About the Practice
ABOUT RENATE
I am a Clinical Psychologist registered with the Psychology Board of Australia.
My professional experience spans community mental health, non-profit services, and private practice, working with adults across a broad range of psychological difficulties and life circumstances.
Prior to training in psychology, I qualified as a midwife in Germany. This experience continues to inform my understanding of the relationship between physical, emotional, relational, and developmental aspects of human experience.
I work with adults experiencing burnout, trauma, emotional overwhelm, relationship difficulties, perinatal experiences, and significant life transitions. I also support health and helping professionals who experience burnout or find it difficult to prioritise their own wellbeing.
My aim is to provide a thoughtful and grounded therapeutic space in which greater understanding, flexibility, and psychological wellbeing can emerge over time.
PRACTICE PHILOSOPHY
My work is grounded in the understanding that psychological distress rarely emerges in isolation. Whether presenting as burnout, anxiety, trauma, emotional exhaustion, or difficulties adapting to major life transitions, our struggles are often shaped by the interaction of biology, relationships, life experiences, and environmental demands.
I approach therapy as a collaborative and relational process rather than a set of techniques to be applied. Safety, pacing, and depth are prioritised so that change can emerge gradually, meaningfully, and sustainably.
Evidence-based interventions are tailored to the individual, but therapy is about more than symptom reduction alone. I attend to meaning, emotional integration, self-understanding, and the restoration of an inner life that may have been crowded out by chronic stress, responsibility, or survival demands.
Depth, silence, and reflection are legitimate therapeutic processes.
Creativity, connection with nature, and attention to bodily experience can support emotional regulation and psychological healing when words alone are insufficient.
THERAPEUTIC APPROACH
My work draws from psychodynamic psychotherapy, attachment-informed practice, schema therapy, EMDR, and other evidence-based psychological approaches.
These approaches are not applied according to a predetermined formula. Therapy is tailored to the individual and guided by a careful understanding of their history, circumstances, strengths, and therapeutic goals.
My focus is not simply on applying techniques, but on developing a thoughtful understanding of what is contributing to distress and what may support meaningful and sustainable change.