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Hi, I'm Amber. I'm a registered psychologist and the Director of The Sunshine Club. I started The Sunshine Club to create a safe, no nonsense practice to support people through the messier parts of life, and to help everyone to live a life that's more meaningful and fulfilling.
The Sunshine Club is more than just a psychology practice. It's a space where you can come to feel safe and heard. It's a place to work it all out with people who get it.
The Sunshine Club
As a young psychologist, I spent a lot of time looking for a place to work that didn’t feel stuffy, corporate and formal. I have never felt comfortable with the doctor's office vibe, where everything smells sterile and the warmth of human connection is overshadowed by business attire and formalities. I was looking for a place to work as a psychologist that I would want to go to as a client, and I couldn’t find it.
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That's when the idea for The Sunshine Club was born.
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I wanted to create a space that was warm, welcoming, and down to earth for people to be able to untangle their headspace. I wanted people to feel safe and comfortable, to come to a place where mental health stigma didn't exist and it was okay to not be okay. I wanted to start practicing with client and therapist on the same team, working towards a shared goal, instead of a dynamic where there was the professional and the person asking for help. I wanted it to be everything I wanted at the times when I was struggling the most.
But I wanted it to be even more than that. I wanted it to be a place where people experience the kind of personal growth they are looking for to build the life they dreamed of. I wanted it to be a place of empowerment, knowledge and training that takes a modern approach to psychology. Taking evidence-based practice and making it accessible and simple for everybody. I wanted to create a space for people to find their sunshine.
More about me.
The Sunshine Club is more than a psychology practice. It's about finding your sunshine.
I have wanted to be a psychologist since before I finished high school. In high school, I was known as a peacekeeper and and an excellent listener whenever there was a problem. I completed my undergraduate study at the University of Wollongong after looking for a sea change in my late teens, and hearing great things about their School of Psychology. I graduated with a Bachelor of Psychology with Honours, after completing my thesis on Theory of Mind (how we understand others thoughts, feelings and perspectives).
I completed a Masters degree at Western Sydney University earning me a Masters of Professional Psychology.
Following my study I began my career working as a psychologist in schools, completing individual intervention with children and teenagers from age 4 up to 19, and occasionally providing support to parents and teachers as well. A big part of this role was crisis management, meaning assisting the school with deaths in the school community, supporting students after altercations or significant events and coordinating support for teenagers at risk of suicide. I created small group programs for teenagers and children across a number of areas from social skills and making friends to resilience and goal setting to managing relationships and implementing self care. I presented to staff about speaking to students at risk and linking them in with supports, and provided support to executive staff members when managing critical incidents.
A very big part of this role was also administering psychometric assessments to assist in better understanding behavioural, emotional and learning difficulties identified for children and adolescents within schools. This included writing comprehensive reports with the outcomes of the assessments as well as recommendations to help support my clients in reaching their potential.
I have worked across other private practices as well where I have supported people across the lifespan using evidence based psychological practice to assist them in reaching their goals and achieving their potential. I work across a number of therapeutic modalities including cognitive behaviour therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, dialectical behaviour therapy and motivational interviewing. In private practice, I have also continued to refine my skills in psychometric assessment, and providing the best and most suitable recommendations and support following assessments to ensure my clients reach their full potential.
I work with all different kind of presentations from anxiety and depression, to personality disorders, ADHD, and everything in between.
I am a lifelong learner and love attending training and reading about psychology endlessly, so I am forever growing my skills through theoretical learning as well as practical experience. I work hard to make sure I am always learning and growing as a practitioner, and that I have a deep understanding of all the concepts and skills I discuss with my clients.
My number one passion is helping people move closer to their goals, and navigate the most turbulent times of their lives. I love being a part of the journey and supporting my clients to achieve all that they wanted from therapy.
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I can't wait to work with each and every one of you, and to help you find your sunshine.