Services

Hello, I’m Carl (he/him), a Clinical Psychologist in private practice.

Below I describe my Clients, Support areas, Approaches, and Ethos.

 

Clients

I enjoy supporting highly empathic and professional adults.

My particular interest is neuro affirming support for:

• • Highly empathic adults, including people who identify with:
    • • High sensitivity (highly sensitive person, HSP).
      • High masking or internalised Autistic and ADHD traits.

I also focus on supporting professional adults, including:

• • Professionals & corporate leaders:
    • • Engineers, software developers, & IT professionals.
      • Lawyers & accountants.
      • Human Resource practitioners.
      • Current & future executives & managers.
  • Medical & health professionals.
    • • Doctors & medical students.
      • Allied health professionals.
  • Business owners & community leaders.
  • Academics & university students.
  • Sports people & performing artists.

 

Support Areas

My interests include the following overlapping support areas.

• • Neuro affirming support.
  • Vocation and Interests support.
  • Growth and Wellbeing support.
  • Mental Health support.

Neuroaffirming support

 Including support for:

• • Self-esteem & identity.
  • Executive functioning differences (e.g., organisation, motivation, self-regulation).
  • Rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD).
  • Navigating communication style differences.
  • Stress & emotional dysregulation.
  • Sensory & somatic needs.
  • Autistic burnout & ADHD burnout. 

Facilitating an affirming process with:

• • Self-identification:
    • • exploring and understanding your brain style (neurotype) through an affirming lens.
  • Self-determination:
    • • connecting with your values, interests, strengths, and goals.
  • Felt safety:
    • • connecting with people who like you for you, neuro affirming tribe.
  • Self-compassion & self-acceptance.
  • Values guided self-advocacy:
    • • balancing self-determination and felt safety in advocating for what you want and need (e.g., masking, managing, and authenticity).
  • Affirming neurodivergent culture & communication styles:
    • • navigating the differences between neuro typical and neuro divergent communication and culture, informed by the double empathy problem.

As well as support for the areas below.

Vocation and Interests support

• • Executive coaching, leadership coaching, and coaching psychology.
  • Engagement and performance in career, university, sport, & performing arts.
  • Psychologist peer consultation.
  • Corporate consulting and training.

Growth and Wellbeing support

• • Stress and burnout.
  • Emotion regulation.
  • Life transitions.
  • Self-esteem and identity.
  • Mindfulness and self-compassion.
  • Fulfilment and self-actualisation.

Mental Health support

• • Adjustment disorder.
  • Health anxiety, social anxiety, performance anxiety, general anxiety, & phobias.
  • Insomnia.
  • Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
  • Loss, prolonged grief, and bereavement disorder.
  • Depression.
  • Eating disorders, including:

• • • binge eating disorder
    • bulimia nervosa
    • purging disorder
    • night eating syndrome
    • Please note: I am not accepting new clients with restrictive eating disorders (e.g., anorexia nervosa and ARFID).

 

Approaches

Therapeutic approaches I use include:

• • Neurodiversity affirming therapy.
  • Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT).
  • EMDR therapy.
  • Schema therapy.
  • Mindfulness-based therapies.
  • Compassion-focused therapies.
  • Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) informed therapy.
  • Positive psychology.
  • Interpersonal process.
  • Feedback informed treatment.

My accreditations include:

• • LOAPAC Foundational Member.
  • EMDR Association of Australia Full Member.
  • ANZEAD Credentialed Eating Disorder Clinician (CEDC).
  • AHPRA Board-approved supervisor.

Perspectives I am informed by include:

• • The neuro diversity affirming paradigm.
  • Interpersonal neurobiology.
  • Psychoneuroimmunology.
  • Attachment theory and attachment-based therapies.
  • Trauma theory and trauma-informed therapies.
  • Evidence-based practice: integrating research evidence, clinical expertise, practice context, and client preferences (including their values, culture, and circumstances).
  • Practice-based evidence: collaborative reflection, discussion, and refinement with each client.

