MEET ZAHRA abou-ghaida - prinicpal psychologist
Zahra is a Registered Psychologist, passionate about creating a space where people feel heard, understood and supported. Zahra's approach to therapy is warm, genuine and collaborative. She draws from different approaches depending on the person in front of her and what they need.
She balances giving clients the space to talk and feel understood with practical strategies, psycho-education and gently challenging patterns that may be keeping them stuck. She also likes to understand how past experiences and relationships may be shaping the way clients think, feel and respond today.
Most importantly, Zahra wants therapy to be a space where clients can be themselves without judgement, while working together towards meaningful and lasting change.
Zahra's experience has been predominantly in private practice, working with children, adolescents, and adults across a range of mental health concerns. She has also delivered group therapy programs in primary schools (including the Cool Kids Anxiety Program), worked within the NDIS sector, and in government organisations such as Headspace, where she focused on adolescent mental health.
Her main areas of focus include working with survivors of domestic and narcissistic abuse, PTSD and C-PTSD, sports and performance psychology, anxiety disorders (including OCD, generalised anxiety, health anxiety, social anxiety, and specific phobias), depression, eating disorders, and a range of life challenges such as bullying, divorce, workplace stress, and chronic pain.
In initial sessions, Zahra takes the time to understand each client's unique life story and the goals they would like to work toward.
She draws on a variety of evidence-based therapeutic approaches, including Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Schema Therapy, Attachment-Based Therapy, and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).
Zahra accepts Medicare Mental Health Care Plans, Workers Compensation/CTP Claims, Victim Services, & NDIS referrals.
Her approach is flexible and tailored to each client's individual needs, always guided by what they would like to gain from therapy.