A steady place to look at it all
How we work togetherSomething needs to change
Most people don't come to see a psychologist for therapy because everything's on fire (although that may well be the case). They come because something isn't sitting right, and they're ready to look at it properly, or feel like they now 'have to', with someone in the room who will think it through with them. It doesn't matter if things are mostly fine or falling apart. This can be an honest space where you don't have to perform.
Fundamentals
I’m a registered psychologist with a background in clinical practice and organisational work. My approach is integrative and relational.
I draw on what’s useful for the person in front of me, not a single rigid model or playbook.
Originally from South Africa, now in Lutruwita / Tasmania. Telehealth across Australia.
Training
BPsych (Hons) • MProfPsych • PhD
Primary Modalities
CFT · CBT · ACT · IFS · DBT · MI · Schema Therapy · UP · Mindfulness integrated approaches
Much of the work sits
in the grey zones
Ah, work. Alongside clinical practice I work in organisational development, and have held senior and executive level roles, as well as working with many different leaders.
I’m well placed to work with highly capable leaders in all sectors; people who face huge responsibilities, ongoing decision making, competing demands, and are heavily relied upon by others.
Having said all that, a leadership title isn’t necessary. I’m interested in working with people whose challenges sit specifically around work and the workplace — that could be a crossroads, a situation, or an environment you’re navigating.
I’m also interested in working with people who serve and support others as a core function of their job (for example, first responder; those in healthcare), where they themselves haven’t got it all figured out. “Suffering while serving” can put us in a very hard spot, and a sense of inauthenticity can stop us from seeking support.
Relationships can be very messy, and families are always complex, even if they don’t look like it from the outside.
Some people want to explore the past to understand the present, while others prefer to focus on what can be changed right now. Some are looking at how they want to be to support their children and what needs to change to create a new story in their family history.
I’m interested in working with parents of children with support needs as they navigate the full complexity of that experience. I’ve worked in perinatal mental health and have additional training around working with parents experiencing reproductive loss, pregnancy, and the entire perinatal period (0 to 4 years) – including with those for whom parenting is not going in the desired direction at all.
We’re all full of contradictions: good choices and poor choices. We’re changing all the time but can also feel absolutely stuck. Maybe something happened, or didn’t happen, or maybe we made a choice that we can’t believe we made.
I’m interested in working with people who have difficult stories that feel impossible to share. Often the deep psychological drivers of these choices can be explored fully in therapy.
What do we
explore?
Maybe some of the things on the left, but also maybe other places - what you avoid; what you're scared of; your values; your sense of self; your relationships; your past; the future you want; something crap that happened to you; or something important that didn't happen; a decision you're trying to make; a choice you're trying to move through; your contributions. Maybe we start with total chaos or total calm. Let's see what you come with and where you want to go.
Rumi wrote: "Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment."
Our minds can be incredible - rationalising, explaining, thinking for the ages. Many people I work with are incredibly bright and talented, are used to being able to effect change, but there are things you can't think your way out of, or do on your own. It's harder to be open to bewilderment - not so much confusion, in a negative sense, but more: sitting with openness, the state of not already knowing, being willing to be moved or surprised or feel things rather than staying somewhat armoured behind analysis or 'answers'.
It's my job to help guide us through; you just need to be willing to start.