 

Ethos

With a warm, empathic approach, I facilitate a safe space for people to explore their interests, passions, values, traits, neurotype, identity, relationships, and goals.

I enjoy supporting people to connect with what matters most to them in life (e.g., meaning, purpose, and enjoyment) as they move through their day.

I have an integrative evidence-based approach. I resonate with approaches that are:

• • person centred,
  • collaborative,
  • values guided,
  • strengths based,
  • neuro affirming,
  • LGBTIQA+ inclusive,
  • intersectional,
  • trauma informed,
  • attachment based, and
  • holistic (considering body, mind, spirit, relationships, culture, organisations, and environment).

I appreciate neuroaffirming care as a way that:

• • understands humanity flourishes because of our natural diversity – we are all neurodiverse,
  • supports each person to understand their own brain style (neurotype) and strengths, and
  • recognises that neurodivergent people experience social disability due to the difference between their neurology and the demands of neurotypical conforming culture.

 

Further information

• • Keep scrolling down for Appointment Information (or link straight there).

Enquiries

• • Contact me at info@drcarldreher.com.au

Appointment Information

Here is a summary of my Appointment times, Fees, Rebates, Location and telehealth, and Areas I do not work with. For all the details, see my practice information sheet linked here.

 

Appointment Times

Days

• • My practice is in Mount Hawthorn, Western Australia.
  • I consult in person on Fridays and Saturdays.
  • I consult by video (& not in person) on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Times

• • In-hours appointments are offered 12:30-4:30pm weekdays.
  • Limited out-of-hours appointments are offered weekdays 4:30-6:45pm, & Saturdays 12-5pm (with public holidays available on occasion).

Considerations

• • My practice is a good fit for people who have the flexibility to attend by video and in person, and are able to attend weekly-to-fortnightly initially.
  • COVID safety: masks are now optional. For COVID safety, I may at times wear a mask when consulting in person. For more information, see my COVID safe plan in my practice information sheet.

 

Fees

Fees

• • The Australian Psychological Society (APS) recommended rate for a 46-60 minute consultation is $311.
  • My standard fee is $290 for a 50-minute consult.
  • Out-of-hours appointments are $35 more (i.e., $325).

Considerations

• • Informed by APS recommendations, non-attendance and late cancellation fees apply, as described in my practice information sheet.
  • To avoid a fee, please give 8 or more days’ notice when cancelling or rescheduling.
  • This is a private billing practice. All fees are due in full during the appointment.

 

Rebates

Private health and Medicare rebates are available, as described below.

Medicare rebates

• • Medicare rebates are available with a valid referral (i.e., one meeting Medicare’s requirements) from your Doctor for a Mental Health Treatment Plan or an Eating Disorder Plan.
  • The Medicare rebate is $141.85 for a 50+ minute consultation with a Clinical Psychologist for a Mental Health Treatment Plan or an Eating Disorder Plan referral.
  • Medicare requires clients to pay the full service fee before claiming the Medicare rebate.
  • The out-of-pocket expense for a 50+ minute consultation, is $148.15 for in-hours appointments (i.e., $290 minus $141.85), and $183.15 for out-of-hours appointments (i.e., $325 minus $141.85), with a valid referral for a GP Mental Health Treatment Plan or an Eating Disorder Plan.

Private health rebates

• • Private health insurance funds may provide in-person and telehealth rebates for psychology. Please clarify your plan’s coverage with your provider.
  • Private health and Medicare rebates cannot both be claimed for the same appointment. Only one can be claimed for each appointment.
  • Once clients have paid the service fee, I provide the receipt for them to claim with their private health fund.

NDIS

• • To inform your NDIS funding support queries, please note the following.
  • I am not an NDIS registered provider.
  • I accept payment from the individual client during each appointment, rather than from third parties.
  • For further information, please check with the NDIS regarding what your plan covers.

