About us
Wattle psychology has been developed for families. Wattle exists for families and children, for women in the perinatal period, and for neurodivergent people looking to understand the unique strengths and difficulties related to their brain style differences. We support parents and children when children need support with anxiety, emotion regulation, and difficulties at school or with friends.
We also provide therapy for women and partners in the pregnancy and postpartum period. This is a time where women can often need some additional support with their emotional wellbeing. Whilst it is often a time of immense joy, it can also be a time of increased stress, anxiety, physical demands and emotional intensity. Our perinatal therapy is a safe and compassionate space for you to receive the supportiveness you need during the pregnancy, postpartum or conception phases. We frequently support women experiencing pregnancy or postpartum periods with anxiety, low mood, birth trauma, relationship challenges, perinatal loss, as well as working through the adjustment to the new role as a parent. Our therapy process is designed to help you to work out why some things are difficult, to support you to understand your triggers and patterns of thinking, and to understand the impact of your history and attachment relationships.
We understand that therapy and assessment interventions are effective as a result of the relationship built with your therapist. Clarity and transformation can arise when someone seeking therapy feels that their therapist genuinely cares for their well-being, and when they feel seen, heard, and understood. Our aim is to deeply care for each client. Our approach is person-centred, inclusive, and empowering for the people we work with.
Our Values
Doing Good (Beneficence)
Everything we do is to benefit clients
Not Harming (Trauma-Informed)
All our work is done with an understanding of the impact of trauma (large events, small events, and cumulative trauma). Our trauma-informed principles are safety, choice, empowerment, and value for dignity.
Respect and Kindness. We aim to build purposeful therapeutic relationships built on care, compassion, collaboration, respect, and deepening trust.
Social justice (Advocacy)
We speak out to advocate for the rights of birthing mothers, women navigating medical systems, and neurodivergent people.
Diversity, inclusivity, and supportiveness. We promote the safety of humans of all ages, cultural backgrounds, gender identities, expressions, faiths, and neurodivergent people.
Neurodiversity affirming practice
Wattle psychology is a Neurodiversity affirming practice. This means that:
We understand that neurodivergent people are not broken and do not need to be fixed, but may benefit from understanding to identify their strengths and challenges, and mental health support to cope with the stresses and challenges of living with neurodivergent brain style differences.
- Our neurodiversity-affirming care focuses on understanding your strengths, recognising appropriate support strategies, and adapting to meet your specific needs.
- Report recommendations will look at how environmental changes can adjust, change, accommodate, and support the needs of the individual to the needs of the person (rather than a focus being on the person changing to fit in with those developing typically).
- We understand, support, and respect neurodivergent communication and sensory needs.
- Assessment report language will aim to reduce medical/pathological/disorder language.
Meet our psychologist
Louisa has had three passions in her career- children and teens, assessment, and women in the perinatal period.
Children and Teens.
Louisa began working with teens in high schools in the early part of her career. Louisa also worked for eight years with people with disabilities. These early career work experiences sparked a passion to study developmental psychology and to become better equipped to support children and their families to grow stronger in their relationships and to build the resilience to handle the challenges of life.
Training in assessment, child development, and attachment theory.
Louisa received her Master’s level training through the Educational and Developmental Psychology Master’s Program at QUT. This program had a strong focus on assessment, specifically on understanding and supporting families of neurodivergent children. The program also grounded Louisa in a holistic, attachment-based framework, and has given her a high value for the circle of security framework and attachment-based therapy approaches like schema therapy.
Perinatal therapy and work with mothers.
Through her own experiences of motherhood, Louisa has become increasingly passionate about supporting mothers both as parents and as women. She values being a part of the process of supporting women as they transition into motherhood and find their feet in the highs and lows of mothering and in the first few years post-partum.
Louisa continues to undertake regular professional development and supervision in assessment and in perinatal psychology practice.
Professional Training
Louisa has received professional training in the administration of autism assessments, in Schema Therapy, and in working with women in the perinatal period.
Qualifications
- AHPRA General Registration: PSY0002343844
- Master of Psychology (Educational & Developmental)
- Bachelor of Science (Psychology) (Honours)
- Member of the AAPI
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Committed