Background
Rebecca graduated from La Trobe University with a double degree in Occupational Therapy and Psychological Science in 2008. She started working in the mental health field as an occupational therapist, in a variety of roles across public and private hospital settings. She returned to La Trobe University completing Honours in Psychological Science, and then graduated with a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology in 2016. The combination of Rebecca’s degrees mean that she has a broad, multidisciplinary perspective on understanding and supporting individuals. Her psychological practice is grounded in seeing the whole person, understanding their social and occupational environments, and utilising a diverse skill set to adapt therapeutic approaches that suit individual needs.
Doctoral Research
Rebecca completed her Doctoral research on mindfulness in adolescence and adulthood. As part of her research Rebecca delivered mindfulness training interventions to adolescents in schools across Melbourne.
Rebecca’s research background continues to influence her work. She draws upon formal and informal mindfulness practices in the therapy room with clients, and supports clients to incorporate these skills into their everyday lives to reduce stress and other emotional difficulties.
Current Practice
Rebecca works in private practice in Eltham. There are two main branches to Rebecca’s practice:
1. As a perinatal clinical psychologist, Rebecca supports women, men, gender- and sexually- diverse people, and families experiencing depression, anxiety, and adjustment difficulties during their fertility journey, through pregnancy, in the postnatal period and through the early parenting years. Rebecca also sees people who have experienced fertility and pregnancy-related grief and loss, people who are grieving the loss of a child, and parents who have been given a diagnosis of a fetal anomaly.
2. Rebecca is a credentialed eating disorder clinician, and supports people who are in recovery from disordered eating; people who are clinically diagnosed with an eating disorder; and people who experience body image distress.
Rebecca has a particular interest in the intersection of the above two areas of practice. She is passionate about helping people to heal their difficult relationships with food and their bodies. This can occur prior to and during pregnancy (as body changes come about), in the postnatal period, and/or in the parenting years. Some people seek help both to manage their relationship with food and their bodies and for guidance on parenting their children in a way that promotes healthy relationships with food and their own bodies.
Approach to Therapy
Rebecca’s underpinning philosophy is to provide compassionate, person-centred therapy. She works with each client to gain a greater understanding of the difficulties they are facing, exploring their context and background, and the unique factors in their life that are contributing to their distress.
Rebecca’s training background is based in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. She utilises Cognitive Behaviour Therapy-Enhanced (CBT-E) in her eating disorder recovery work, also drawing from Family Based Therapy approaches. In addition, Rebecca draws from Dialectical Behaviour Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy approaches.
Rebecca values inclusivity in her practice, welcoming clients of all gender identities, sexual orientations, family structures, cultural backgrounds, and abilities. She practices in a trauma-informed way, incorporating an understanding of neurodivergence to tailor approaches that best suit people’s needs.
People of all body types, across all parts of the weight spectrum are welcomed into Rebecca’s practice. For issues pertaining to weight, body shape, body size-diversity, and health, Rebecca takes a client-centred approach. This means that Rebecca supports all clients to move towards a more peaceful relationship with their body, and the way this happens looks different for everyone.
Rebecca draws from a broad range of body image approaches, some that relate more to the way people think about their bodies, and some that relate to the way people interact with and care for their bodies. Where there is a clinically diagnosed eating disorder, Rebecca works with clients to establish a multi-disciplinary team which may include a general practitioner, dietician, psychiatrist or other health professionals.
Professional affiliations
Registered with the Psychology Board of Australia
Member of Australian Psychological Society (APS)
Credentialed Eating Disorder Clinician (ANZAED)
Publications
Pallozzi (McNamara), R., Wertheim, E., Paxton, S., Ong, B. (2017). Trait Mindfulness Measures for Use with Adolescents: A Systematic Review. Mindfulness, 8, 1.
