Dr. Rita Younan
Dr Younan is the director and founder of the Schema Therapy Institute Australia. Dr Younan works both in Individual and Group Schema Therapy and was the Director of The Schema Therapy Department at The Victoria Clinic, a private psychiatric hospital in Melbourne, Australia. In collaborating with the founders of Group Schema Therapy, Professor Joan Farrell & Ms Ida Shaw, Dr Younan developed an intensive 4-week inpatient program in Group Schema Therapy for Complex Trauma and subsequent outpatient program.
Dr Younan has been provided with permission to empirically assess the feasibility and efficacy of this treatment program and recently presented the data as part of a Schema Therapy Panel at the 8th World Congress of Behavioural and Cognitive Therapies. Dr Younan was invited to present this data in Vienna, Austria at the International Conference for Schema Therapy as part of a panel devoted to Group Schema Therapy.
Dr. Younan is also a member of the Certification Committee for Group Schema Therapy and Quality Assurance Committee for the International Society of Schema Therapy.
Dr. Younan is a clinical supervisor/teacher for Australian Catholic University at the Post-Graduate level.
Dr. Younan works Monday to Friday 9-5pm
Ms. Rachael Torcasio
Rachael is a registered psychologist who is passionate about working with children and adults. She is responsible for coordinating and facilitating group Schema Therapy programs at the Schema Therapy Institute Australia.
Rachael is undertaking training in Child and Adolescent Schema Therapy, in order to apply schema therapy techniques in her work with children and adolescents. Rachael has experience working in a hospital, private practice, primary school and social work community setting and is passionate about working with those experiencing difficulty with trauma, personality disorders, anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, phobias, social or home-life difficulties. Rachael also uses Schema Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT), Mindfulness and relaxation techniques amongst her therapeutic approaches.
Rachael works Monday’s 9-5 & Wednesdays 9-2 pm.
Ms. Charlotte Bull
Charlotte is a Clinical Psychologist who is completing certification in Schema Therapy as recognised by the International Society of Schema Therapy (ISST).
Charlotte has worked extensively with clients in settings including private practice and tertiary counselling. She assists clients experiencing a broad range of psychological concerns, and has a particular interest in working with clients experiencing longstanding problematic patterns in their close relationships. She also has expertise working with clients struggling with low self-esteem, body image and eating concerns, emotional regulation difficulties, and trauma.
Charlotte’s therapeutic approach is tailored according to each client’s needs and treatment goals. Her primary therapeutic modalities are Schema Therapy, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, and she draws from family systems and psychodynamic approaches.
Charlotte has a warm and collaborative style, and uses a supportive interpersonal approach to encourage clients to explore their experiences without judgement. She shares her rationale for treatment and encourages client feedback.
Charlotte works Mondays from 8.30am – 1pm & Wednesdays from 9am – 4 pm.
Dr. Tracy Garvin
Tracy is a clinical psychologist with over 15 years’ experience working as a clinical psychologist in a range of settings. Tracy has predominantly worked with young people and families as well as adults in both hospital and private settings. Tracy utilises a range of approaches including schema therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and mindfulness based approaches.
Tracy has extensive training in mindfulness meditation and provides training on mindfulness and self-compassion to health practitioners. She has also been involved in research in the application of mindfulness to depression. Tracy is a registered supervisor and provides clinical supervision at Headspace sites and Australian Catholic University.
Tracy is undertaking her schema therapy accreditation and has an interest in helping people overcome past trauma, disordered eating and difficulties with anxiety and depression. Tracy will collaboratively work with you develop an approach that suits your goals, needs and strengths.
Tracy works Tuesdays from 9-6 pm
Gavriel Garrison
Gavriel is currently studying psychology and has an interest in working with marginalized communities, specifically in the areas of gender and sexuality. Whilst working towards his professional qualifications, Gavriel works as the intake coordinator for Schema Therapy Institute Australia, and assists people in finding the right practitioner for their individual needs, Gavriel does this with compassion, warmth and understanding.
Gavriel is passionate about helping people understand themselves better, develop a quality of life that is meaningful to them and believes the field of psychology, through therapies like Schema Therapy, can assist people in achieving these goals.
Dr. Bonnie Albrecht
Bonnie is a registered psychologist with endorsement in the area of Forensic Psychology. She has experience working with adults in hospital and community settings, and is a registered supervisor currently supporting staff and trainee psychologists across these settings.
Bonnie is particularly interested in working with people who have experienced trauma, personality or interpersonal difficulties, or who struggle with emotion and/or anger regulation. She has undertaken training in individual schema therapy, and is passionate about extending her expertise within this modality and working towards certification in Schema Therapy.
Bonnie uses schema therapy, cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), and acceptance and mindfulness-based approaches to tailor treatment to each client’s needs, goals and preferences. She believes strongly in developing, with each client, a shared understanding of their experiences, and in working collaboratively to develop or enhance the skills or strategies needed to achieve their goals. She aims to provide clients with a safe and transparent space for therapy, and welcomes feedback from clients about their experience working with her.
Bonnie works Thursdays from 2-8 pm.
Provisional Psychologists in Training
The Schema Therapy Institute is committed to help train provisional practitioners to learn the Schema Therapy Model and provide this method of treatment to consumers. All provisional therapists are supervised and guided not only by a supervisor within their tertiary institution but also by a senior member of staff at the Schema Therapy Institute who has permission to supervise and train provisional practitioners as authorised by AHPRA (Australian Health Practitioner Agency).
For those who cannot afford to see a fully registered practitioner and would like to see one of our provisional psychologists for a lower fee can email intake at schematherapyinstituteintake@gmail.com.
The fee to see a provisional psychologist is $30 per 50 min consultation.
Please note all sessions are recorded for training and quality assurance purposes and is a condition in receiving treatment from a provisional clinician.
To see one of our practitioners please call intake on 0455 668 028 or email: schematherapyinstituteintake@gmail.com