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 Clinician Training. Carla Anderson is a Clinical Psychologist with over 20 years of experience providing psychological and counselling services for families in the Perinatal per
iod (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.
23/04/2026
There’s something really special about slowing down and creating with your hands
In craft this morning, we dusted off the sewing machine and made the sweetest little soft “Peach Ball”
Simple, gentle, and a little bit nostalgic, the kind of thing that doesn’t need to be perfect to feel really good.
Between stitches, there were chats, shared stories, and those quiet moments of just being alongside one another.
That’s what these spaces are all about.
Have a great weekend Peaches 🫶
21/04/2026
This can be a tricky situation to navigate and what can sometimes happen is more of a task-focused response. A task-focused approach prioritizes completing the scheduled consultation, but parents may feel stressed, rushed, or embarrassed. Clinicians may feel pressured to catch up or stay on schedule, which can reduce emotional connection.
On the other hand a reflective and responsive approach integrates acknowledgment and empathy into the workflow while still completing necessary tasks. Pausing to recognise the parent’s experience helps them feel understood and supported, without adding extra time or workload.
Taking even a brief moment to acknowledge challenges with timing supports parent confidence and emotional safety, strengthens trust, and allows clinicians to remain present and composed while managing their schedule effectively.
If navigating situations like late arrivals or rescheduling feels harder than it should, this is exactly the kind of moment we work through inside my email list.
You’ll get simple, practical ways to stay present, respond with care, and still keep your day moving without added pressure.
Comment MAIL and I’ll send you the link to join💛
21/04/2026
Thankyou so much to the wonderful group of healthcare clinicians who joined the first session of Tender Talks: Confident conversations in the perinatal period.
Today we had rich discussions exploring building confidence from the foundation of understanding your role and reflective practice. I can’t wait to work through the next four sessions 🤗
17/04/2026
I’M LEARNING LANGUAGE, DAD!
🗣️ Creating conversations together helps baby learn about good conversations, taking turns to coo or speak, allows baby to be part of the action. Including baby this way, waiting for their response, having a back-and-forth conversation, helps socialise baby and is a great opportunity to share some connecting time together.
Babies learn from singing too 👶 🎼
When grownups hear music they have an emotional reaction. Babies do too. When dads sing to their baby they use a softer, more loving tone. When your baby hears you singing they connect to you with emotions, and that builds the trust between the two of you. Building the trust in your singing will be important when you are trying to calm them down with your voice.
It doesn’t have to be a nursery rhyme song. When dads are singing to a baby, whatever the song, they use a different frequency and pitch. So you can try out your favourite tunes with your baby, great practice for the Karaoke nights later on. 🎤
🙌 Download your own copy of this illustration, and the Handout too, from our website. Written, developed and created by Dr Bronwyn Leigh for Centre for Perinatal Psychology, and A/Prof Richard Fletcher for SMS4dads
👉 Check out the full series of resources in our Speaking for the Baby x SMS4dads campaign on our website:
Centre for Perinatal Psychology: https://www.centreforperinatalpsychology.com.au/resources/speaking-for-the-baby-campaign/
🎨 Illustration by Jess Racklyft of Jesses Mess - Illustrations
17/04/2026
We often hear about loneliness in the newborn stage.
But the toddler years can feel isolating too.
Life looks different by then. You might be back at work and finding it harder to connect. Or you are juggling toddler activities, meals, meltdowns and naps. Or you may be pregnant again or caring for other children.
It can quietly become smaller and busier at the same time.
If this season feels lonely, a few gentle supports can help:
~Set a regular time to connect with someone, even a weekly coffee or walk at the same time each week.
~Stay connected in simple ways, voice notes, messages, quick check ins.
~Try to connect with other parents at toddler activities. Often others are feeling it too.
Most importantly, know this. It is common to find this stage harder than expected. You are not alone💛
14/04/2026
13/04/2026
Task-focused care can feel transactional, with parents receiving information quickly and without space to process emotions. Clinicians may feel pressured to manage time and documentation simultaneously.
Reflective and responsive care can be integrated into the same workflow. Pausing, observing cues, and inviting questions helps parents feel supported, heard, and emotionally safe, while allowing clinicians to maintain their routine tasks.
When it comes to discusses test results, taking reflective moments in private discussions strengthens parent understanding, builds trust, and allows clinicians to provide compassionate care with confidence and presence without adding extra workload.
If you want more practical ways to bring reflective, responsive care into conversations like this without adding pressure to your day, I share these regularly with my email list.
Join a space where you can build confidence in these moments and feel more supported in your work.
Comment MAIL and I’ll send you the link to join.
12/04/2026
Most clinicians don’t talk about this part.
The conversations that follow you home the ones you replay, even when the shift has ended.
Not because you did something wrong but because you care.
Tender Talks is designed to support you in these moments
so you feel more steady, and clearer in your role.
Final spots available before we start next Tuesday 21st April.
Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Perinatal, Child & Family Hub; Carla Anderson Clinical Psychologist posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
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.
