Still Minds Psychology | Clinical Psychologist | Board-Approved Supervisor
Kind, experienced, trauma-informed psychological help for adults wanting to make sense of a diagnosis, or experience that’s impacting their lives.
Empathetic supervision for early-career and established psychologists, focused on developing clinical excellence, prioritising self-care, and creating a supportive network.
Trauma-informed psychological services
Still Minds Psychology is a trauma-informed practice.
Your sessions with me are grounded in the following 5 principles: safety, trust, choice, collaboration and empowerment.
Human-centred mental health help
… for when life becomes difficult to navigate
I support people dealing with these mental health concerns.
Perhaps you see something of yourself and the challenges you’re facing in one or more of them.
If your experience overlaps, that’s fine and not unusual.
Our physical and psychological responses to the tough stuff life dishes up don’t always sit squarely under one neatly labelled clinical condition.
You’re always anxious
Anxiety shows up in many forms:
- Feeling wound up, worried and exhausted
- Losing sleep, concentration or track of your thoughts
- Struggling to calm down or control your anger
Anxiety is a very common mental health condition. It’s also very treatable.
How I help you manage anxiety
You’ve experienced trauma
The shock of surviving, witnessing or hearing about a traumatic event may show up as:
- Extreme wariness and panic attacks.
- Vivid images and nightmare reminders of the event
- Emotional numbness and withdrawal from people and activities
However you’re responding to trauma, I can help you find a sense of stability and calm.
How I help you recover from trauma
You’re living with bipolar
Bipolar disorder can trigger intense emotional states that can upend your daily life. It can show up as:
- Sudden, significant mood changes from high energy to deep sadness
- Racing thoughts that can spark impulsive decision-making
- Feeling alternately hopeless or invincible
Supporting people with bipolar to feel steadier and calmer is a career-long focus of my research and clinical practice.
How I support you to live with bipolar
You’re grieving a loss
Losing someone you love can unleash an emotional tsunami.
So can losing or falling out of love with something at the heart of who you think you are – your career, your sense of purpose and direction, your long-time network that no longer lights you up.
If loss has left you feeling unanchored and adrift, I can help you stay afloat and re-find your bearings.
How I help you deal with grief and loss
Your sadness doesn’t shift
Depression is different from anxiety, although they often appear together. Depression can show up as:
- Feeling persistently numb and empty and hopeless
- Withdrawing from people and activities because you’re struggling to cope with everyday life
- Feeling like your body and brain have run out of battery
Depression can feel very dark and difficult to manage. But with evidence-based therapeutic help, it’s possible to feel better.
How I help you deal with depression
Hello, I’m Sue
Registered Clinical Psychologist and caring, astute human
I’ve been helping my clients manage and enhance their mental health, recover from trauma, and make the most of where they are in the moment for over 20 years.
Outside of my clinical practice, I’m a researcher, writer, and supervisor of early-career psychologists. Because unearthing and sharing new knowledge and supporting the health and integrity of my professional community matter a lot to me.
I live and work in a beautiful corner of rural Victoria. As part of my commitment to supporting quality care for regional communities, I serve on the Human Ethics and Research Committee at a major rural hospital.
I started Still Minds Psychology in 2024 to lay the foundations for a community of practice where everyone – practitioners and clients – knows they’re valued, supported, and not going it alone. ‘Still Minds’ is inspired by working with people living with bipolar. It’s a small homage to our shared goal and the gritty, tenacious work we often need to do to find that life-affirming sense of stillness.
What will we do? We’ll work with evidence-based therapies
In therapy, everyone’s pace and progress are different.
Based on what you tell me and my 20+ years of professional experience, I choose and adapt the therapeutic tools best suited to help you explore your issues, develop your strengths, and achieve your aims.
To make this happen, we’ll most likely work with one or more of these evidence-based therapies.
Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT)
Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) is designed to help you develop healthy ways to manage intense emotions.
It is based on the idea that two seemingly opposing things can be true at the same time. In DBT, these two things are ‘acceptance’ — understanding and accepting yourself and your experiences as they are right now and ‘change’— developing practical skills to change patterns that get in the way of a life worth living.
DBT helps you understand and manage difficult thoughts and emotions through practical skills in mindfulness, emotional regulation, distress tolerance and interpersonal effectiveness. These skills build your tolerance to emotional challenges, both within yourself and in your relationships.
This Health Direct article answers common questions about DBT.
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR)
EMDR is a trauma-focused therapy based on the idea that, during overwhelming experiences, memories may not be fully processed and integrated.
