About me
I am a compassionate, empathetic and sensitive therapist who is easily able to tune into the individual needs of my clients. I am deeply passionate about helping people achieve their goals through healing the past and remove self-sabotaging beliefs or patterns.
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I am experienced in treating a range of mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, trauma, grief and loss, panic disorder, OCD, health anxiety, specific phobias, addiction, procrastination, perfectionism and self-esteem and relationship issues.
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I am also passionate about helping families with parenting and child concerns regarding challenging behaviours, discipline, anxiety, low mood or conflict. I have experience working with children with a diagnosis of Autism and ADHD.
My Therapeutic Approach
As a Clinical Psychologist the interventions I use are always founded in a strong evidence base. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy has been considered the first line treatment for most mental health issues for the last few decades so I will usually use it as a foundational intervention with most adult clients, especially those new to therapy.
I have also trained in Schema Therapy, having completed Level 1 & 2 training courses with ongoing supervision. I find schema therapy to be a great way for clients to understand themselves on a deeper level and the techniques offered, such as imagery rescripting or chair work, can be extremely useful with particular issues and blocks in therapy.
I have also completed Level 1 and 2 training in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) and am receiving specialist supervision to complete my accreditation as an EMDR Practioner through EMDRAA (EMDR Association of Australia). EMDR is considered the Gold Standard Therapy for treating mental health conditions associated with trauma, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and is gaining more and more evidence as a successful treatment for depression, anxiety, panic disorder and addiction.​​​​
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I have a strong focus on attachment and am passionate about helping those who have experienced attachment disruptions or developmental trauma, neglect or abuse and who may be experiencing Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Adulthood.
Areas of Expertise
Schema Therapy, EMDR therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy & Mindfulness/Compassion therapies
Parent Management Training
Emotion Coaching
​I have a strong foundation in the practice of mindfulness and am trained as a Mindfulness integrated CBT therapist. ​I also have a special interest in the role of compassion on mental health and well-being and have completed two separate research studies in this area, including the following published research paper:
Parenting self-compassion: A systematic review and meta-analysis
FA Jefferson, A Shires, J McAloon - Mindfulness, 2020 - Springer
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As part of my Masters course I was trained in Parent Management Training and also Emotion Coaching, two of the most evidence based parenting interventions. I also completed two child and family placements under supervision from experienced child and family Clinical Psychologists.​
A little more about me
I strive to create a safe, non-judgemental space that is: -
- Neurodiversity Affirming (ND affirming)
- Anti-oppressive
- LGBTIQA+ friendly
- Poly and non-monogamy friendly
- Sex worker friendly
- Kink friendly
- Fat friendly
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I am happy to share more about my identity and lived experience. Please feel free to ask any questions you have.