Caroline Dale
Clinical Psychologist
You are welcome
“Be proud of your scars. They have everything to do with your strength, and what you’ve endured. They are a treasure map to the deep self.”
- Clarissa Pinkola Estés
Who I am
I am a clinical psychologist who has been working with people individually and in groups for over fifteen years.
I endeavour to walk lightly and listen deeply to the people and the world around me.
I have a deep interest in nurturing a sense of belonging in the people I work with: belonging within the Self, and belonging in the world. It is my belief that when therapy goes “well”, at the end one is pretty similar to the way they were at the beginning - but they’ve become friends with the peculiar organism that is the Self.
How I work
I am guided in all my work by the concept of deep listening. Deep listening to my clients’ stories, to my internal responses, and to the feelings in the room.
I offer a respectful and validating environment with a balanced emphasis on acceptance and change. I approach my clients and the stories they bring with curiosity and compassion.
My early training was clinical and I began my career in hospitals, which has given me an understanding of the mental health system. I also worked for many years in grief and bereavement, and have walked this path with adults and children alike.
During and since that time I have worked deeply with people working through childhood trauma in all its forms. I have profound respect for the time and commitment this takes.
I work from the understanding that we all make perfect sense, even when we ourselves are unsure of how the dots join up. Our emotions are often the key to making these connections, so coming into closer relationship with emotions forms a foundational part of the way I work.
I give particular weight to the ways in which our early environments and relationships shape the way we come to see ourselves, others and the world. These experiences create beliefs about whether we are lovable, whether others are trustworthy, and whether the world is a safe place. These beliefs are usually encoded so early that we feel them to be truths.
I pay close attention to the body, and draw on it as a source of wisdom and increasing safety.
Areas of interest
I have a particular interest in Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy. I am currently involved in clinical trials at St Vincent’s Hospital and the University of Sydney using psilocybin and MDMA to assist in the treatment of addiction, treatment-resistant depression and PTSD. I also work with ACER Integration, the international integration program created by Dr Ros Watts, as a group facilitator. I enjoy working with clients who are integrating their own psychedelic experiences, however I cannot offer psychedelic assisted therapy in a private practice setting.
I enjoy working with people who are integrating a late in life diagnosis of Autism and/or ADHD. This can come with a huge shift and recalibration in identity, and I have accompanied many people as they navigate this sometimes destabilising path. I come from a place of respect for and celebration of the many neurotypes we humans can express.
My love for the natural world is present in the way that I live and work, and eco-psychotherapy is a great love of mine. While this is harder to explore in a telehealth context, it underpins the way I understand the human condition and what can be missing from our modern industrialised lives.
What I offer
Individual therapy sessions for adults
Supervision for early career therapists
I regret that I am not taking on new clients at this time
Support, connection and insight to people as they do their work of growth and integration.
My qualifications
I have a Masters in Clinical Psychology and Bachelor in Arts/Psychology (Honours).
I am registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and a member of the Australian Association of Psychologists Inc. (AAPi) and the Australian Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Practitioners (AMAPP).
Fee Structure
Full fee $220*/ 50min
Concession $160*/ 50min
*Attracts a Medicare rebate of $141.85 for up to 10 sessions per calendar year with a Mental Health Care Plan issued by a GP.
"Some periods of our growth are so confusing that we don’t even recognise that growth is happening. We may feel hostile or angry or weepy and hysterical, or we may feel depressed. It would never occur to us, unless we stumbled on a book or a person who explained to us, that we were in fact in the process of change, of actually becoming larger than we were before. Whenever we grow, we tend to feel it as a young seed must feel the weight and inertia of the earth as it seeks to break out of its shell on its way to becoming a plant. Often the feeling is anything but pleasant. But what is most unpleasant is the not knowing what is happening. Those long periods when something inside ourselves seems to be waiting, holding its breath, unsure about what the next step should be... for it is in those periods that we realise that we are being prepared for the next phase of our life and that, in all probability, a new level of the personality is about to be revealed."
- Alice Walker