Perinatal, Child & Family Hub; Carla Anderson Clinical Psychologist
Carla provides telehealth psychological support nationwide, and online training for health professionals. Reach out if you would like more information.
✨Nationwide telehealth support through the Perinatal period from preconception, pregnancy, birth, & postnatal.
⚠️general info only not therapy clinical advice
For training for healthcare professionals page: Anderson Clinical Psychologist & Trainer. Carla Anderson is a Clinical Psychologist with over 20 years of experience providing psychological and counselling services for families in the Perinatal period (preconception, pregnancy, birth and postnatal). Area's of support provided by Carla include;
• Perinatal Depression and Anxiety
(antenatal & postnatal)
• Birth Trauma
• Infertility difficulties
• Grief and loss (miscarriage, stillbirth, termination and
neonatal death)
• Non-directive pregnancy counselling
(pregnancy related concerns and termination
support)
• Support adjusting to parenthood
Other areas of focus include:
• Women’s Sexual and Intimacy difficulties
Carla is passionate about providing Training and Clinical Reflective Supervision to other health professionals (mental health clinicians, medical, midwives, allied health professionals) related to Perinatal and Infant Mental Health and related topics. Carla also recently completed her Certificate III in Floristry and gained her qualification as a florist and was introduced to therapeutic horticulture and the benefits of using flowers and psychology together. She created "Floriful" workshops combining mindfulness, self-care and floristry, as well as training in the use of floristry in therapeutic horticulture for health professionals.
17/12/2025
Such an honour to be part of the development and training team of such important Perinatal Loss training. And a big Thankyou to all who participated in this intensive and reflective learning journey.
🎉 Hearty Congratulations to our Perinatal Loss Training Group!
Carla Anderson and Dr Charise Deveney have spent the most incredible few months online with a superb group of dedicated and impressive clinicians.
👥 Joining together online once weekly for two hours to explore, wonder, learn, discuss and share rich and multifaceted ways of understanding, assessing, formulating and treatment planning the experience of mothers and fathers bereaved from perinatal loss.
🌿 It is not an easy or straight-forward training. It is an Integrated Perinatal Bereavement Therapy training that is comprehensive, trauma-responsive, attachment-based, and developmentally-inclusive.
🙌 Firmly embedded in the specialist field of perinatal and infant mental health, our training program uniquely knits together four dominant paradigms of practice:
🩷 Grief theory and therapy
❤️ Trauma and traumatic bereavement
💚 Attachment theory and therapy
💙 Developmental psychology
Missed this training ?
✅ We will be facilitating again in 2026. Dates are set and REGISTRATIONS ARE OPEN.
For many, Christmas is a time of joy, family, and celebration. But for those grieving the loss of a baby, child, or loved one, the season can feel especially heavy. The festive cheer around us can amplify feelings of sadness, loneliness, and longing - making it one of the most emotionally complex times of the year.
At Precious Wings, we understand that grief doesn’t follow a calendar. Whether you're navigating your own loss or supporting someone else, here are some gentle ways to care for yourself or others this Christmas.
𝟭. 𝗔𝗰𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝘀𝘀
Grief doesn’t take a holiday. It’s okay to feel sadness, anger, or emptiness during Christmas. Acknowledging your feelings - rather than suppressing them - is a vital part of healing. Give yourself permission to feel whatever comes up.
𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗼𝗸𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗷𝗼𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀. Sometimes we can feel guilty for this, but please know that experiencing happiness does not mean you have forgotten your child or your love for them. These moments can coexist with grief and are a natural part of healing.
𝟮. 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀
If old traditions feel too painful, consider creating new ones that honour your loved one. Light a candle in their memory, hang a special ornament, or prepare their favourite dish. These small acts can bring comfort and connection.
𝟯. 𝗦𝗲𝘁 𝗕𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀
You don’t have to attend every event or meet every expectation. If you need quiet time, take it. If you want to leave early, do so. Grief is exhausting, and protecting your emotional energy is essential.
𝟰. 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗢𝘂𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁
You’re not alone. Talk to a trusted friend, join a support group, or seek professional help. Sometimes just sharing your thoughts with someone who understands can lighten the emotional load.
𝟱. 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗢𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆
If someone you care about is grieving:
* 𝘊𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺: A simple 'I’m thinking of you' can mean a lot.
* 𝘖𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱: Meals, errands, or company can ease the burden.
* 𝘈𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘥 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘦́𝘴: Phrases like 'They’re in a better place' can feel dismissive. Instead, say 'I’m here for you' or 'I can’t imagine how hard this is.'
𝟲. 𝗛𝗼𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝘆
Consider ways to include your loved one in the season:
* Write them a letter.
* Make a donation in their name.
* Share stories and memories with others.
𝟳. 𝗕𝗲 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳
Grief is not linear. Some days will be harder than others. Rest, nourish yourself, and allow space for both sorrow and joy. Healing doesn’t mean forgetting — it means learning to live with love and loss side by side.
