Mount Hawthorn Clinical Psychology

28/01/2026

New on Off the Couch!
Episode 192: “A Memoir of Transformation: A Patient Examines Two Analyses at Two Stages of Life”with Joan K. Peters, PhD.
What happens when we revisit our inner world, twice, across a lifetime?
In this deeply personal conversation, Joan Peters, author of "Untangling: A Memoir of Psychoanalysis", reflects on two transformative analyses that reshaped her understanding of love, longing, and the self. From reliving early family stories to finding repair through relationship, this episode explores the courage it takes to face ourselves — and change. From Harvey Schwartz produced for the IPA
🎙️ Listen here: https://buff.ly/nXeOxQM
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10/01/2026

09/01/2026

“We bring our patterns with us wherever we go, into every relationship, and we necessarily and inevitably bring them into the therapy relationship or the psychoanalytic relationship, because that’s a relationship too. It’s not a matter of choice. It simply happens. It happens everywhere. The therapist doesn’t do anything to make it happen. This is the human condition. We bring our patterns. The thing that makes psychotherapy, psychotherapy, and not just another relationship, is that we do something different. What we do that’s different is, instead of just repeating our same old patterns with a new person, we create the conditions where it becomes possible to notice the patterns, to recognize them, to put words to them, and understand them and discuss them. Out of that experience and that understanding comes the freedom to do things differently, to not have to repeat the same patterns."

“We bring our patterns with us wherever we go, into every relationship, and we necessarily and inevitably bring them into the therapy relationship or the psychoanalytic relationship, because that’s a relationship too. It’s not a matter of choice. It simply happens. It happens everywhere. The t...

08/01/2026

SPOTLIGHT ON: Digital Competence. 📲

The Psychology Board of Australia’s new Psychology Professional Competencies came into effect on 1 December 2025 and describe the threshold competency required for registration as a psychologist.

Digital Competence is the ‘confident and critical usage of a range of digital technologies for information, communication, and basic problem solving’. This competence is not one of the 8 core stated competencies, but instead is related to being able to uphold a number of the core competencies. For instance, Competency 2 (Practises ethically and professionally) addresses the legal and ethical aspects of digital health; Competency 4-5 (Competent assessment and intervention) ensures we can assess the strengths and limitations of digital health tools in our practice; and Competency 7-8 (Health equity and human rights approach with diverse groups and First Nations Peoples) ensures we understand potential social biases built into any digital or AI tool and carefully consider issues of equity, inclusion, consent, and data sovereignty in our digital health use.

https://www.psychologyboard.gov.au/Standards-and-Guidelines/Professional-practice-standards/Professional-competencies-for-psychology.aspx

08/12/2025

When you're a MACPA - member of ACPA - you are part of an organisation run by clinical psychologists, for clinical psychologists. It was wonderful to see so many members at our national conference in November including our Clinical Psychology State Section Chairs Katherine Lawrence, Dean Spirou and Pia Kavanagh

13/11/2025

Looking forward to it!

The ACPA 2025 National Conference starts tomorrow!
This is the standout clinical psychology event for the year. Hear from noted experts including Dr Daryl Chow, Margie Stuchbery and Prof William Miller.
If you don't have your ticket yet, join us online https://www.acpa.org.au/Web/Events/NC2025_Display.aspx?EventKey=NC2025&WebsiteKey=4487ff45-cbc4-4c24-9156-1eef0b1a9cc3

06/11/2025

Psychotherapy isn't just for people with psychological disorders. "...what we might think of as the overall point of psychotherapy is to help us to think – in the richest sense of that word – about our lives, about who we are and what we want, and thereby to live more actively and more freely."

From psychoanalysis to existential therapy, there’s a bewildering variety of approaches – with one thing in common

04/11/2025

Book your online attendance at psychology's premier event now.

The 2025 ACPA National Conference is on November 14 and 15. Join us online and capture great sessions from an exciting line up of speakers exploring how, as mental health experts, we can optimise clinical skills in a rapidly changing world.

https://www.acpa.org.au/Web/Events/NC2025_Display.aspx?EventKey=NC2025&WebsiteKey=4487ff45-cbc4-4c24-9156-1eef0b1a9cc3

30/10/2025

https://diegobusiol.com/when-change-begins/?fbclid=Iwb21leANu105jbGNrA27XP2V4dG4DYWVtAjExAAEen3ZTXQC7YlEpTVjjnXR5EQ7Mg9Vy_43RwlmXz3lnfYo38wm-gzd4F8Rj9BQ_aem_veUHU4cePW0af7agGSg5ow

Discover when change begins in psychoanalysis, and learn what is the turning point that leads to lasting transformation.

08/10/2025

We are used to skimming the surface of our emotions, distracting ourselves with endless doing. To discover what we really need, we must move beyond the shallows

08/10/2025