Justine Mrkusic

BA Hons (Psychology); MA Clinical Psychology MAPS, FCCLP
Clinical Psychologist

Hours
Monday am, pm
Wednesday am, pm
Thursday am, pm
Friday am, pm
Please note, longer than usual wait times.
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Background
Justine is a Clinical Psychologist with over 13 years of experience working across a range of clinical setting and contexts. She has worked with adults, couples and families, with a specific focus and passion in the area of perinatal mental health.

In 2005, after completing her MA Clinical Psychology degree at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, Justine worked as an Intern Clinical Psychologist at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital female in-patient and out-patient psychiatric wards. Following this, she spent a year at the Johannesburg General Hospital working in the child psychiatry unit. It was in these contexts that she developed a passion for women’s mental health, and more specifically, perinatal mental health. It was also here that her theoretical and practical focus on maternal (and paternal) attachment was formed (i.e. a positive relationship between parent and child). 

Prior to moving to Australia at the end of 2017, she ran a busy private practice in Johannesburg. She worked with a range of clients with multiple diagnoses, presenting problems and stressors. with a special focus on perinatal mental health; family therapy, and couples’ counselling, within the context of transitioning to parenthood.

Justine has been in private practice in Geelong since January 2018, returning to working solely in private practice after her role at St John of God Raphael Services (Geelong) Perinatal Mental Health Services.

Current Practice
Justine consults from her private practice in East Geelong. She works with mothers, fathers, and same sex couples who are facing a range of perinatal challenges including: Preparation for the birth of a baby; adaptation/transition to parenthood; attachment difficulties; blended family dynamics within the perinatal context; antenatal and postnatal depression and anxiety, and parenting young children.

Justine is a Circle of Security Registered Parent Educator, and has training in attachment based models. She uses these skills to support parents to recognise their baby/child’s emotional needs, and to respond with confidence and attunement. In doing so, she has observed that parents gain insight into their child’s emotional worlds; their own emotional needs and triggers, and ultimately experience greater joy and satisfaction in their relationship with their baby/child.

Justine also works with birth trauma and pregnancy related grief and loss. She provides support to couples who have received diagnoses of fetal anomalies, facilitating a non-judgemental process for decision-making. She also sees women and couples who have experienced late term losses such as stillbirth and newborn loss.

Approach to Therapy
Justine recognises the challenges of pregnancy, and the transition to parenting for mothers, fathers and siblings. She believes strongly that the perinatal journey is a very personal and unique experience for each individual.

Justine offers each client a confidential, safe space to talk about different aspects of their perinatal experience. She creates a calm, containing environment in which clients are able to share their thoughts, feelings and experiences without judgement. Her aim is for them to leave the therapeutic process feeling heard, and with a clearer sense of what they would like, and how they might will achieve this.

Justine draws from a range of evidence based therapeutic modalities including CBT, Solutions Focused Therapy, psychodynamic psychotherapy (- insight oriented work), ACT, Systemic Therapy, and Motivational Interviewing. She believes that a successful therapy is based on mutual respect, a working therapeutic alliance and an ability to match the client to an appropriate treatment modality which is personally meaningful for them.

Professional affiliations
Australian Psychological Society (College of Clinical Psychologists)
Psychology Board of Australia (Clinical Psychologist)
Circle of Security Registered Parent Educator
Registered with The Perinatal Loss Centre