Dr Ben Buchanan
Co-Founder & CEO, NovoPsych | Clinical Psychologist
BA (Phil & Behavioural Science), GradDipPsych, BPsych (Hons), DPsych (Clinical), MAPS, FCCLP
Dr Ben Buchanan is a clinical psychologist, psychometrics researcher and the co-founder and CEO of NovoPsych. He founded NovoPsych in 2012 to help mental health clinicians bring the best of psychometric science into everyday practice, and today the platform is used by tens of thousands of clinicians worldwide. His work sits at the intersection of clinical psychology, measurement science and health technology — spanning direct clinical care, university research and teaching, and the design of digital tools now used across Australia, North America, the UK, Europe and New Zealand.
As a founder and leader, Dr Buchanan oversees a team of more than 50 scientists and psychologists working in both clinical and research-and-development capacities across his three organisations: NovoPsych, Foundation Psychology Victoria and ReadyMind.
Areas of expertise
Psychometrics and the validation of personality and psychopathology scales; routine outcome monitoring and measurement-based care; body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) and the neurobiology of appearance-related concerns; the psychological screening of patients before cosmetic procedures; and the application of technology and AI to clinical workflows.
Recent articles by Dr Ben Buchanan
Professional registration & endorsement
Registered Psychologist with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA), holding area-of-practice endorsement as a Clinical Psychologist (registration PSY0001130677). Board-approved supervisor. Member of the Australian Psychological Society (MAPS) and Fellow of the APS College of Clinical Psychologists (FCCLP). Associate member of the Australian Association for Cognitive and Behaviour Therapy.
Clinical experience
More than a decade of clinical experience with adolescents and adults within cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) frameworks. His clinical work has spanned the public mental health system — including Monash Medical Centre, Casey Hospital and Southern Health’s Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service — as well as private practice. He founded and directs Foundation Psychology Victoria, a Melbourne group practice, where he leads a dedicated body image and BDD treatment program.
Leadership
Dr Buchanan leads more than 50 scientists and psychologists across clinical and research-and-development roles in three organisations he co-founded or directs:
- NovoPsych — psychometrics, outcome-monitoring and AI software for mental health providers (Co-Founder & CEO).
- Foundation Psychology Victoria — a Melbourne group private practice (Founder & Director).
- ReadyMind — psychological screening prior to cosmetic procedures, used by 400+ cosmetic clinics (Co-Founder & Director).
Research
Dr Buchanan’s doctoral research investigated the neurobiology of body dysmorphic disorder using functional MRI, including AI for the analysis of brain structure.. His research interests include the neurobiology of BDD, psychological risks associated with cosmetic procedures, the psychometrics of personality and psychopathology scales, and routine outcome measurement in mental health services. He contributed to the national Evaluation of the Better Access Initiative commissioned by the Australian Department of Health and Aged Care.
He has held academic appointments at Monash University’s School of Psychological Sciences as Lecturer (2014–2016) and Teaching Associate (2016–2024), and is currently an Adjunct Research Fellow. Earlier research was conducted at the Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute.
Psychological assessments developed
Author of the Maladaptive Schema Scale (MSS), a measure of early maladaptive schemas available through NovoPsych. He has also developed and clinically reviewed a range of psychometric scales and scoring resources within the NovoPsych assessment library.
Teaching & supervision
Over 20,000 clinician’s have attended trainings that Dr Ben Buchanan has facilitated, including on tops like professional self-doubt, measurement-based care and feedback informed treatment.
Dr Buchanan lectured at Monash University for a decade, helping to train the next generation of psychologists. He was subject coordinator for undergraduate units in Abnormal Psychology and Introduction to Counselling, supervised Honours research students, and is a board-approved clinical supervisor.
Selected peer-reviewed publications
- Pirkis, J., Buchanan, B., Burgess, P., et al. (2026) Examining the Effectiveness of the Better Access Initiative Using Data from Real-World Practice Settings. Aust & NZ Journal of Psychiatry.
- Currier, D., Buchanan, B., Harris, M., et al. (2026) Clinician Views on Conducting Routine Outcome Measurement for the Better Access Initiative. Aust & NZ Journal of Psychiatry.
- Malcolm, A., Brennan, S. N., Grace, S. A., … Buchanan, B., et al. (2021). Empirical Evidence for Cognitive Subgroups in Body Dysmorphic Disorder. Aust & NZ Journal of Psychiatry.
- Grace, S. A., Toh, W. L., Buchanan, B. G., Castle, D. J., & Rossell, S. (2019). Impaired recognition of negative facial emotions in body dysmorphic disorder. J. Int. Neuropsychological Society.
- Chun, J., & Buchanan, B. (2018). Australian Clinicians’ Attitudes Towards Progress Monitoring Measures. Australian Psychologist.
- Toh, W. L., Castle, D. J., Mountjoy, R. L., Buchanan, B., et al. (2017). Insight in body dysmorphic disorder relative to OCD and psychotic disorders. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 77, 100–108.
- Buchanan, B., Rossell, S., Maller, J., et al. (2014). Regional brain volumes in body dysmorphic disorder compared to controls. Aust & NZ Journal of Psychiatry.
- Buchanan, B. G., Rossell, S. L., & Castle, D. J. (2011). Body dysmorphic disorder: a review of nosology, cognition and neurobiology. Neuropsychiatry, 1, 71–80.
Conference presentations, webinars & public scholarship
Invited and conference presentations include Measurement Based Care in Mental Health Services (APS College of Clinical Psychologists Conference, Brisbane, 2022) and work presented at the Society of Biological Psychiatry Annual Scientific Convention. He has delivered widely viewed NovoPsych professional-development webinars, including Leveraging Outcome Data for Insightful Practice and Imposter Syndrome Among Mental Health Clinicians, and co-authored Psychologists’ Wellbeing in the Workplace (InPsych, 2021).
Media commentary
Dr Buchanan appears regularly on television and radio, and in print, commenting on mental health, body image, personality and decision-making. He writes for general audiences, including for The Conversation, translating psychological science into accessible public commentary.
Awards & recognition
- APS Clinical College Award for Excellence (Victoria Branch, 2022)
- Australian Postgraduate Award (doctoral scholarship)
- Dean’s Recognition Award for Academic Achievement
- Nominated by Monash University for the John Bertrand Leadership Series
Contribution to NovoPsych
As co-founder and CEO, Dr Buchanan champions human-centred software design and the scientist-practitioner model, ensuring NovoPsych’s tools are grounded in validated psychometric science. He oversees the platform’s research-and-development and clinical-content standards.
“Clinicians are working hard every day to improve the quality of life for their patients. My hope is that the tools NovoPsych creates can help professionals make a tangible difference for their clients.”