Dr Amanda Willetts

I have availability for new clients online or in person. 

Experience

As a senior Clinical Psychologist, I have more than 13 years of experience providing counselling and psychological interventions. This includes extensive experience helping both young people and adults understand their difficulties and resolve concerns. When appropriate, I can also provide support to partners or family members.

I have experience supporting people with a range of difficulties. This includes supporting people with complex situations through to supporting people to navigate times of significant stress.  Regardless of the situation, it is important that support is collaborative, compassionate and effective.

Feedback from people I have supported often reflects that the support has been “calm, compassionate and wise.” That it was important to have a place where they could talk openly with someone who could listen. This included to the “worst” they had been through.

I am Cisgender with pronouns (she/her/ia).

Examples of difficulties where I can help meet your goals:

• Grief and loss
• Mood disorders, as well as sadness and low mood
• Anxiety, including GAD, Panic attacks, OCD and others
• Trauma, and adjustment to difficulties
• Stress management
• Sleep disturbances
• Neurodevelopmental disorders, including ADHD and ASD. Assessment and non-medication interventions
• Deliberate self-harm
• Eating disorders or disordered eating
• Burnout
• Parenting difficulties
• Attachment concerns
• Tourette Syndrome, such as managing tics
• And more, please feel free to ask about any experiences that aren’t listed here

Benefits of counselling and therapy:

• A safe place to connect with what is meaningful for you.
• Increase your insight into your history and any unwanted patterns.
• A better understanding of what is going on inside your mind and body.
• Learn strategies to create change. Including for sleep, distressing emotions, harmful behaviours, and in relationships.
• Learn to navigate life challenges with more ease and confidence.
• Learn to be more compassionate towards yourself and others.
• Young people access a more engaging and ‘here and now’ therapy approach. A space that is adjusted to meet their needs and can include their interests.
• Parents learn how to further support their young person with managing difficulties.
• When requested, differential diagnosis to assist understanding and access to services.
• Gain access to empirically supported therapy models.

What happens when I receive support?

Therapy is a non-judgmental collaborative process where we create meaningful change together. Many people benefit from having a place to talk about their experiences with a trusted professional. The approach varies between people and needs, but often involves developing new understandings or learning new skills or processes.

We often start with an assessment where we discuss your goals, your concerns and the contexts that may be impacting on the difficulties being here.  Following this we discuss a therapy plan to meet your goals. The therapy may involve talking together or it may include doing therapeutic exercises in session. Some people, especially young people, respond well to incorporating their interests, art, animals, music, sensory tools or nature.

Clinical supervision:

As a senior Clinical Psychologist, I provide clinical supervision for colleagues. I am trained in a wide variety of interventions and have also specialize in MBIs. I have experience in postvention support for clinicians who have experienced an adverse event, including suicide.

I have presented on various topics, including parenting during separation, coping during Covid, the clinical application of Mindfulness, and post-vention support. Presentations have been at the Goodfellow Unit, WDHB, SAFE and Families through Transitions. I have published material on cognitive assessments.