Dr Tracey & Dr Phil met studying at QUT in Brisbane and graduated with Honours degrees. Following graduation we both cut our teeth as provisional psychologists in Queensland Health Mental Health Service. Dr Tracey worked in the Child & Youth Mental Health Service and then Adult Mental Health. Dr Phil worked in Adult Mental health, and then Acute Care and finally Early Psychosis. We experienced working with a range of serious mental health presentations, but were unsatisfied by how the system worked. We each did some additional private work at a medical centre and enjoyed working with GPs. Dr Phil took a break from Queensland Health for a while to work on the Prep Year trial and research program - the Prep Year that was then rolled out to every primary school.
Unsatisfied with the limits of our knowledge of mental health, and health in general, and the mental health system, we each pursued post-graduate studies in Clinical Psychology. First, both enrolling in Masters degrees and then Doctorates. A Doctorate in Clinical Psychology takes at least an additional 3 years of study. This is a high level of study developing expertise in assessment and diagnosis, multiple modalities of psychotherapy, integration of psychotherapies to match client needs, and specialized practice areas like neuropsychology and clinical health psychology. As well as advanced coursework we each completed 6 internships in various locations to gain a broad real world experience, and we each completed a major research thesis including publications in scientific journals.
During this period, Dr Phil left Queensland Health to teach, casually at QUT and then a lectureship at ACU where he coordinated the Master of Clinical Psychology program, while Dr Tracey focused on writing papers for international journals and working as a senior clinical psychologist in community mental health. We both provided supervision to a large number of junior psychologists and clinical psychology interns and registrars. Oh, and we started a family!
Then, an opportunity arose to move to Mackay (home for Dr Tracey) to open a new Headspace clinic. Headspace was a remarkable organisation and we were truly moved by the level of community support we received. It also enabled us to train a number of excellent new graduate psychologists who continue to work in the community today. We stayed in Mackay for 3 years but the funding system changed with a new Government, along with an economic downturn, and we decided to return to Brisbane to continue our careers.
Brisbane, when we returned, was not the same and gradually became more overpopulated, expensive and harder to get around. Our family had grown and we decided that Mackay would be a better environment to raise our children. Oh, and the pandemic and being locked down for 5 weeks was the final straw. In those few year away, Mackay had grown remarkably and offered so much more for families. However, the need for skilled mental health care had not decreased. Dr Tracey commenced working in schools and telehealth across Australia and internationally, while Dr Phil began private practice at the Ooralea clinic. This next, and not the last phase, involves our establishing a practice together and providing holistic mental health care to the community through the Ooralea medical centre and by telehealth.
As for the future, watch this space!
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