I'm Melanie, a registered psychologist working exclusively with women in our restored old house in Frankston, on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria. 

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Why this practice

 

I started The Aligned Phoenix because I wanted to build the kind of practice I most wanted to work in, calibrated for the women I'm best with. Women doing real inner work. Women who want depth and integration in their therapy, not just protocol.

So I built it.

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How I work

 

My approach integrates therapeutic frameworks such as: attachment theory, schema therapy, parts work, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), somatic and nervous system approaches, and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). None of them are the whole answer. The integration is what most accurately describes how change actually happens. 

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What I find most useful is pattern recognition; learning how to see how a woman's current life is being shaped by patterns formed throughout her life. Where they served her and where they are now detrimental to her forward progress.

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I start with the current impact and help you understand the how and why to create awareness and then we work from there. I always will provide tangible strategies for you to leave with so you feel empowered in your own healing and progress. 

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I care deeply about the women I see in my practice. I hold genuine interest in who you are and pride myself on being authentic and relatable. There is no hierarchy here.

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​​​Beyond the practice

 

Outside the practice I spend my time with my husband and two young kids. We really enjoy travel and have experienced the privilege of living in another country recently.

I find my peace in nature, particularly the forest and love a good non-fiction book.

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One of my recent goals was to become a runner, so that's one of the ways I'm working towards my own personal growth this year.