To be effective in improving mental health, we have to do better than treating people as clusters of symptoms. I like to work from the starting point that we are all whole human beings, with fears, insecurities and challenges that can leave us feeling lost, stressed, hurt and uncertain. We also all have things that matter deeply to us, that can guide the way we want to go about our lives. A quote that has always stayed with me and influences my work is to remember “we have to change the therapy to suit the client, and not change the client to suit the therapy”. With that in mind, I would welcome the opportunity to get to know you, to work alongside you to understand both what’s important to you and how to best navigate whatever you are facing. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me, if you have any further questions.
Barry completed a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Journalism, and a BA Honours in counselling psychology. He has completed further postgraduate training in Mindfulness-based approaches. Barry is a registered psychologist with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and an Associate Member of the Australian Psychological Society (APS). Barry has sought out training in a variety of therapeutic approaches, and sees value in integrating from the richness of these different approaches to adapt to each individual. On a personal level, Barry has maintained a long-term personal meditation practice and values working from an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) framework. For those clients seeking longer term therapy, Barry has also completed advanced training in Schema Therapy.
Barry has worked extensively in trauma-specific settings in both South Africa and Australia, having worked with individuals, families, emergency and defence force personnel, and victims of crime. Barry works primarily with adults and has experience across private practice, community-mental health and non-government organisations. Barry is committed to providing individual therapy, and can recommend alternate clinicians if specific formal assessments of mental health, learning or forensic reports are desired.