Precious Wings is here to walk alongside you. Whether through our Memory Boxes, support groups, or community events, we honour every story and every child. This Christmas, may you find moments of peace, connection, and gentle remembrance.
Centre for Perinatal Psychology stands in solidarity with the Jewish community.
Yesterday’s terrorist attack at Bondi Beach targeting Sydney’s Jewish community on the first day of Hanukkah was an act of violence during a celebration that symbolises the triumph of light over darkness.
Centre for Perinatal Psychology extends our condolences to the Australian Jewish community in the wake of this atrocity. We know you are hurting. We stand in unity with you.
Australia’s sense of freedom and respect for cultural difference must remain intact. Threats to this freedom, or against any sector of society affect us all.
Acts of terror are designed to psychologically destabilise. During this distressing time, we urge all Australians to find stability in ways that work for you.
🩷 Take a break from media.
❤️ Drink water and eat well.
🧡 Stretch, go for a walk.
💛 Confide in a friend or safe person.
💚 Should you need support, there are lots of options available: see your GP or seek psychological services.
🌿 We understand that our community of mums, dads and babies are in a vulnerable life stage, so please do take extra care to soothe your nervous system and look after yourselves.
Go gently everyone.
Centre for Perinatal Psychology recognizes the need to amplify Jewish voices at this time and appreciates the opportunity to have consulted with a Jewish person in the drafting of this response.
13/12/2025
From an attachment lens, this is the essence of co-regulation:
one regulated (or regulating) nervous system lending stability to another.
Not rescuing.
Not minimizing.
Just being the calm shoreline while the waves move through.
11/12/2025
Sharing the concept of Circles of Support and Ring Theory during the holiday season 🎄 Thanks for the inspiration Bronwyn Leigh .
If you have seen me, you will know I often talk about circles of relationships and who sits in each layer, and who you feel you can talk to, such as the people who truly understand you, through to those who do not quite get it. Ring Theory, adapted from Susan Silk and Barry Goldman, offers a helpful way to think more carefully about what someone who is struggling may need.
This time of year especially, people can be less aware of how their words land. Complaints are often shared without much thought about who is listening. Things that feel like everyday frustrations to one person can sound very different to someone sitting in a tender or painful place.
For example;
🗯️venting about managing Santa, school events, or presents, said to someone navigating infertility, pregnancy loss, or complicated feelings about parenthood at Christmas, or
🗯️complaining about grandparents being overly involved, said to someone who is grieving a loss or holding a difficult relationship with their own parents.
What feels minor to one person can quietly deepen hurt and isolation for another.
This is where Ring Theory can help. When someone is struggling, they sit at the centre of the circle, with others falling into outer layers depending on how closely their lives are affected.
Then those in the outer layers provide “Comfort moving inward”offering presence, listening, and steadiness to the person who is struggling in the centre.
“Feelings moving outward” means the person at the centre is free to express how they feel without needing to protect or manage others’ reactions.
A simple shift that can help this season feel a little more thoughtful and compassionate.
08/12/2025
How Emotional Support Happens Inside the Medical Work You Already Do Without Adding to Your Workload.
Clinicians often say they want to offer more emotional support, but the reality of perinatal healthcare is already full. You are assessing, thinking ahead, organising information, making decisions, documenting and guiding the parent through what needs to happen. With so much already happening, anything described as extra can feel impossible.
But emotional support in perinatal care is not an additional task. It does not require extra time. It is woven quietly into the clinical work you are already doing. It is not about completing the clinical sequence and then switching to the emotional layer. It is about the quality of your presence as you move through the interaction.
What it looks like in practice:
While you are thinking through the next step, your presence stays steady and warm, and that naturally becomes emotional support:
• you listen to the parent’s history and keep your internal pace calm
• you complete the medical check and explain what you are doing in a steady tone
• you plan your next step in your mind and still stay oriented toward the parent
• you finish your sentence before turning to record the notes
• you document and reconnect for a moment so the parent does not feel left behind
• you shift tasks with a warmth that lets the parent know they are still held in the process
• you consider the clinical picture while keeping your presence grounded
These moments do not make the appointment longer. They simply change how the appointment feels for the parent and for you.
And here is the thing…..Clinicians are already doing many of these things intuitively.
This is why I developed my training “Tender Talks: Confident Conversations In The Perinatal Period” to help strengthen these natural skills so they feel less effortful, more intentional and more protective of the clinician’s own wellbeing. If you want to explore more ways to weave emotional support into your everyday work, and practical reflective, attuned care in action tips join my mailing list:
Each week I share flowers from my garden arranged in the vase that sits in my therapy room. These reflections explore what each bloom can teach us about healing, courage, and emotional understanding.
I picked these a few weeks ago, on the same day a beautiful colleague shared an image of a Gladioli flower on a post I shared. In that post I was reflecting on the challenges I have faced this year and got through with the massive decision to close my group practice premises in my 20th year of business, health concerns I navigated and recovered, and facing the realities of learning the hard way who is truly there for me and supports me no matter what, and who is not and made this year so much more difficult for me. At the time of picking these I wasn’t reflecting on the meaning for me, but this meaning truly does resonate for me. I hope it resonates for you too. The Gladiolus is known in floriography for symbolising strength of character, integrity, and moral courage. With its tall form and layered petals, it carries a sense of clarity and self respect.
