Goodwood Psychology
Adelaide
Catherine Gaussen: Clinical Psychologist
Most people arrive not quite knowing where to start, and that's completely fine. You don't need the right words, or a tidy explanation of what's wrong. A first session is mostly me listening and getting a sense of what's been hardest lately.
Some of what brings people here is recent — a loss, a new baby, a stretch of stress that hasn't lifted. Some of it is much older: ways of coping that made sense at the time and don't serve you now. I work with both.
I think the relationship between psychologist and client does most of the heavy lifting in therapy, so I work collaboratively and without judgement, and I pay attention to what you want from the process rather than applying a set formula. That includes working in a neurodivergent-affirming way with autistic and ADHD adults — starting from how your mind actually works rather than treating it as something to correct.
My main specialty is Schema Therapy, which I've trained in extensively over the past seven years. It's an approach for understanding how early experiences shape long-standing patterns in adulthood, and it's particularly useful when other therapies have helped with symptoms but the same difficulties keep returning. I also draw on CBT (including trauma-informed and mindfulness-integrated approaches), EMDR, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Compassion-Focused Therapy and Motivational Interviewing.
I'm a Clinical Psychologist with full registration with AHPRA, a masters degree in Clinical Psychology and endorsement as a Clinical Psychologist. I'm also an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at Adelaide University. I've worked in private, university, community and government settings, which has given me a broad base to draw on.
What I commonly work with (adults 18+):
- Anxiety, panic, phobias and social anxiety
- Depression, low mood, and post and perinatal depression
- Complex trauma and PTSD
- Women's health across life stages
- Neurodivergent-affirming support for autistic and ADHD adults
- Grief and loss
- Self-esteem, self-worth and confidence
- Long-standing relationship and interpersonal difficulties
- Stress, adjustment, and work/life balance
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and trichotillomania
- Assertive communication
Address
Suite 13
98-100 Goodwood Rd,
Goodwood, 5034
South Australia