Clinical Psychologist, BASc, Pgrad Dip (Psychology), DPsych (Clinical) MACPA
Sarah is an experienced clinical psychologist who provides perinatal psychology services. She is passionate about supporting the emotional well-being of new and expecting parents during conception, pregnancy, and postpartum.
Sarah also provides Cognitive Processing Therapy, a structured, evidence-based treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This therapy helps people learn how to modify and challenge unhelpful beliefs related to trauma and can be helpful for reducing distressing symptoms associated with births that have been experienced as traumatic. She also works with people who have experienced non birth related trauma.
Sarah is trained in evidence-based therapies and works collaboratively with clients to make sense of their presenting concerns and develop a treatment approach that best meets their needs. Her approach to treatment is relational and is informed by attachment theory and Schema Therapy. She has a keen interest in infant mental health and has completed training in Circle of Security Parenting (COS-P) which assists parents to understand their child’s emotional needs, help foster their ability to manage emotions and support the development of secure relationships. Babies are very welcome in session.
Becoming a parent is a transformative period in life that deserves support and care. Having a new baby is a time where parents often reflect on their own experience of being parented, and therapy offers a space to reflect on experiences in early relationships, the ongoing impact of this on adult relationships, and how this impacts the relationship they have with their children. Sarah works with clients experiencing postnatal depression, anxiety, adjustment difficulties, concerns about bonding with their infant, trauma, difficult birth experiences and other mental health issues in the perinatal period. Sarah also works in the space of infant grief and loss. She is experienced in supporting parents who have experienced miscarriage, termination for medical reasons, and people who long to be parents.
While she primarily works with mothers, or women wishing to be mothers, Sarah also whole-heartedly welcomes dads to therapy who are concerned about their mood or their bonding with their infants.
Sarah does not conduct diagnostic assessments for ADHD or autism, however, strives to work in a neuro-affirming way with parents of neurodiverse children or parents who identify as neurodivergent. Sarah also works with women’s health issues, such as gynaecological and hormonal concerns, menopause, and supporting adjustment for recently diagnosed or self-identifying adult autistic and ADHD women.
Sarah is skilled in providing clinical supervision, and in particular supervision of early career psychologists, helping to foster their confidence and competence as therapists through a warm, compassionate relationship. She also enjoys providing therapy to fellow psychologists.
Her work history as a psychologist includes private psychiatric hospitals, a university counselling clinic, a specialist eating disorder clinic and a not-for-profit agency. She also worked for many years as part of the postgraduate clinical psychology program at a local university, focused on supporting a high-quality training program for the next generation of clinical psychologists through teaching, supervision and overseeing the placement program.
