I have been working with children and families for over 35 years. My post-university training as a clinical psychologist began in South Africa, working in hospitals and community clinics, in particular supervision in psychoanalytic psychotherapy and systems family therapy, and in 1983 I entered private practice to specialise in child psychology.
My wife and I migrated to Australia in 1986. While practicing at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney, the lure of sunsets over the ocean and the best beaches in the world enticed us to Perth at the end of 1988. There followed 10 years as a senior clinical psychologist with the Health Department Child Development Clinics, a couple of years concurrently with the Autistic Association of WA, and then a return to full time private practice in 1998.
Soon after settling back in private practice, I began to see children referred with a diagnosis of ADD. Back then, making this diagnosis was the easy part – all one had to do was follow the guidelines set by DSM 3. However, treating the children was another matter. It soon became evident that they did not follow the rules of behaviour modification!
In Sydney I had been working with disorders that involved neuropsychological factors – head injury, drug and alcohol addictions – and the resemblance of ADD children to adults with frontal lobe damage was striking. Of course, we are not dealing with brain damage, but with symptoms that represent similar cognitive difficulties underpinning disorganisation, poor impulse control, short-term memory difficulties and emotional dysregulation. I was intrigued by the research published by Russell Barkley, especially his comments on time awareness. Some years later the research of Alan Badderley on the Phonological Loop and Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad had a similar impact. The journey down this road has been one of understanding the world of ADHD children: their neurodevelopmental make up, their academic challenges, and relationships with peers, siblings and parents.
I have worked intensively with ADHD children and their families for about 30 years now. This has expanded in recent years to include adults with ADHD. The foundation begins with an in-depth assessment to develop a full differential diagnosis since ADHD can be multi-dimensional, as well as the fact that there are many look-a-likes. Assessment usually includes neurodevelopmental testing, such as a range of working memory areas. The purpose of assessment is to develop a treatment plan. Treatment plans generally combine neuropsychology, family-, psychodynamic and behavioural therapies into a neuroscience model to meet individualised needs.
Common issues include the emotional regulation and organisational skill development aspects of academic areas, such as reading difficulties, reading comprehension, poor mental maths (notably multiplication tables), dysgraphia (difficulties with written expression), computer addictions, temper and irritability, and difficulties with peer and family relationships.
I have been a member of the Professional Advisory Board of the Learning and Attention Disorders Society of WA (LADS), now renamed ADHD Western Australia, for 25 years. I was also a founding member of the WA Registry for Autism Spectrum Disorders in the mid 90s. We helped set up the diagnostic protocol currently in use in Western Australia and now the model for the rest of Australia. My interest in the area of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) parallels that of ADHD. It has been similarly interesting to see the development of interest in this area over the decades, and the growing awareness and understanding (and acceptance) by both professionals and public alike. There are such similarities between ADHD and ASD on the surface, and yet they are so different deeper down. The challenge lies with the children who fall into both camps. In 2018, I was a member of the Australian Clinical Psychology Association (ACPA) submission committee critiquing the diagnosis guidelines for ASD in Australia.
One of my other passions has been the advancement of clinical psychology in Australia. Over the years I have sat on a number of advisory committees for clinical psychology. I was a past committee member of ACPA (WA section), and am currently on the management committee for the Institute of Clinical Psychologists (ICP). I enjoy presenting lectures on ADHD, and have run regular workshops and seminars, as well as presenting papers at national conferences, to which I have contributed several over a few decades.
Current Professional Memberships
Endorsed for Clinical Psychology with the Psychology Board of Australia
Member of the Australian Clinical Psychology Association
Member of the Institute of Clinical Psychologists
Current Advisory Positions
Professional Advisory Board for ADHD WA (formerly The Learning and Attention Disorders Society, or LADS)
Committee member for the Institute of Clinical Psychologists (ICP)
Past Advisory Positions and Memberships
Committee member for the Australian Clinical Psychology Association (WA)
The Western Australian Register for Autism Spectrum Disorders
The Australian Psychological Society (APS)
The APS College of Clinical Psychology
The APS College of Educational and Developmental Psychology
The South African Medical and Dental Council
Private Practice
I have run a private practice in Perth since 1989, initially part-time and finally full time since 1998. After working most of these years from rooms in busy West Perth, I decided to relocate to a quieter, more private and tranquil setting, and built a suite of rooms alongside my home in Rossmoyne.
Derek Cohen Clinical Psychologist 28 Ionic St, Rossmoyne Western Australia 6148
T: (08) 9457 4298 F: (08) 6313 0667 email: derekcohen@iinet.net.au
Derek Cohen Clinical Psychologist 