Tanya Franic (she/her/they/them)

“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” - Confucius.

Tanya Franic is a Psychologist and Board Approved Supervisor with over 20 years experience providing a range of assessments and interventions for clients with diverse and / or complex presentations.

Tanya is a Psychologist and Board Approved Supervisor with over 20 years experience providing a range of assessments and interventions for clients with diverse and / or complex presentations. Throughout her career, she has been a strong advocate for appreciating difference taking a transdiagnostic approach to working with diversity and eating disorders. Tanya is driven to supporting individuals and families to live their best life by tailoring evidence based approaches to the individual and their support network. Tanya uses a range of modalities including RODBT, DBT, CBT, ACT, EMDR, IPT, Mindfulness and Compassion Focussed approaches and enjoys working with children, adolescents, adults, families and service systems.

Tanya has an avid interest in complex trauma, eating disorders and neurodiversity, the impact of our early attachments and the neurobiological effects of our developmental experiences. Tanya works with families, carers, and agencies to build awareness and skills aimed at improving overall quality of life. She is a strong advocate for supporting families, carers and agencies to support the needs of the child / young person and the family unit.

Tanya is motivated to support individuals who present with a history of complex trauma, eating disorders and neurodiversity to understand themselves, find their voice, and be kinder to themselves. Embracing self with all the twists and quirks is Tanya’s stance and she encourages individuals to explore what works for them and what doesn't to support them to be their genuine self. Tanya also appreciates and supports the roles that parents, carers and families play in supporting our children and adolescents. She has a long history and dedication to supporting parents and families, where appropriate and practicable, by providing education, tools, strategies and support.

Tanya has led and implemented systemic and practice reviews of government and non-government agencies to build capacity efficiency in organisations, involving service modelling, project management, assessment implementation and monitoring and post-implementation review. This has included working with organisations around the assessment, design and delivery of intervention for young people leaving care, complex psychosocial and mental health support needs. Tanya has worked with service system development and review including operationalising of policy, and developing quality assurance mechanisms, providing supervision for clinicians, senior and regional management personnel, in particular regarding individuals with complex support needs and broader service delivery. Tanya has extensive experience working in senior roles in the Disability and Family and Community Services Sector working with children, adolescents and young adults with emotional, social and developmental presentations including ADHD, Autism, Personality Disorders, complex trauma and high risk populations.

Key Presentations/Publications

August 2022 - ANZAED conference - Temperament in Treatment: Practical Clinical Strategies to understand and address underlying neurobiological factors in the treatment of Anorexia Nervosa from and RODBT frame

2021 - ANZAED conference - Radically Open Dialectical Behaviour Therapy = An introduction with Tanya Gilmartin, Rebecca Ciatto and Malinder Bullhar

2016 - Council for Intellectual Disability - Panel member and Conference Speaker - Complex Needs

2013 - Publication in the area of Systemic Consultation Rhodes, P., Whatson, L., Brearley, K., Dikian, J., Hansson, A., Franic, T., & Mora, L. (2013). "Beyond the impasse: Systemic Consultation and understanding complex cases. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 27, 3, 226-235.

2012 - Development and presentation of training package (total of 4 workshops) on Dual Disability (Mental Health and Intellectual Disability) as part of a 2 year project to train mental health staff organised by Dr Julian Troller (University Chair, UNSW).

Thesis: Categorical and Dimensional Assessment of Personality Disorders within the NSW Prison Population: The Temperament and Character Inventory Explored