Justin Kenardy

Professor Justin Kenardy is a clinical psychologist whose research has helped make the psychological consequences of injury, illness and medical treatment a recognised part of healthcare. Across more than three decades, he has connected cognitive behavioural science with prevention, early intervention and scalable service delivery, particularly for children, families and people recovering from injury. His work spans panic and anxiety, eating disorders, traumatic stress, rehabilitation and digital mental health.

Advancing prevention oriented trauma care

Prospective studies after accidental injury identified early predictors of posttraumatic stress and supported models that monitor recovery, identify risk and provide proportionate intervention. This work informed the Child Trauma Screening Questionnaire, now used internationally in clinical and research settings, as well as consumer resources for whiplash, posttraumatic stress and children recovering from motor vehicle crashes. It also resulted in the development of early intervention programs for trauma in children in healthcare.

Integrating psychological care with physical healthcare

Kenardy's work has addressed the interaction of psychological and physical health across diabetes, burns, whiplash, workplace injury and rehabilitation. It linked binge eating with type 2 diabetes and poorer diabetic control, contributed to the Whiplash Risk Stratification Tool and Whip Predict, and supported stratified care for people at risk of poor recovery. In paediatric burns, research with Erin Brown led to Take 5, a brief intervention designed to reduce distress during dressing changes.

Translating trauma evidence into community systems

Following major Australian bushfires and floods, Kenardy developed and evaluated training and resources to help teachers and schools respond to trauma. The program was delivered through government, Australian Red Cross and train the trainer models, and was adapted for more than 700 teachers and school counsellors across eight regions of Japan. He also helped develop the Emerging Minds Community Trauma Toolkit and an international open access archive containing more than 7,000 longitudinal child trauma cases.

Influencing clinical guidance and public policy

His research has informed NSW motor accident legislation and practice guidance, national guidance on mental health after work related injury, the Australian living guidelines for posttraumatic stress disorder, Commonwealth evaluation of child and youth mental health initiatives, and Department of Veterans' Affairs reviews of emerging treatments for PTSD. This contribution reflects sustained work across psychology, medicine, hospitals, government, insurers and community organisations.

Pioneering digital and mobile mental health

From the late 1980s, Kenardy helped develop and evaluate palmtop assessment and intervention for panic disorder, anticipating contemporary mobile mental health. He later created an early web based prevention program for people at risk of panic disorder, used about 25,000 times, and contributed to BRAVE Online for child and adolescent anxiety. Within a year of its release, BRAVE had 14,600 registered users across Australia, with strong reach into rural and remote communities. The program continued to provide accessible treatment at no cost.