Simon Burns is a Clinical Psychologist with more than two decades of experience providing psychological assessment, treatment, and supervision across forensic, community, and clinical settings. His career has been defined by a strong commitment to evidence-based practice, ethical professionalism, and the development of emerging psychologists through high-quality supervision and training.
Simon holds a Master of Clinical Psychology from The Cairnmillar Institute and is an AHPRA Board-Approved Supervisor. He has been a registered psychologist since 2004 and is a member of the Australian Psychological Society (APS), including the Northern NSW Branch and the APS College of Clinical Psychologists. Simon is an accredited trainer in sexual offender risk assessment with SAARNA and is acredited in the use of actuarial risk assessment tools assessing violence and sexual violence risk.
Across his career, Simon has worked extensively within government forensic psychology services, providing psychological assessment, intervention, and risk management for individuals under community and custodial supervision. His experience includes complex case formulation, structured risk assessment, and delivery of brief, targeted cognitive-behavioural interventions. Simon has also held senior roles involving the clinical supervision of psychology teams and the coordination of regional psychological services. He continues to provide primary training across NSW in the assessment and management of sexual offending risk.
Simon provides clinical psychology services in private practice, offering assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of mental health difficulties in children, adolescents, and adults. His approach is warm, collaborative, and guided by best-practice models such as CBT, DBT-informed interventions, and trauma-informed care. Current services are provided across NDIS, SIRA and Medicare supported therapeutic sessions. through his Alstonville clinic, simon provides comprehensive assessment services focusing on educational, neurodiversity or mental health domains.
Simon is also an accredited trainer in actuarial risk assessment instruments, including the Static-99R, Stable-2007, and Acute-2007, and has co-presented workshops on advanced interviewing and assessment practices for psychologists working in risk and forensic contexts.
As a supervisor, Simon has supported more than 100 provisional and early-career psychologists through the 4+2, 5+1, and registrar pathways. His supervision style is reflective and competency-focused, emphasising ethical awareness, clinical formulation, and professional growth.
Simon’s current professional interests include the integration of forensic and clinical practice, the use of telehealth in regional service delivery, and developing accessible, brief interventions for clients with complex needs. Increasing assessment access for regional young people is a key
Simon Burns | PSY0001403376 | MAPS | Clinical Psychologist | Board Approved Supervisor | SAARNA Certified Trainer | Director of The Assessment and Therapy Center
Teena Kennedy | Psychologist | Board Approved Supervisor
Teena has over 24 years of practice, 19 of which as a Senior Psychologist. She has worked within both the public service and private practice in a variety of settings; including Telehealth, face to face individual and group therapy. After 24 years of psychological practice and as a woman, mother and grandmother, Teena’s interest in psychology has varied as ‘time goes by’ and includes mental health wellbeing, perinatal depression, relationships, trauma, illness, grief bereavement and supporting a loved one with chronic or terminal illness. Her passion is to watch her clients grow, and prosper, manage life’s ups and downs and accomplish treatment goals, working toward a happy and fulfilling life. Self-care is important. In her spare time you'll find Teena exercising, skating, surfing and snow skiing.
Her Approach
Teena provides psychological counselling specifically tailored to meet individual needs in a relaxed, supportive and non-judgemental setting. Therapeutic approaches include Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Interpersonal Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) frameworks. These approaches empower clients to develop to a greater understanding of their thoughts, feelings, and actions, their impacts, and developing new and helpful ways of responding. She also integrates into her sessions elements of Mindfulness, Relaxation Therapy and Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT).
Services: Assessment, Intervention and Supervision
Teena provides all services via telehealth
Registration: PSY0001250635
Nicole Buccanan | Clinical Psychologist | Board Approved Supervisor
Nikki is a Clinical Psychologist with 18 years experience. Nikki has extensive expereince in the supervision and development of psychologists, holding Board Approved Supervisor status up to, and including Clinical Endorsement. Nikki provides individual and group supervision to psychologists undertaking provisional or clinical registrar pathways and is available to provide supervision for generally registered or endorsed psychologists.
Her work is centred in a Forensic setting. She has extensive experience in working with complex presentations, dual diagnosis, mental health, self-injurious behaviour, personality disorders, intellectual disability and other additional needs. Her expertise extends to report writing and assessments: including cognitive assessments, personality assessments and risk assessments, in particular sex offender and violent offender risk assessments.
Nikki has also enjoyed working with clinicians, offering supervision via the original 4+2 model, masters placements and as a clinical registrar. Furthermore, she has supervised 4+2 interns, masters placement students and registrars. Enjoying supervision is a priority. Her process is one of collaboration, offering a relaxed and professional approach to supervision. Ultimately, Nikki’s goal is to guide and assist psychologists to be highly competent and effective.
Services: Nikki is available for individual and group supervision via Telehealth or face-to-face in the Central Coast area.
Registration: PSY000122643
Laura Kelly | Psychologist
Laura Kelly is a registered psychologist based in Alstonville, providing compassionate, evidence-based psychological support to adults, adolescents, and families. She works collaboratively with clients to understand their unique experiences and support meaningful, lasting change.
Laura has worked in the clinical space for the last 3 years, predominantly working with youth and young adults from many culturally diverse backgrounds, including ATSI and LGBTQIA+ individuals and communities. Laura completed her Masters in Professional Psychology and is now a registered Psychologist through the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency. Laura takes a person-centred strengths-based and trauma informed approach to her work, with a strong belief in the importance of creating a safe, supportive and professional therapeutic relationship between client and clinician.
Her therapeutic approach is warm, respectful, and grounded in contemporary psychological frameworks, drawing on evidence-based interventions such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and trauma-informed practice. Laura places strong emphasis on creating a safe, non-judgemental space where clients feel heard and supported.
Laura is committed to ongoing professional development and ethical practice, and values working alongside clients at their own pace to build insight, resilience, and practical skills for everyday life.
She offers appointments in Alstonville and welcomes referrals from individuals, families, and health professionals.