EMDR uses guided eye movements to help your brain process distressing memories.
It aims to draw on your brain’s innate healing ability by helping you integrate and store trauma memories in healthier ways.
This Lifeline article has an overview and a short video explaining how EMDR works
Social Rhythm Therapy (SRT)
SRT is designed to help you stabilise mood swings by creating and tracking regular routines (sleep, leisure, meal planning, etc) to stabilise your circadian rhythm and body clocks.
SRT aims to build your skills in reducing and managing the things that disturb and disrupt your biological rhythms and trigger mood swings.
It also shows you how to recognise and respond effectively to early warning signs of an impending mood swing or manic episode.
This webpage gives an overview of SRT.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
ACT can help you accept your thoughts and feelings rather than fighting them or feeling guilty about them.
It teaches you how to respond more calmly and skilfully to fluctuating emotions, especially in a crisis or when you feel overwhelmed.
The result? You're better equipped to make wiser decisions, reducing the chances of you doing or saying things you regret later.
Find out more in a 20-minute TED talk by ACT developer Steven Hayes.
Graduated Exposure Therapy
Graduated Exposure is designed to help you connect differently to frightening feelings, memories, and the places that generated them, so that over time you can feel safer and more in control.
Graduated (also called prolonged) exposure therapy can involve imagining and visualising the experience or carefully planned encounters with places or activities linked to the source of your trauma.
This PTSD UK article has an overview and a case study.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
CBT aims to help you identify unhelpful thoughts and assess whether they reflect reality. If they don't, CBT can help you develop strategies to challenge and change these thoughts.
CBT can also help you reframe your understanding of a traumatic event and develop a healthier, more adaptive meaning of the experience.
This Health Direct article answers common questions about CBT.
What’s it like working with me?
My approach to helping you find your still mind is grounded in:
Curiosity
We take an open-hearted look at what’s happening for you right now. Then we delve gently into what brought you to this point and what you do and don’t want to change.
Clarity
We work with what curiosity has given us — insights, inklings, and questions. We choose a practical path forward and test the best-fit therapeutic tools to give you the skills and know-how to navigate it. We move at your pace; there's no rush.
Calm
We make a quiet, safe space where you can start to feel steadier, clearer and more confident. Learning and practising skills to recognise and manage difficult feelings and scary situations helps you feel, think and act differently. And this difference helps you quietly reclaim your power to stay afloat in turbulent times.
Clients – Two ways to work with me
Telehealth sessions | Australia-wide
Therapy and supervision in your own safe, familiar environment via secure, encrypted technology that complies with rigorous Australian and global standards for protecting your privacy and data.
Please note: I work with adults (not couples or families) who want thoughtful, evidence-based support for psychological difficulties.
Sessions available Thursdays 9 am – 5 pm.
Face-to-face sessions | Warrnambool
These sessions are reserved for clients for whom telehealth is not appropriate. If I believe that telehealth is not the most appropriate way for you to receive your therapy. I will discuss this with you after you contact me.
I offer clients face-to-face sessions at [Insert practice name and address]
Sessions currently available on Fridays, 9 am – 5 pm.
How to request an appointment
I’m not always able to accept new clients immediately. But I will always review your request to make sure we’re a good fit. If I believe that you would benefit more from seeing someone different, I will email you my recommendations.
Complete the online form
Tell me a little about what you are looking for so I can see if we’re likely to work well together.
I'll call to confirm next steps
This call is to confirm that I can offer you an appointment and book your first session. We’ll also briefly discuss your availability and needs.
Attend your first appointment
I’ll outline the nuts and bolts of working together, including your recommended treatment and its duration. We’ll set expectations for each other, and you can figure out if I’m the right fit for you.
Psychologists – Ask about supervision
I provide professional supervision at all stages of your career, whether you’re a provisional psychologist completing internships towards general registration, undertaking the Clinical Psychology Registrar Program, or a registered psychologist seeking ongoing supervision.
My approach to supervision is collaborative, reflective and practical, with a focus on developing clinical skills, confidence and thoughtful professional practice.
I offer supervision appointment times during business hours and after hours, to suit differing work and training commitments.
Get in touch
Chat via telehealth
I’ll send you the link for a 30-minute discussion.
We’ll talk through how you like to approach supervision and decide if my approach makes us a good fit.
Mental health support for managing the messy business of being human
Feel like you’re sinking under the weight of difficult issues? I’ll help you stay afloat, find your feet and figure out ways to lighten the load.
Thoughtful, evidence-based psychological support for adults and professional supervision for psychologists, grounded in curiosity, clarity and calm.