Bernie has over 10 years’ work experience as a Psychologist in private practice, community health and academic settings, from city, suburbia and regional areas. She sees clients across the lifespan – young people to seniors, from a variety of cultural backgrounds. She supports clients through diverse presenting concerns including depression, anxiety, stress, neurodiversity, adjusting to life transitions, and grief and loss. She is also experienced in supporting clients in their self-management of chronic health conditions and related psychological and emotional impacts from living with chronic illness, as well as challenges with sleep and relationship difficulties in personal, academic, and professional areas. She finds meaning and fulfilment in supporting her clients to work through their life challenges with dignity, feel more empowered, focus on what is important to them, and re-vitalise their lives.
Bernie adopts a biopsychosocial-spiritual approach to assessment and treatment planning in order to offer integrative and holistic interventions. She has dedicated time to professional development in the area of health psychology and incorporates this into her treatment in two ways: Firstly, through an overarching preventative and multidisciplinary approach to health, working closely with her client’s healthcare team, to improve health literacy, support harm minimisation and healthy behaviour change.
Secondly, she applies a holistic approach to understanding how the client’s health condition/s can affect their physical, mental, emotional and relational health. She works with clients to become more aware of their stressors, triggers, responses, and strengths, to build coping skills and resilience, and empower them to improve their quality of life.
Bernie offers evidence-based, device-assisted neuromodulation techniques such as Neurofeedback and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS); as well as biofeedback informed techniques using sleep actigraphy data. She believes in the importance of balancing objective and subjective data in understanding a client’s lived experience of their condition and to aid in measuring treatment outcomes. She also utilises evidence-based psychological therapies including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Solution Focused Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Mindfulness and Relationship Skills Building.
Bernie practices compassion, respect and genuineness in her interactions with clients, working collaboratively with them, their families and relevant stakeholders, to empower them to take tangible steps toward a better quality of life and overall wellbeing.
