About Rosie

Psychologist Rosie, a white woman with long brown hair wearing a pink shirt. She is holding a black cat named Ivy.

Hi, it's nice to meet you! My name is Rosie (on the left) and this is Ivy (she's the cat).

I am a registered psychologist and a registrar in counselling and clinical psychology, which means I am in the final stages of the 9 years of training required to become both a Clinical and Counselling Psychologist.

* Please note that Ivy doesn’t have any qualifications. However, she is very committed to her role as (unofficial) therapy assistant and will likely make an appearance during your sessions.

My approach

As a therapist, I lean towards a reflective, relational, humanistic style. I believe my clients are doing their best with the resources available to them, and that therapy can expand those resources. Working relationally means therapy isn’t something I deliver to you; it’s something we create together. Rather than positioning myself as a know-it-all expert who tells you what to do, I support you to draw on your strengths and values.

Positive psychology is another of my influences. While it’s important to make space for pain and difficulty, I’m equally interested in cultivating hope, optimism, and meaning - and in deliberately savouring pleasurable and fun parts of life. I fundamentally believe that therapy can be an enjoyable process! I love injecting humour into my sessions - sometimes identifying the absurdity within a problem can help loosen its grip and return power to your hands.

I'm a sex therapist as well as a psychologist

My great love within psychology is sexual wellbeing. I’m an experienced sex therapist and particularly enjoy working with sex workers, people in non-traditional relationships, and individuals exploring sexual or erotic interests. My work is identity-affirming, trauma-informed, and grounded in deep respect for diverse ways of living, loving, and expressing sexuality.

Outside of the clinic

Alongside running Familiar Psychology, I am also chipping away at a part-time PhD in psychology researching (sexual) health misinformation, as well as teaching undergraduate psychology units at the University of Queensland. For this reason, I cannot accept UQ psychology students as clients.

Outside of work, I love going on walks, learning new crafts (at the moment I'm doing silversmithing!) and playing board games with friends.

Therapeutic modalities

I use an eclectic approach informed by:

Solutions-Focused Therapy
Narrative Therapy
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)
Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT)
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Positive Psychology
Gottman Therapy
Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT)

Qualifications

Master of Psychology (Counselling)
Graduate Diploma of Sexology
Bachelor of Arts (Honours) (Psychology)
Bachelor of Social Science (Psychology)

Further training

Gottman Couples Therapy - Level 1
Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy - Externship
Aboriginal Narrative Practice
Working with Sex Workers
Responding to Disclosures of Sexual Assault
Queensland Family Violence Risk Assessment and Safety Planning

Industry associations

Member of the Australian Psychological Society (MAPS)
1. - Representative on the APS College of Counselling Psychologists National Executive Committee
Member of the Australian Association of Psychologists (AAPi)

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