 

Location and Telehealth

Mount Hawthorn in person

• • On Anzac, 58 Anzac Rd, Mount Hawthorn WA 6016.
  • Entry is at the rear of the building where there is also free parking.
  • When driving, please enter and leave from Oxford St via the laneway next to Aubrey Rose Bridal. Click here for pictures of parking directions.

Telehealth by video

• • I provide the flexibility of video consults (telehealth).
  • I offer telehealth support for professionals living in rural/remote areas.
  • For video appointments, I use a secure, privacy compliant telehealth platform, Coviu. If you have a telehealth appointment, meet me here.

 

Areas I do not work with

It is important to find a service that is a good enough fit for your needs.

My practice is likely not a good fit for people who experience the following prominently.

• • Complex trauma (childhood & relational trauma), psychosis, schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder, personality disorders, drug and alcohol use disorders, family domestic violence, intellectual disability, suicidal or self-harming behaviours, or requiring crisis support.
    • • I do not offer crisis support. Please see the Crisis Helplines page.
  • If you have any current or possible legal, compensation, or insurance claims or cases, then please note the following.
    • • I suggest you consider consulting a psychologist with training and experience in these areas, as they will be a better fit for your needs.
      • I do not provide assessment or report writing services for court, compensation cases, insurance cases, or other legal matters.

If any of the above conditions or circumstances apply, see the resources tab of this website for ways to find other services that are a good fit for your needs, which includes discussing with your GP.

I am here if you have any queries.

 

Further information

• • Keep scrolling down for About Carl (or link straight there).

Enquiries

• • Contact me at info@drcarldreher.com.au

About Carl

Clinical Psychology Experience

Since 2011, my experience as a psychologist includes working

• • with children, adolescents, parents, adults, and older adults,
  • across the metropolitan and wheatbelt regions,
  • in private practice and the public sector,
  • with public service work in child protection, community mental health (across the child & adolescent, youth, adult, & older adult streams), inpatient mental health (both youth & adult), and community drug and alcohol services.

My qualifications and professional affiliations are

• • BSc(Psych) Hons(1st class) GradCert(ResearchCommercialisation) MPsych(Clin) PhD
  • MAPS FCCLP MACPA EMDRAA CEDC LOAPAC
  • AHPRA Board-approved supervisor

My varied interests in psychology include

• • Clinical psychology, health psychology, organisational psychology, positive psychology, and transpersonal psychology.

 

Other Relevant Vocational and Life Experience

My ability to understand and support my clients is enriched by my wide variety of life experiences (academic, vocational, and recreational), and having grown through various personal and workplace challenges.

This life experience and growth mindset informs my professional focus on facilitating health and wellness with individuals and organisations. I value self-determination, collaboration, social equity, and supporting people who support others and lead teams.

Before working as a Clinical Psychologist, I worked as a yoga teacher, and as an academic in business information systems and psychology in both teaching and research roles.

Over the years my interests have included several performing arts, yoga, meditation, various sports, and travelling widely. I love nature, animals, music, reading, memes, and the occasional pun.

 

Research

Doctoral research

• • In my PhD I examined the efficacy and effectiveness of Kabat-Zinn’s mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program in promoting mental health and wellbeing in a sample of adults from the community who did not have mental health diagnoses.
  • My doctoral research also evaluated the psychometric properties of two recently developed mindfulness measures using factor analysis, comparing those with and without mindfulness meditation experience.
  • Dreher, C. (2009). The Efficacy of Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction in Promoting Mindfulness, Psychological Health and Well-being. Bentley, WA: Curtin University of Technology School of Psychology.

I have contributed to the following National Eating Disorders Collaboration publication

• • Watson, H. J., Elphick, R., Dreher, C., Steele, A., & Wilksch, S. (2010). Eating disorders prevention and management: An evidence review. Crows Nest, NSW: National Eating Disorders Collaboration.

 

Presentations and Supervision

I have given numerous presentations on various topics in psychology to community and professional groups.

I am an AHPRA board-approved supervisor and have experience since 2014 providing supervision and peer consultation.

 

Enquiries

Contact me at info@drcarldreher.com.au

I look forward to hearing from you.