Arnhem Land, Northern Territory

About Sam

About Sam

About Sam
After over a decade in a former professional career, I started a journey lasting 10+ years to retrain and become a qualified psychologist. This included 4+ years working in community mental health, a job which changed my life and where I provided support to people with some of the most complex psycho-social needs. This experience shaped the way I work with people today.

My postgraduate research focused on investigating the impact of distressing early life experiences on the development of executive functioning in adulthood, which found early life adversity may lead to enhanced aspects of executive functioning. I completed two years of provisional psychology training in East Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, on the land of the Yolngu people.

I believe every person has a story they carry and that this story often involves immense emotional pain and trauma. I am a committed and dedicated psychologist and my passion for supporting people’s mental health grows every year.

The way I work

Every person I work with is treated with dignity, respect and compassion. This means looking beyond people’s current condition, situation or diagnosis to also consider their broader life-history, including how current symptoms may have been shaped by early life experiences. I believe that everybody, no matter how complex or challenging their situation, circumstances or life experiences, when provided the right support has within themselves vast resources for self-understanding and resilience.

This perspective sheds light on the parts of you which are resilient, having endured life’s challenges, as well as parts that feel burdened by stress, trauma or shame. All these parts are welcomed with compassion, free of any judgement. From here, a more meaningful and helpful narrative for your life experiences and situation can be developed.

I respect that, for many people seeing a psychologist, being vulnerable and discussing things we previously may not have given voice to, can be overwhelming. I always work collaboratively in sessions to ensure clients feel like we are moving at the right pace and focusing on the right issues, so that you feel as comfortable as possible in sessions.

 

Accredited Therapeutic Approaches

Schema Therapy | Trauma-Focussed Cognitive Behaviour Therapy | EMDR | Acceptance & Commitment Therapy | Cognitive Behaviour Therapy | Narrative Therapy

Treatment focus is decided in collaboration with each person and regularly reviewed across sessions to ensure treatment is appropriate and useful for each person’s needs.

 

Assessment Services

 I provide assessment and screening for ADHD in children, adolescents and adults, in addition to assessment for a wide range of behavioural, emotional, social and developmental issues in children and adolescents.

 

Qualifications

•  Postgraduate Diploma Psychology – 2018 – Charles Sturt University

•  Graduate Diploma Psychology – 2016 – Charles Sturt University

•  Bachelor of Economics & Finance – 2005 – RMIT

 

Service Quality

I am generally registered with the Psychology Board of Australia. As well as ensuring that I meet professional requirements for registration, I attend to my passion for ongoing development in skills and knowledge by taking regular supervision from a senior psychologist, peer supervision, and other regular and ongoing professional development.

 

Professional Associations

I am an Associate member of:

•  Australian Psychological Society (MAPS)

•  Australian Association of Psychologists Incorporated (AAPi)

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