Our Psychologists
With our combined experience, we recognise the importance of both providing a high quality continuity of care and supporting the critical role of General Practioners in enhancing the psychological wellbeing of clients and assisting them through difficult times. As such, we will regularly liaise and update General Practitioners, where consent is given, and communicate to any other specialists involved in the care of a client to maximise the clients sense of feeling well supported from a physical and mental health perceptive.
DR VICTORIA CARR
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SNAPSHOT:
Victoria is a Clinical Psychologist with 20 years of experience.
She is particularly focused on providing support to those with Trauma and adult ADHD.
She is a graduate of Deakin University, Melbourne (Doctor of Psychology, Clinical), a Member of the Australian Psychological Society (MAPS) and a Fellow of the College of Clinical Psychologists (FCCP).
detailed:
Victoria initially began her work in public and private hospital settings and has worked extensively across a wide range of public and private hospital departments including, cardiac, respiratory, orthopaedics, falls and balance, as well as chronic conditions, both in inpatient and outpatient settings. She has a particular specialty in assessing and treating chronic pain conditions, stemming from her work in a leading hospital based chronic pain program.
Victoria also gained a wealth of experience in treating highly complex mental health problems for individuals, who have a combination of psychological and physical conditions with various psychosocial stressors. She has worked within a number of multi-disciplinary teams and has also undertaken senior psychology positions, which have involved providing treatment to more complex clients and the coordination and supervision of other psychologists. Victoria has also lectured on a variety of psychological topics to both patients and allied health staff.
In 2012, Victoria made the very conscious decision to follow her passion and focus solely on the provision of clinical psychology to clients in a therapeutic setting and on improving the wellbeing and long-term outcomes of her clients. While Victoria is highly experienced in the treatment of the anxiety and depressive conditions, she is very passionate about working with clients with a history of trauma, whether that be as a result of unhealthy workplaces, intimate partner relationships or childhood developmental trauma. She has developed a particular expertise in working with clients who grew up in narcissistic families and those affected by individuals with high levels of narcissism and considers it a privilege to see clients heal from such tumultuous and confusing experiences.
In the private practice setting, Victoria has now focused on tailoring her approach according to each client, their personality style and unique history, in a manner that promotes a warm collaboration around therapy and empowerment of the client. Every client is considered an expert in their own lives, with the goal being to equip them with a variety of efficacious skills and strategies to improve on their mental health and enhance their overall wellbeing. Victoria is competent in providing specific treatment for Anxiety, Depressive and Trauma- and Stressor-related Disorders, as well as therapy for relationship issues (but does not undertake couples work). She also has extensive experience in providing therapy in the context of a variety of medical conditions and workplace issues. She is highly skilled in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) and Clinical Hypnosis (Trained by Dr Michael Yapko in 2008).
More than 5 years ago, Victoria began her journey as a Mother of a child with special needs; her eldest child was diagnosed with ADHD and later Autism Spectrum Disorder, Sensory Processing Disorder and various learning disorders. This journey resulted in Victoria training extensively in the area of adult ADHD assessment and treatment and more broadly in neurodivergence. As such, she has developed an expertise in the assessment and treatment of adult ADHD. Victoria has also become particularly passionate about supporting women on their own journey with the condition and parents of children with ADHD. She thoroughly enjoys helping clients come to understand ADHD, its challenges and benefits and see them heal from previous difficulties and change their unhelpful beliefs around the condition.
Adult ADHD Assessment and Intervention. Victoria offers appointments for individuals seeking a comprehensive clinical assessment for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The assessment process includes clinical interview and the administration of a number of tools. A comprehensive report is later provided to both the client and treating General Practitioner, as well as Psychiatrist, should exploration of medication options be desired. Victoria can also liaise closely with a Psychiatrist, while providing support to clients over the titration process. Once an optimal medication regime has been obtained, sessions can be provided to help the client manage residual symptoms.
Extensive psychoeducation about ADHD, its history, controversies, latest discoveries, strategies and skills for better management is provided to the client throughout the assessment and intervention process. Additional topics, such as ADHD in women, comorbidities with various learning disorders and other conditions, such as ASD and SPD can also be of focus. Victoria's ultimate goal is to support and empower clients throughout their journey with ADHD so they can achieve optimal functioning in their personal and professional lives.
Interventions for Parents with Children/Partners who have ADHD. Victoria is also now offering limited appointments to parents who are attempting to support their child who has a diagnosis of ADHD. As a parent of a young child with ADHD, ASD, SPD and various learning disorders, Victoria has trained extensively on these conditions in her own quest to support her child, maximise the benefits and minimise the challenges where possible.
