DiannaKenny Deep etched

Dianna is a former Professor of Psychology and Professor of Music at The University of Sydney, and is now a consulting psychologist, psychotherapist, mediator, family dispute resolution practitioner, expert reviewer, report writer, supervisor, researcher, and author.

Dianna is an international authority on the treatment of music performance anxiety.

 WINNER, LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD 2022, SEMPRE 50th Anniversary Award
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Dr Dianna Kenny – An experienced psychologist and psychotherapist in Sydney

Dr Dianna T. Kenny is an experienced psychologist in Sydney who offers a range of services including individual adult psychotherapy, child, adolescent, couple, and family therapy, mediation and family dispute resolution, and medico-legal consultancy.

About Dianna Kenny

A former professor of psychology at The University of Sydney, Dianna is now a consulting, developmental and educational psychologist and psychotherapist who provides a range of psychological services to adults, children, adolescents, couples and families, including psychological assessment, psychotherapy, specialist treatment for music performance anxiety, mediation, family dispute resolution, and medico-legal consultancy. She is also an expert court report writer, researcher, and author. She has authored bestselling books on child development, child sexual abuse, psychotherapy, gender dysphoria, and music performance anxiety. She has consulting rooms in Concord (Inner West), and Glebe (near Camperdown, Newtown, Ultimo, Darlington, and Annandale).

List of psychological services

Dr Kenny provides a range of services covering psychological assessment and therapy, parent management training, mediation, family dispute resolution, and medico-legal consultancy.
 
Individual adult psychotherapy

Each patient is a unique individual who requires an individualized approach to therapy. I do not focus only on presenting symptoms, rather, my focus is on meaning-making. The aim of therapy is to know one’s true feelings and to express them. I listen deeply to your story to help you to understand the experiences that have shaped you and the beliefs and attitudes you have towards your life and those who share it with you. When you understand the past, you can reshape your present.

Child and adolescent therapy, parenting support, and parent management training
Dr Kenny works with children and young people to understand their emotional needs and provide necessary guidance to parents and family. If children and adolescents are living at home, it is important to include parents at every stage of therapy.

Marriage and family therapy
With experience in understanding couple and family systems, Dr Kenny offers marriage and family therapy to rebuild damaged relationships and marriages and to assist couples to separate well.

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)
Dr Kenny applies cognitive behavioural therapies to assist with mental health issues like OCD, anxiety, and phobias.

Specialist in therapy for music performance anxiety
People react differently to performing publicly. Some people feel energized in the limelight, while others have nerve-wracking anxiety. Dr Kenny designs an individualized treatment for each performing artist based on their anxiety profile and are then given practical assistance in managing anxiety, how to practise efficiently, and how to prepare for auditions, eisteddfods, recitals, and concerts. 

Supervision of psychologists
With years of experience as an academic, research, and consulting psychologist, Professor Kenny offers supervision to therapists and psychologists in Sydney and via zoom in the practice of short term psychodynamic psychotherapy and attachment informed psychotherapy. ·

Medico-legal assessments
Professor Kenny provides medicolegal and psychological assessments in child sexual assault, parenting custody disputes, and clinical assessment of parties, and writes expert reports for court proceedings and tribunals, in particular in matters related to custody disputes and allegations relating to child sexual assault.

Mediation and family dispute resolution services
Parenting agreements and property settlements
This service provides separating or divorced parents a cost-effective alternative to court proceedings to negotiate parenting and property agreements.
S601 certificates for the Family Court
Dr Kenny also issues S60i certificates, a document that certifies that a genuine attempt has been made to resolve the conflict via family dispute resolution before applying for parenting orders in the Family Court.

Dianna’s books
Music performance anxiety
Kenny, D.T. (2011). The psychology of music performance anxiety. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Kenny, D.T. (2018). Music performance anxiety: Theory, assessment, and treatment. Germany: Lambert Academic Publishing.

Child and adolescent development and developmental psychopathology
Kenny, D.T. (2020). Gender dysphoria in children and adolescents: Collected papers on the psychology, sociology, and ethics of gender transition. Scholar’s Press.
Kenny, D.T. (2018). Children, sexuality, and child sexual abuse. East Sussex, UK: Routledge.
Kenny, D.T. (2013). Bringing up baby: The psychoanalytic infant comes of age. London: Karnac International Psychoanalytic Publishers.
Kenny, D.T., & Nelson, P.K. (2008). Young offenders on community orders: Health, welfare and criminogenic needs. Sydney, Australia: Sydney University Press. ISBN 978-0-9804117-0-6.
Kenny, D.T. & Job, R.F.S. (Eds.) (1995). Australia’s adolescents: A health psychology perspective (272 pages). Armidale: University of New England Press ISBN 1 875821 24 4.

Psychotherapy
Kenny, D.T. (2015). God, Freud and religion: The origins of fear,  faith, and fundamentalism. East Sussex, UK: Routledge.
Kenny, D.T. (2014). From Id to intersubjectivity: Talking about the talking cure with master clinicians: London: Karnac.