1991. Her work has been divided between organisational consulting and individual consultations for clinical and general psychological issues. She has extensive experience in conducting consultations to address well-being issues and also in diagnosing, treating and reporting on psychological conditions, especially those associated with work-related psychological stress and trauma. She utilises a range of therapeutic methods including Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR), amongst others. Denise sees clients through Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), she accepts work injury, third party, Medicare and private health referrals. She is known for her practical, thorough and compassionate approach.
Denise holds an endorsement as an Organisational Psychologist and her organisational consulting experience includes training and facilitation, coaching, analysing organisational difficulties and designing and implementing intervention programs. She is accustomed to working with senior executive, management, supervisors and general staff across a broad range of industry sectors.
Denise’s particular practice interests are:
Denise holds membership of multiple professional organisations, including the Australian Psychological Society (APS) and College of Organisational Psychologists. She is an active contributor to the psychology profession, and spent many years as the President (and Life Member) of the Institute of Private Practising Psychologists. She is frequently asked to present at conferences, including giving key note addresses.
Psychologist, Associate
Karen holds a long-term Associate role at COGNITION and is well-respected. She has earned Master’s degrees in Organisational Psychology and Clinical Psychology, and has AHPRA endorsement and APS College membership in each of these areas of practice. She has been registered to practice as a Psychologist since 2009.
Karen’s approach to working with people is personal and tailored to meet individual needs. Using techniques from Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Mindfulness, Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR), Psychodynamic Psychotherapy and others, she connects with people and draws creatively on an eclectic treatment approach to promote change. Karen brings a sense of calm, curiosity, humour and wisdom to her work and welcomes those experiencing stress, depression, anxiety, trauma, grief, loneliness, anger, conflict (workplace or personal), communication difficulties, the effects of serious disease or ageing, end of life matters and difficulties with employment transition.
Karen’s organisational work sees her providing focussed and goal-directed coaching for management and executives. She is a skilled trainer and facilitator. In addition, Karen holds accreditation as a Mediator and is a full member of the Resolution Institute (formerly IAMA and LEADR). This allows her to offer workplace conflict services, including mediation, conflict coaching, team interventions and cultural reviews.
Karen holds membership of a range of professional bodies, including the Australian Psychological Society (APS) and Colleges of Clinical and Organisational Psychologists, and is a Certified Professional Member of the Australian Human Resource Institute (AHRI).
Karen’s particular practice interests are:
Psychologist, Associate
Sandra has a wealth of practical experience as a psychologist, having first registered to practise in 1994. She holds an Honours degree in psychology and a Diploma in Hypnotherapy. Sandra studied towards a Master of Psychology (Clinical), completing all bar the thesis requirement. She continues to be active in her professional development, and prefers to attend practical, skills-based workshops where she learns knowledge and skills that she can put to immediate use with her clients.
Sandra also brings background knowledge and skills that help set her apart from many practitioners. For example, she has held a number of positions as a rehabilitation consultant, including for a number of years with SAPOL. She has extensive experience in the provision of return to work services, vocational assessments and assessing the needs of injured workers and their employing organisations.
As a psychologist, Sandra has practised with adults, adolescents and organisations. Sandra enjoys working with individuals presenting with general and clinical conditions and has an interest in the link between gut health and mental health and the neuroscience behind psychological practice. She has a caring approach towards the individuals with whom she works, drawing on a range of therapeutic techniques to help people achieve their best outcomes. For example, Sandra may employ Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Mindfulness, Schema Therapy and Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR), to name a few.
Sandra also enjoys conducting group work, and she has solid experience in running facilitated group sessions and other worksite interventions following traumatic or distressing events.
Sandra’s particular practice interests are:
Sandra has been a valued, long-term Associate with COGNITION. Sandra sees individuals referred under Medicare or private health. She enjoys assisting individuals who have a work injury or Third Party claim and she has sound experience in working with individuals who seek help through Employee Assistance Programs.
Psychologist, Associate
Dr Kathleen Wright graduated with a combined Master of Clinical Psychology and Doctor of Philosophy. She holds membership with the Australian Psychological Society and is undertaking the Clinical Registrar program. She has been registered to practice as a Psychologist since 2012.
Kathleen enjoys working with young people, children and their parents. Her PhD thesis evaluated whether Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Children (MBCT-C) could prevent anxiety and depressive symptoms and improve attention, for upper primary school children.
Kathleen’s also is skilled in her work with adults. She provides individual consultations to address a variety of clinical issues, general well-being difficulties, and distress associated with workplace concerns. Her approach to provision of therapy is client-centred, and evidence-based and she enjoys using a range of treatment types, including Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).
Since joining COGNITION in 2018 in an Associate role, Kathleen has been much in demand. Kathleen provides services through Medicare and private health, Employee Assistance Programs, and the work injury system. Kathleen is keen on supporting and encouraging clients to take an active approach to managing their well-being and is well-known for her calm, considerate and warm-hearted approach.