Extensive psychoeducation around the origins of ADHD, limitations and advances in research, current controversies, pathways forward and various skills and strategies for better supporting a child with the condition is provided over appointments. Psycho-education on medication options, co-morbidities, such as various learning disorders, sleep disturbance, ASD, Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) and sensory processing disorder (SPD) can also be provided if required. Support to parents themselves in relation to their own uncertainty, anxiety, fears and burnout (as well as the impact on siblings) while on this journey can also be of focus during appointments. Overall, parents are provided with a safe space to explore all facets of their journey and the time to answer all their questions. Victoria's ultimate goal is to empower and increase parental confidence and hope about themselves as parents and their child's future.
DR JONATHAN G. CARR
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SNAPSHOT:
Jonathan is a Health Psychologist with 20 years of experience.
He is particularly focused on providing support to those with Stress, Anxiety, Burnout and Trauma, as well as those suffering with a chronic illness.
He is a graduate of Deakin University, Melbourne (Doctor of Psychology, Health), a Member of the Australian Psychological Society (MAPS) and a Fellow of the College of Health Psychologists (FCHP).
detailed:
A Health Psychologist is a psychologist who specialises in: (i) assisting with the development of optimal behaviours to reduce risk factors for poor health and psychological wellbeing; (ii) providing support in the recovery and self-management of chronic illness and trauma; and (iii) helping individuals to understand and work with the vital connections between their physical and mental health.
Throughout his career to date, Jonathan has practiced across a number of diverse roles and environments, including in the public health, military and private practice domains. He has a strong passion for providing support to those with concurrent mental and physical health conditions. Jonathan also has an interest in, and experience with, providing support to those who have anxiety, burnout and/or who have experienced trauma related to changes in their health, as well as Narcissistic Abuse (in the family, relationships or the workplace).
The first part of Jonathan's career as a psychologist was gaining experience working across both civilian public hospital, as well as community health systems in Victoria, Australia. During this time he worked within multidisciplinary health teams and in-patient hospital departments. This included working at the Austin hospital and with those suffering from different respiratory, cardiac and pain conditions. His community health experience has also provided him with a strong understanding of psychological assessment and treatment for a wide range of Mental Health disorders. This includes Anxiety, Depressive and Trauma related Disorders, as well as behavioural and/or interpersonal issues. In addition, Jonathan also has experience with workplace stress and relationship issues, including those in domestic violence circumstances. As a result, he has a strong sense of continuing commitment to both the local community and families from all backgrounds.
The second part of Jonathan's career has been in the Australian Defence Force (ADF) as a commissioned Officer, over an 8.5 year period. With a desire to serve his country and honour a previous family commitment of Service, Jonathan initially served for approximately 5 and a half years in the Australian Army to mid 2015 and then transferred to the Royal Australian Navy. This decision was made at the time to settle his family in Canberra, with his wife Victoria and two children. As an Officer in the ADF, Jonathan gained considerable leadership and managerial experience to complement his civilian psychology career. This resulted in a deeper understanding of the provision of individual mental health services and clinical assessment. His military experience focused predominantly on psychological trauma, as well as gaining an appreciation of organisational psychology, preventative mental health strategies, supervision of other military psychologists, managing the psychology workforce and the development and delivery of mental health training and policy.
The third part of Jonathan’s career is, and continues to be, in private practice. As a co-founder and Director of Phoenix Psychology Canberra, he has provided a variety of mental health services to the Canberra community over the last 6 years, including individual psychological assessment and treatment, supervision, as well as group-based training and workshops concerning stress, resilience and emotional health. Jonathan is trained to provide a number of different treatment modalities that can be tailored to a client's specific needs, including CBT (specifically for Anxiety, Depressive and Trauma related Disorders), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Mindfulness, Schema-Focused Therapy, as well as Clinical (Eriksonian) Hypnosis. Jonathan is also a Certified HeartMath Trainer.
As an accredited Psychology Supervisor, Jonathan has over 8 years of experience assisting those completing their supervised practice to become a registered psychologist and is committed to providing quality, tailored and effective supervision to both provisional and fully registered psychologists. Jonathan is an Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) approved psychology supervisor, who is registered to provide primary and secondary supervision to the 'four plus two' and 'five plus one' pathways. This includes the development of core competencies and assistance with assessment completion, as well as secondary supervision and observation of provisional psychologists, as well as assistance with ongoing clinical cases and professional development for fully registered psychologists. Jonathan is also able to provide supervision for those requiring specialist health psychology supervision and can also bring his 20 years of experience into the following areas of focus for supervision:
Development of congruent professional identity, including value clarification and therapeutic style;
Conducting effective Mental State Examination (MSE) and biopsychosocial assessment;
Effective psychological report writing;
Building a strong therapeutic alliance and effective use of Transference/Counter-Transference;
Unblocking barriers to effective psychological treatment;
Provision of psychological treatment for a range of Anxiety Disorders, Trauma and Stressor related Disorders, health-related conditions, as well as treatment approaches including CBT, ACT and Mindfulness.