Lovely to have you here, my name is Steph

I’m a Gold Coast based psychologist that works primarily with adults. I have experience working across both private practice and community mental health settings, and provide psychological support for a range of challenges and life experiences. I have a special interest in mood, anxiety and OCD, as well as the perinatal period and ongoing experience of parenthood.

I take a warm, down-to-earth and collaborative approach with clients. I aim to offer encouragement, curiosity and compassion, while also challenging you or offering a different perspective when helpful.

In addition to my psychology background, I am a trained yoga and mindfulness teacher and have over 10 years experience in research, design and business. I’m also a mother of two, having recently returned from maternity leave with my youngest daughter. Naturally, this background (personal and professional) influences my style and approach as a therapist as well.

Therapeutic approaches

Qualifications

Memberships

I take a integrated approach to my work depending on client presentation, needs and preference. My approach is attachment based, trauma informed and grounded in polyvagal theory and nervous system regulation. I am trained in a range of therapeutic models, and tend to draw upon the following approaches in my work with clients:

  • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

  • Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT)

  • Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT)

  • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

  • Schema Therapy

  • Mindfulness based approaches

  • Attachment models such as Circle of Security

  • Masters of Clinical Psychology

  • Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours)

  • Graduate Diploma of Psychological Science

  • Bachelor of Business and Journalism

  • Fully registered member of the Psychology Board of Australia through the Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Agency (AHPRA)

  • Full member of the Australian Psychological Society (APS)

Outside of the therapy room

Psychology-related resources

BOOKS

My go-to book genre outside of the therapy space is actually a good crime, thriller or a romcom. However, I’m guessing psychology related book recommendations might be more relevant here! Some of my favourites include ‘The Body Keeps the Score’ by Bessel van der Kolk, ‘The Brain that Changes Itself’ - Norman Doidge, ‘Polyvagal Exercises for Safety and Connection‘ - Deb Dana, and ‘Beautiful Chaos’ - Jessica Urlichs. This last one isn’t really a ‘psychology’ book as such, but one that captures the duality of the motherhood experience; the messiness, beauty and everything in between. I regularly gift or recommend this to new mamas.

MEDITATIONS + BREATH

OPEN is currently my favourite platform for meditation and breathwork exercises. I like the tone of voice and music they use, the meditation themes (e.g. nervous system reset, compassion and gratitude, contemplations), and love that they draw upon really interesting psychological concepts as part of their teachings. For free exercises, I love and regularly recommend anything from Dr. Kristin Neff. My personal fav is the self-compassion while caregiving exercise.

Quotes to ponder

The measure of your life is the amount of beauty of which you are aware - Agnes Martin

Every time you choose compassion, you rewrite old stories

Modern luxury is the ability to think clearly, sleep deeply, move slowly, and live quietly in a world designed to prevent all four - Justin Welsh

Therapy strategies I’m actively practising in my own life

Outside of the therapy space, I am currently in the middle of a DIY renovation, and the wild, beautiful, chaotic ride of parenting two young daughters. As I balance and navigate these things, I have found myself needing to really actively practice certain coping strategies, especially when feeling overstimulated, exhausted or overwhelmed. These have included things like:

  • Perspective taking, and reminding myself that ‘when in doubt, zoom out’

  • Radical acceptance (a DBT concept), especially when I find myself irritated, resentful or stuck in ‘all or nothing’ thinking (a common cognitive distortion). I anchor to this by taking a big breath, grounding myself to the present moment, sometimes saying a phase to myself “this is feeling hard” etc, and then refocusing on what is within my control.

  • Flowing on from above point, reflecting on and focusing my efforts on things that are within my control.

  • Getting clear on what I value and what really, truly matters, then putting effort and energy into being present for these things. If you’re curious to explore your values, Russ Harris has some great ACT resources on it here.

  • When I notice I’m not being present/am getting stuck in my head/not acting by my values; responding to myself with compassion and curiosity, instead of criticism.

  • Helping to regulate and soothe my nervous system with things like breathing, grounding to the senses, play, music, movement, getting outdoors, noticing unhelpful thought patterns, communicating from a lens of compassion, and enjoying a coffee in the morning.

  • When I am with my daughters, noticing when I get stuck in a productivity or ‘task orientated’ busy mindset. Then, reframing what productivity looks like and remind myself that as a mum ‘I am doing important work’, right here, right now. Mama Matters talks about this concept a lot if it’s resonating.