About Derek
I have been working with children, adults and families for over 40 years. My post-university training as a clinical psychologist began in Cape Town, South Africa, working in hospitals and community clinics, completing advanced 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.

The foundation of all therapy with children and adults begins with an in-depth assessment to develop a full differential diagnosis since most emotional and behavioural difficulties can be multi-dimensional. There are also many look-a-likes to exclude. Assessment usually includes neurodevelopmental testing, such as a range of working memory areas, emotional regulation and organisational skills, and academic areas, such as reading difficulties and dysgraphia (difficulties with written expression). The purpose of assessment is to develop a clear treatment plan. Treatment plans generally combine neuropsychology, family-, psychodynamic and behavioural therapies into a neuroscience model to meet individualised needs.

Kindly note that the most thorough and reliable assessments are completed in person, and in discussion. It is not always possible to state ahead of time how many sessions one needs for a diagnosis or treatment since there are many variables in play. Generally one will have a reasonable idea after one or two appointments. 

The regulations laid out by AHPRA prevent my discussing fees on this website.

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 and adults who fall into both camps. I was a member of the Australian Clinical Psychology Association (ACPA) submission committee critiquing the diagnosis guidelines for ASD in Australia in 2018, and in 2023 on the ACPA committee for the Senate Inquiry into ADHD. 

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 (have done so internationally), and have run regular workshops and seminars at universities, professional organisations and schools, as well as presenting papers at national conferences, to which I have contributed several over the past 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)


 

Past Advisory Positions and Memberships

Committee member for the Institute of Clinical Psychologists (ICP)

Committee member for the Australian Clinical Psychology Association (WA)

The Western Australian Register for Autism Spectrum Disorders

Australian ADHD Professionals Association

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. There is ample free street parking, and easy access off the Leach Highway.

The entrance to the waiting room is up a flight of stairs on the right side of the house  >>>>>

A photo of Derek Cohen the clinical psychologist

Derek Cohen

Clinical Psychologist
B.Soc.Sc., B.Soc.Sc (Hons), M.Soc.Sc (Clin Psych)
The Perth home of our psychology services
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