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About Dr Shikkiah de Quadros-WanderBA (Hons), DPsych (Clin), MAPS
Clinical Psychologist Hours Monday - am Wednesday - pm, evening Contact Newport |
Background
Shikkiah is a Clinical Psychologist who has focused her practice on perinatal and infant mental health. She completed her major doctoral internship in 2008 at the Parent Infant Research Institute at the Austin Hospital where she saw parents and infants for individual, mother-baby and group interventions during pregnancy and in the postnatal period. Shikkiah worked at Tweddle Child and Family Health Service between 2011 and 2015, providing support for families in the residential unit and providing short- and long-term therapy to parents and infants through the outpatient clinic. She has been a member of Antenatal and Postnatal Psychology Network since its inception in 2014.
Current Practice
Shikkiah currently consults from her private practice in Newport, providing individual and/or parent-infant therapy across a range of perinatal issues. She is experienced in working with mothers and fathers who are preparing for a new baby or who are struggling to adapt once the baby has arrived. This may be related to emerging or exacerbated mental health issues, difficulties relating to or enjoying a new baby, past or current trauma (including birth trauma), or external circumstances contributing to psychological distress. Shikkiah works directly with infants and their parents when there are concerns about attachment or bonding, and couples may attend together when the predominant issue is related to achieving a united approach to parenting. Shikkiah has a special interest in working with mothers and fathers to understand how experiences with their own parents inform their relationship with their child/children.
Shikkiah is a Circle of Security Registered Parent Educator and has delivered the program in a group format and in the context of individual treatment. She is also trained in the Newborn Behavioural Observation (NBO) system. The NBO is a relational tool to understand a newborn’s unique capacities and vulnerabilities, which can help parents feel more confident, attuned and connected to their new baby. Shikkiah works with parents who have lost a baby through miscarriage or stillbirth, and has specific training in supporting families through a pregnancy following loss.
Shikkiah co-coordinates professional development activities for the Western Perinatal & Infant Mental Health Professionals Network (MHPN) since 2016.
Approach to therapy
Shikkiah understands that therapy can be a confronting experience for many people, particularly in the perinatal journey, which involves sitting with great responsibility and tremendous vulnerability all at the same time. She aims to provide a space where people feel safe enough to explore their experience at their own pace.
Shikkiah’s work is underpinned by attachment and psychodynamic frameworks to better understand parent-infant interactions and to help parents interpret their children’s emotional and relational needs. She employs a range of therapeutic approaches, including Mindfulness techniques, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Schema Therapy.
Shikkiah encourages the inclusion of infants and toddlers when there are difficulties in the parent-child relationship. She is well-informed about complementary perinatal/therapeutic programs in the community for additional referrals where appropriate, and collaborates closely with all other professionals involved in her clients' care to ensure the best possible outcome from therapy.
Professional Affiliations
Registered with the Psychology Board of Australia (PsyBA)
Member of the Australian Psychological Society (APS)
Circle of Security® Registered Parent Educator
Member of the APS Perinatal and Infant Psychology Interest Group (PIPIG)
Member of Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Australia (PANDA)
Publications
de Quadros-Wander, S. & Stokes, M. (2007). The effect of mood on opposite-sex judgments of males’ commitment and females’ sexual intent. Evolutionary Psychology, 5(3), 453–475.
de Quadros-Wander, S., McGillivray, J. & Broadbent, J. (2013). The influence of perceived control on subjective wellbeing in later life. Social Indicators Research (DOI 10.1007/s11205-013-0243-9).
Broadbent, J., de Quadros-Wander, S. & McGillivray, J. (2013). Perceived control’s influence on wellbeing in residential care versus community dwelling older adults. Journal of Happiness Studies, 1-11.
