About Brett Deacon
I am a clinical psychologist, practitioner, scientist, educator, and anxiety specialist. Originally from the United States, I relocated to Australia in 2014 and live in the Wollongong area. I work as a therapist in private practice, train and supervise psychologists, and conduct research.
I specialise in working with clients seeking help for anxiety-related issues including stress, panic attacks, agoraphobia, obsessions and compulsions (OCD), social anxiety, generalised anxiety and worry, phobias, health anxiety, and post-traumatic stress (PTSD). I have devoted my career to becoming an expert in exposure therapy, a form of cognitive-behavioural therapy that is the most scientifically supported approach available for these problems. I have over 20 years of experience and am recognised internationally as an authority on the nature and treatment of anxiety.
I trained in anxiety clinics at Northern Illinois University, the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and the Mayo Clinic in the US. Prior to leaving academia for clinical practice in 2017, I worked at the University of Wyoming from 2004-2014 as an Assistant and then Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology, and at the University of Wollongong as an Associate Professor in the School of Psychology from 2014-2016. I am now a Conjoint Associate Professor at the University of New South Wales. As a professor, I teach and supervise clinical psychology students and conduct research on evidence-based therapy for anxiety and related topics. I am an AHPRA-registered psychologist with an area of practice endorsement in clinical psychology as well as a board-approved psychology supervisor. I also have a working with children clearance.
Education
- B.A. in Psychology - Truman State University, Kirksville, Missouri (1996)
- M.A. in Psychology - Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois (1999)
- Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology - Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois (1999)
- Predoctoral Internship - Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center (2001-2002)
- Postdoctoral Fellowship - Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota (2002-2004)