Developing Minds Psychology

Get to know Developing Minds Psychology

From Developing Minds Psychology's website.

• Our approach

  Developing Minds uses flexible, evidence-based approaches tailored to each child or teen's age and needs. Psychologists commonly draw from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), and when working with families, Positive Parent Training models and Attachment Theory. Sessions focus on helping young people understand their emotions and develop skills to manage anxiety, sadness, anger and other challenges, while supporting parents to better understand and support their child's emotional and behavioural development. The clinic works with children and teens experiencing a wide range of difficulties including anxiety, depression, social challenges, learning difficulties, trauma, and neurodivergence including autism and ADHD.

• Working with families

  Parents and carers are involved throughout the therapeutic process. Psychologists work specifically with parents/caregivers to reduce parenting-related distress, anxiety, frustration and overwhelm, and help them better understand and support their child's emotional and behavioural needs. For telehealth sessions with children and young people, parents or guardians must be in the same location for safety and to step in if needed. Adult parent clients can attend all six of their therapy sessions via telehealth if appropriate. The clinic welcomes all families irrespective of ethnicity, lifestyle choice, faith, sexual orientation and gender identity.

• Meet the team

  There are 23 psychologists at Developing Minds, all registered or clinical psychologists with an average of 12 years experience (ranging up to 25 years) working with children, teens and families. All clinicians have undertaken mostly 6–8 years of tertiary study. The team meets weekly to monthly to train, update each other and consult on cases to provide the best care. The clinic was awarded the Australian "Allied Health Paediatric Practice" award in 2018 and holds full accreditation with the National Standards for Mental Health Services. Director Kirrilie Smout is a clinical psychologist with 25 years' experience and a Masters in Clinical Psychology from Flinders University; she also supervises the team and provides training across Australia.