Dr Jo Prendergast trained at Otago Medical School and gained her Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists Fellowship in Sydney before returning home to New Zealand. Since 1994, she has worked with teenagers and adults across public mental health services and private practice, building specialist expertise in burnout, ADHD and the effects of severe childhood trauma. Jo currently works as a sensitive claims assessor with ACC.

Her first book, When Life Sucks, was commissioned by HarperCollins and published in 2023.The book is a frank, funny, practical guide to supporting teen mental health and is now sold across Australia, New Zealand and the UK. Jo has appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live, The Project, TVNZ Breakfast, Channel 9 Today Extra, ABC Weekend Breakfast, RNZ and The Jess Rowe Big Talk Show, among many others.

Jo also performs professionally as a stand-up comedian, with three solo shows: The Cool Mum, Cancer and Cartwheels and Dr Jo Prendergast is #coping. Her critically acclaimed shows have sold out at festivals around NZ, Australia and Edinburgh Fringe.

Jo’s two talks at this year’s PSNZ Child Protection Satellite Day are “Beyond Heroics: the hidden behaviours driving burnout” and “#coping: comedy and reflections on the demands of mid-life.”