Melissa Gilkes
“The tears of the world are a constant quantity. For each one who begins to weep somewhere else another stops. The same is true of the laugh.” ― Samuel Beckett
Melissa is a Clinical psychologist and EMDR Accredited Practitioner who is focussed on helping adults and young adults to improve their psychological distress and wellbeing and move towards a more fulfilling life. Her approach is collaborative, empathic, and compassionate. Melissa understands life can seem insurmountable at times and it is during these times that one can feel all alone with one’s struggles.
Melissa is passionate about providing a safe environment where clients can feel listened to, understood, respected, and supported to work collaboratively towards reconnecting with themselves and their lives, at a pace comfortable to the individual. She believes in times of hardship and distress, there is unique opportunity to reflect, learn and grow, leading to greater empowerment and purpose.
Melissa has experience working in government settings, private hospital settings and private practice, working across a variety of presentations including stress, complex trauma, depression and mood disorders, emotion dysregulation, anxiety disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, grief and loss, body-image issues, self-harming behaviours, and suicidal thinking. She completed her Masters research on predictors of self-stigma in bipolar disorder and is published in the American Psychological Association Journal Stigma and Health.
Melissa uses a range of therapeutic modalities including attachment theory, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Solution-Focused Therapy (SFT), Schema Therapy, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), mindfulness and motivational interviewing.
Areas of Interest
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Complex Trauma
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Depression and Mood
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Anxiety
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Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
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Body Image
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Grief and Loss
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Self harm behaviours
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Suicidal thinking
Qualifications
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Master of Psychology (Clinical Psychology)
University of Western Sydney
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Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours)
Second Class Division 1
Australian College of Applied Psychology
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Graduate Diploma of Psychological Science
Australian College of Applied Psychology
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Bachelor of Arts (Media and Communications)
University of New South Wales
Treatment Approaches
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CBT
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ACT
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EMDR Accredited Practitioner
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SFT (Solution Focussed Therapy)
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Schema Therapy
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Mindfulness
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Motivational Interviewing
Professional Memberships
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Australian Clinical Psychology Association (ACPA)
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Full Member of EMDR Association of Australia (EMDRAA)
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Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA)