About

I currently work in my private practice, Yarra Clinic, offering psychotherapy to adults. As a Board-approved supervisor with the Psychology Board of Australia, I also offer individual supervision to psychologists interested in relational approaches to therapeutic work (e.g., psychodynamic psychotherapy).

Chairs next to a coffee table.

I have a strong interest in psychoanalytic thinking, and how relational approaches to therapeutic work are useful for many people. I draw on classic and contemporary psychoanalytic writing, and maintain an appreciation for the rich history of psychoanalysis generally.

Contemporary therapies (e.g., CBT, ACT) are often described as evidence-based. In their motivation to be scientific, something essential is lost. By attempting to distill human suffering into rigid, dogmatic concepts and manualised treatments, uncertainty—and an individual's emerging experiences—are squeezed out. In these therapies, the therapist is positioned as one who possesses knowledge, and "knows" what to do, or what the patient needs.

Here, psychoanalysis and relational approaches to therapy offer an antidote to such thinking. Here, there is space for creativity, curiosity, uncertainty, and a respect for all the experiences that contribute to who we are. Rather than "knowing", the therapist is a containing, lively, and interested other—prepared to support the patient in getting to know themselves, and to develop into the person they wish to become.

A helpful text introducing aspects of contemporary psychoanalytic thinking is Coming to Life in the Consulting Room by Thomas Ogden.