Bernadette Benson is a Registered Psychologist in her home province of Alberta, Canada and her adopted home, Australia. She is a member of the Psychologists’ Association of Alberta and the Australian Psychological Society and served as a board member of the Western Australian Autism Diagnosticians' Forum (WAADF) for two years.

Bernadette is a Registered NDIS Provider.

Training

Bernadette received a B.A. (Hons) in Education Studies in 1992 and M.Sc. in School and Community Psychology in 1998, both from the University of Calgary (Canada).

In 2003, Bernadette received specialist researcher-level training and certification in autism assessment at the University of Toronto Autism Research Unit and the Mount Sinai School of Medicine (New York).

In 2014, Bernadette completed a Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) in psychology at The University of Western Australia.

Career history

Before moving to Australia in 2008, Bernadette was involved in a variety of work projects.

• From 1995 to 1997, while completing her M.Sc., Bernadette worked part-time at the Society for the Treatment of Autism (Calgary, Canada) in a residential care facility for children with severe autism. She provided one-to-one therapy in communication, leisure, and daily living skills.
• Bernadette maintained a private practice after becoming a Registered Psychologist in 2003.
• Involvement in research was an important aspect of her career, as well; more details about this are provided under “Research”.
• Bernadette took on part-time employment at the Alberta Children’s Hospital from 2005 – 2008. She was initially approached to work as psychologist on the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Clinic. Subsequently, she was asked to join the Developmental Clinic, a team-based clinic involved primarily in complex assessments of children presenting with symptoms that often included those seen in children with ADHD, ASD, anxiety, language, and tic disorders.

After moving to Australia, Bernadette worked part-time at the Child Study Centre at The University of Western Australia until its closure. She served on the board of WAADF for two years. Bernadette maintained a part-time private practice based in the Perth hills until February 2021, when she moved to regional Victoria..