Background and history of forensic psychotherapy in Australia Forensic psychotherapy emerged from an integration of forensic psychiatry, forensic psychology and psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Forensic psychotherapy seeks to understand the individual's unique unconscious motivations that underpin their offending behaviour.  AFPA is an affiliate of the International Association of Forensic Psychotherapy (IAFP) based in London, UK. Both associations share the conviction a psychodynamic approach offers a a deeper understanding of the criminal mind and behaviour, and a more effective and humane treatment response.

Founding Members

Dr Daniel Riordan 

President

Daniel Riordan is a consultant psychiatrist, consultant psychotherapist and group analyst who has worked with people with a range of difficulties in multiple settings including private practice, general adult outpatients, forensic settings and specialised units. Dr Riordan has trained in a number of evidenced based psychological treatments and provides direct treatment, consultation, and supervision including reflective practice. Dr Riordan has conducted research and published articles in peer reviewed journals as well as book chapters and books in the field of psychiatry and psychotherapy.

John Kearney

Vice President / Secretary

John Kearney is a psychoanalytic psychotherapist and clinical social worker in private practice. Prior to commencing private practice, he worked for the Office of Juvenile Justice in a specialist role treating children and adolescents who engaged in harmful sexual behaviours. In a separate role, he worked in a prison with adult sex offenders.  In his private practice, he treats children, adolescents, adults and couples presenting with a broad range of emotional and behavioural disturbances. This includes assessments and treatment for children who engage in harmful sexual behaviours and for adult offenders. He also provides expert advice to the courts, government organizations and NGOs in relation to parenting capacity, child protection, family violence and permanency planning.

Dr Timothy Keogh

Treasurer

Adj A/Prof Timothy Keogh PhD is a training and supervising psychoanalyst and a clinical and forensic psychologist and psychotherapist with over 30 years clinical experience. He is past President of the Australian Psychoanalytical Society and the founding President of the Australian Forensic Psychotherapy Association.  He was the former Executive Director of a variety of state-wide programs in the public sector, notably in the forensic mental health and drug & alcohol areas. He served on the NSW Forensic Mental Health Review Tribunal and frequently acts as an expert witness in forensic cases and is a current member of the IPA Violence Committee.

Dr Stephen Freiberg

Scientific Chair

Dr Stephen Freiberg is a consultant psychiatrist and psychotherapist working in Sydney. He is an accredited member of both the Faculty of Adult Psychiatry and the Faculty of Psychotherapy of the RANZCP. He previously worked in the Prison Medical Service of NSW and the Corrections Heath Service. He was a founding members of the IAFP and for several years served on its Executive Council. He also worked as a consultant psychiatrist in the University Health Service, University of Sydney. He has an interest in psychosomatic diseases and consulted to several liaison psychiatry services at tertiary referral hospitals. For many years he was a member of the International Editorial Board of the American Journal of Psychotherapy. Currently Dr Freiberg works in private practice and has an ongoing interest in the medicolegal and forensic issues as they relate to work and employment.

Dr Gerard Webster

Board Member

Gerard Webster PhD PsyD is a Forensic and Counselling Psychologist. He is also a training and supervising psychoanalyst and faculty member of the Institute of Contemporary Psychoanalysis, Los Angeles. His academic focus is on the helpfulness of psychoanalytic complexity theory in its application to abuse prevention and the treatment of child, adolescent, and adult sexual offenders. Gerard has worked with children, adolescents, and adults for forty years, mostly with victims and perpetrators of family, domestic, and sexual violence. He began his career working in the NSW Public Service in areas of child protection, juvenile offending, drug and alcohol related crime, and with adult sexual offenders who had intellectual or psychiatric disabilities. He has been in private practice since 1993.

Pamela Nathan

Board Member 

Pamela Nathan is a clinical and forensic psychologist and psychoanalytic psychotherapist with thirty years clinical experience. She is a member of the Australian Psychological Society and the Victorian Association of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy. She has worked in the public sector in clinical and various forensic settings, in senior positions, including Forensicare and the Royal Melbourne Hospital for over a decade. She is currently Director of the Aboriginal Australian Relations Program, Creating A Safe and Supportive Environment (CASSE) and is working with violence and trauma in Central Australia. She has conducted research and published books, reports, articles in the sociological, psychological and psychoanalytic arena and continues to teach, workshop, supervise and publish.