Dr Debra Wood Psychiatrist

"People want to feel seen and heard, and there are so few sacred spaces for this in our society. My hope is to deeply meet a client and to understand their suffering. I believe that with the support of another we can accept painful aspects of ourselves and our lives, and so find some ease and growth. I welcome anyone seeking individual gestalt therapy (supporting parts of ourselves we feel are unwelcome in the world) and / or an opportunity to discuss mental health concerns or medications. My particular interests are informed by my professional and personal history, including trauma resurfacing during major life events or transitions; hearing voices or having experience of psychosis; mental health concerns associated with medical conditions or interactions with the health care system; and burnout. Although medically trained (in psychiatry and emergency medicine), I believe that medications are at most only a part of what may help a person’s suffering, and often they are problematic. My orientation is therefore towards understanding a person’s experience, and offering from my preferred approaches of gestalt psychotherapy, de-medicalisation, and rational de-prescribing. Please note that I do not treat autism or ADHD, and am not available to write medico-legal reports (including, but not limited to for court, income protection insurance, Worker’s Compensation, NDIS or DSP). Outside of the clinic I enjoy forest walks with my dog Iggy (who may be with me during appointments), making food with yeasts (salami, ginger beer, panettone…), and being a not-very-accomplished student of the lute."