"As the Founder and Director of Tom Cerni & Associates Pty Ltd, I have dedicated over 30 years to improving the mental health of Australians, with particular focus on supporting our youth and their families. With a focus on mental health, I have helped numerous clients gain deep insights about themselves through their cognitive, social-emotional, physical and spiritual health to strengthen their relationships, and find a balance in their work and family life, ensuring that every life transition becomes a positive opportunity for personal growth and learning.

At Tom Cerni & Associates Psychology, we are guided by the principles of positive psychology that emphasise the importance of nurturing strengths and fostering resilience. Part of the work involves conducting psychometric assessments, including IQ assessments. Of particular interest is conducting base-line assessments with adolescents and early adulthood clients who experienced head trauma and the impact on their working memory and processing speed. Working memory is the ability to hold information in mind temporarily while performing some operation or manipulation with that operation. It can be thought of as having mental control or focused attention involving reasonably higher-order tasks and it presumes attention and concentration. Processing speed is considered another important cognitive ability that influences the efficiency of working memory functions. Conducting an assessment following a head trauma is an important step to better understand and manage concussion and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a progressive disease that may emerge later in life. Working memory has been identified as a key cognitive function in learning, and deficits in working memory problems have often been associated with learning difficulties and several neurodevelopmental disorders.

Working closely with a range of associates across education, business and healthcare settings, I have been particularly impressed by Brain 4 Life’s passion to preserve brain health, including working memory, through their mission to educate, prevent and support individuals affected by sports-related brain injury and CTE symptoms.

CTE symptoms are known to often present in the way of mental health challenges; including anxiety, depression, relationship difficulties, working memory deficits, substance abuse and suicide. It is essential that we protect our community; particularly our young people, through education, prevention and holistic well-being support.

Through the alignment of values and shared commitment to supporting individuals and their families, it is our joint hope to develop better treatment outcomes and research in brain science to create a more positive outlook for people impacted by traumatic brain injury and potential comorbid conditions.

I look forward to the rewarding and valuable outcomes of our collaboration."

Dr Tom Cerni

PhD Psychology | Australian Psychological Society Member | American Psychological Association Member | General Management Program and Managing Health Care Delivery Program - Harvard Business School | HBS Alumni | Founder and Director of Tom Cerni & Associates Pty Ltd.