In therapy, the Gladiolus mirrors the moments when we learn to stand more firmly in who we are. This strength does not mean being unshaken. It is the quiet courage to honour your truth and hold your centre gently, even when the world feels demanding.
💭 Reflection: Think of a moment when you honoured your truth even when it felt difficult. What helped you stay grounded in that strength?
03/12/2025
Wednesdays are my favourite days so I’m calling them “Wellbeing Wednesdays”. It is one day of the week that I pretty consistently and firmly have been able to protect for the last three years when it became grandbaby day. Every Wednesday I spend the day with my gorgeous grandsons and I love it. It’s still tiring but it brings me so much joy. It is the one day of the week I can usually guarantee I will get out into my flower patch after dropping them home. Just tending to whatever I feel like in the moment. And it’s really hard to come back inside. Turn up the volume on your phone and just listen. I get lost in out there clearing out beds, watering, and just sitting and looking at the blooms appearing. It doesn’t look perfect and that’s the best part, nature isn’t perfect and there are endless things to see, hear and feel. It is the one day of the week I don’t book anything else in if I can avoid it, I don’t make phone calls, don’t have meetings, and try to avoid emails. It is so important to have protected time even if it’s a small chunk of time, to do whatever works for you.
What time/activity is your protected time? How do you make sure you protect that time?
02/12/2025
Hi, I thought it was a good time to jump on and re-introduce myself for those who may not know about what I do or what my experience is. So I have created a series of slides detailing who I am, what my experience is, and training that I have developed. As a Clinical Psychologist, Trainer and Florist, I am very passionate about supporting healthcare clinicians in the work that they do. Any questions feel free to reach out. I would love it if you can checkout my new website and join my mailing lists for future updates. I have two different training stream mailing lists, you may want to begin with one or find value in both. I promise not to spam you.
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Contact The Practice
Send a message to Perinatal, Child & Family Hub; Carla Anderson Clinical Psychologist:
Carla Anderson is a Clinical Psychologist with over 17 years of experience providing psychological and counselling services. Carla is also a mother of three teenage daughters and three step children.
Carla’s passion with the perinatal period began in 2000 through a volunteer peer support and group coordinator role with the Qld Postnatal Disorders Association, whilst completing her psychology degree and becoming a mother herself. From here, Carla’s passion grew, taking on other volunteer positions as a telephone grief counsellor for Bonnie Babes Foundation and Angel Babies Foundation for a number of years, where she worked as a grief telephone counsellor and then as a national trainer, training professionals around the country in support and counselling skills for families who have experienced miscarriage, stillbirth or neonatal death of a baby.
Carla worked in various government and non-government agencies as a psychologist with a child focus at Child & Youth Mental Health, Domestic Violence Service Child Counsellor, and the Child Development Service. As well as volunteering for Lifeline as a telephone counsellor, and working as a Sexual Assault Support worker. Carla went on to manage the Domestic Violence refuge and crisis houses.
In 2005, Carla went into private practice to focus on helping families within the perinatal period and children and youth, and has continued in private practice since throughout Queensland.
Throughout this time Carla was also involved in nationally funded projects including; the Lighthouse Project for Children in Domestic Violence, and the Gladstone Communities for Children Project, establishing Postnatal Depression Support Groups within the community.
In 2014 Carla returned to study to complete her Masters in Clinical Psychology, completing it in 2017. Carla focused her research on the perinatal period through the completion of her thesis; Establishing whether pregnancy anxiety is a distinct syndrome. The research examined whether fears related to pregnancy and childbirth are distinct from anxiety disorders.
Carla is passionate about supporting women and their families in all areas related to the perinatal period such as infertility and IVF issues, pregnancy related concerns, antenatal/postnatal depression, grief and loss, birth trauma and adoption. As well as supporting families with the transition to parenthood and the day to day juggling of family life.
Carla is also passionate about supporting children and youth and their families in all areas such as depression and anxiety, behaviour difficulties, trauma, autism and ADHD. She is also able to undertake psychometric assessments and cognitive assessments such as the WISC-V.
Carla also provides general psychological support for Adults (Depression and Anxiety), Trauma (adult and child); Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse, and Women’s Sexual and Intimacy difficulties.
In her sessions Carla uses a variety of evidence-based therapies including CBT, ACT, Mindfulness, and Compassion Focused Therapies, to enhance self-understanding among clients. She works individually, as well as with the family and infant/child. She has also completed training specifically related to Perinatal disorders, Circle of Security and Attachment Based approaches.
Carla provides a professional and caring space to process whatever difficulty clients are experiencing at the time, personalized to suit the individual’s needs.
Carla is registered for Medicare’s Focused Psychological Strategies and the Non-directive Pregnancy Counselling items.