Kathleen’s particular practice interests are:
Kathleen combines her work as an Associate at COGNITION with her role as a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Adelaide, and part-time work as a Research Assistant within the Health Policy Centre at SAHMRI. Prior to qualifying as a Psychologist, Kathleen had a 10-year career in Brand Management (Marketing), working for multi-national companies in Australia and the United Kingdom and her varied employment background lends itself well to assisting COGNITION clients with a range of concerns.
Provisional Psychologist
Maxine is registered as a Provisional Psychologist and is completing her training as a Psychologist through supervised practice, aiming to finish in the first half of 2021. She works on Saturday mornings at COGNITION under the supervision of Dr Keenan, seeing individuals utilising their respective Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
Maxine took the step to train as a Psychologist as a mature adult, and her various life and work experiences prior to doing so, stand her in good stead when working with clients who wish to address a range of issues.
When not at COGNITION, Maxine works as a Provisional Psychologist for the Australian Red Cross and is developing a broad range of experience in community and prison settings, where individuals present with severe mental health conditions, such as schizophrenia, substance use, PTSD, mood and personality disorders. She provides psychological services to culturally diverse individuals, groups and families, and in particular, works with the Aboriginal community.
Maxine holds a Bachelor of Psychological Science (Hons First Class) and Master of Counselling. She is a member of the Institute of Private Practising Psychologists (IPPP) and the Australian Association for Cognitive Behaviour Therapy.
Maxine takes a compassionate and gentle approach. She has a strong belief in establishing a collaborative therapeutic relationship with individuals to assist them in addressing their mental health problems, to achieve a state of well-being and to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives.
Maxine has a range of practice interests, these being:
Provisional Psychologist
Rebecca is registered as a Provisional Psychologist and describes her approach to work as empathic, attentive and sincere. She is practical and down-to-earth and, as such, has purposefully elected to complete her final training as a psychologist through an intern program (aiming to complete mid-2021) rather than solely through an academic route. Having said this, Rebecca currently holds a Bachelor of Health Science Honours (Psychology), from the University of Adelaide and a Bachelor of Applied Science (Psychology), from RMIT University.
Rebecca has a strong interest in mental health and the influence an individual’s experiences have on their psychological wellbeing. This interest has grown exponentially through her diverse professional and personal pursuits. In addition to her 2 days a week at COGNITION (Wednesday and Thursday), Rebecca works as a Provisional Psychologist in a forensic setting where she provides suicide risk assessment and psychological intervention to individuals presenting with complex mental health issues.
Rebecca favours use of evidenced-based intervention strategies and modalities, such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Schema Therapy and trauma-informed practice. She enjoys working collaboratively with individuals and seeks to teach adaptive coping strategies and encourage personal strengths, so that people achieve positive outcomes. In addition, Rebecca has skills in goal-setting, problem solving, identifying and addressing substance misuse and building more effective interpersonal skills. She has experience in developing and facilitating psychological skills groups (e.g., in areas of mental health awareness and suicide and self-harm training).
Prior to working as a Provisional Psychologist, Rebecca held clinician roles in a variety of community-based organisations providing individual and group-based interventions to offender populations for targeted issues (e.g., domestic violence, sex offences). She has also worked as a Telephone Crisis Support Worker with Lifeline and a Support Worker in an organisation focused on addressing drug and alcohol behaviours and associated mental health and social wellbeing issues.
Rebecca’s particular practice interests are:
Practice Manager
Bookkeeper and accounts
Receptionist
Receptionist
Associate
Sorèl is an Accredited Social Worker and mental health clinician and has spent nearly thirty years of her life in the community, welfare, and mental-health sectors. This is reflected in her diverse educational background, which includes an undergraduate degree in Systematic Theology and Philosophy, a graduate degree in Health Sciences with Psychology Honours, and more recently, a post-graduate Master’s degree in Social Work.
Sorèl’s vocational background is as unique as her academic achievements. She spent time in the Royal Australian Navy and the NSW Police Service. She worked for ten years as an Anglican Priest. She also worked as a community mental health practitioner, assisting socially disadvantaged clients with severe and complex mental-health presentations.
Sorèl is unique at COGNITION, in that she previously worked in the organisation as a provisional psychologist, returning some years later as a consultant, after having completed her social work qualifications. When not working at COGNITION, Sorèl works in her own private practice, principally in the gender and sexually diverse (GSD) sector, as a clinician and also in organisational policy development and training.
At COGNITION, Sorèl is engaged as a specialist consultant to provide psycho-social, relational, vocational, and clinical interventions for individuals, families and friends who need help in relation to gender and/or sexual diversity and identity issues.
Sorèl is a member of the National LGBTI Health Alliance, the Australian and New Zealand Professional Association for Transgender Health (ANZPATH), the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), and the Australian Association of Social Workers. Sorèl works within a professional structure that requires her to work under Clinical Supervision and undertake extensive continuing professional development on an annual basis.
Sorèl has a warm and approachable manner. She prides herself in being empathic and compassionate. She is a valued member of COGNITION.
