Meet the Team - Benchmark Psychology

Dr Aaron Frost

Director
Clinical Psychologist
Provider Number: 2818133A

Clinical supervision
Consultancy
Career mentoring
Trauma
Sexual dysfunction
Behavioural problems in children
Personality disorders
Early psychosis

Aaron is a Clinical Psychologist and Director of Benchmark Psychology. He has worked in both research and clinical settings, where he has developed expertise in a range of different presenting problems. Aaron is also a STAP accredited supervisor and has been a supervisor for both Griffith and the University of Queensland.

Dr Rebecca Frost

Director
Clinical Psychologist
Provider Number: 4842583H

Couples therapy
Parenting Support
Personality disorders
Sexual Dysfunction
Anxiety in adults and children
Child behaviour issues
Pre and post-natal concerns
Giftedness in children

Rebecca has experience helping individuals and families with a range of problems. She believes in supporting strong relationships of all types, including couples as well as parents and their children. Rebecca has recently completed her PhD, researching the distress couples experience as a result of sexual desire problems and has an interest in helping people with a variety of sexual dysfunctions and disorders.

Dr Vanessa Spiller

Team Leader
Clinical Psychologist
Provider Number: 4064178X

Anxiety in adults and adolescents
Trauma
Adjustment and life transitions
Grief and Loss
Parenting Support (for neuro-atypical young people)
FASD including education and consultancy
Clients who identify as LGBTQIA+
Supervision including group/team supervision

Working as a clinical psychologist for over 20 years Vanessa is a feedback informed therapist (FIT) who believes that therapy should be designed and adjusted to fit the client’s individual needs and personal preferences. Vanessa is experienced in working with adults and adolescents using an integration of various evidence-based approaches including CBT, ACT, and Solution-focused therapy. Vanessa is particularly passionate about working with parents of neuro-atypical young people such as those with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) and complex multiple diagnoses (ODD, ADHD, ASD) using brain-based strategies and approaches.

Cherie Dalton

Senior Clinical Psychologist
Provider Number: 25659595A

Coping with relationship break-up
Life transitions
Grief and loss
Anxiety
Mental wellness for working professionals
Work-life-study balance
Self-esteem and confidence
Health issues and adjustment to medical conditions

Cherie is a warm and experienced Clinical Psychologist. She takes a passionate interest in working with adults who seek to improve wellbeing, work-life balance, manage jobs and careers, cope with study, and navigate life transitions such as coping with romantic break-ups, returning to the workforce, juggling career and parenthood, caring for aging parents, adjusting to early work and career opportunities and new graduate positions and moving through the process of grief and loss.

With a deep understanding of a range of therapeutic approaches, she utilises Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Schema Therapy, and Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT).

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Dr Jennifer Wilson

Clinical Psychologist
Provider Number: 4717583B

Couples therapy
Parenting
Depression
Anxiety
Adjustment to life changes
Children’s mental health
Child behaviour problems
Clinical Supervision

Jenni’s PHD research focused on the development of children’s thinking and reasoning skills, and the role that temperament plays in children’s mental health. Jenni combines evidenced-based treatments with a compassionate approach, and aims to work with each person’s strengths to help people achieve lasting change.

Dr Jasmine Pang

Clinical Psychologist
Provider Number: 5311482L

Trauma Recovery and Crisis Response
Clinical Education, Training and Supervision
Children and Adolescents
Adjustment and Life Transitions
Burnout, Vicarious Trauma and Compassion Fatigue
Anxiety Disorders
Personality Disorders

Jasmine has worked over the past 12 years in various government, community and inpatient settings in Singapore as well as in Australia. She has worked extensively with child protection, foster services, emergency departments and hospital services. Jasmine has a particular interest in supporting children, adolescents, parents and adults who have experienced traumatic or difficult life circumstances and is passionate about ensuring high quality services be made available to them. As such, she practices from a person centered philosophy working primarily from evidence-based models and believes in flexibility within fidelity to ensure the best for clients… Read More

Dr Tania McMahon

Clinical Psychologist
Provider Number: 5028412H

Depression
Anxiety
Internet and Video Gaming Addiction
Other Behavioural Addictions
Substance Use disorders
Procrastination and stress management
Life transitions and adjustment
Relationship and interpersonal issues
Eating disorders

Dr Tania McMahon has clinical experience working with adolescents and adults with a variety of presenting problems, including depression, anxiety, addictions (including internet and online gaming/food/gambling/etc) and more. She draws on a number of evidence-based treatments in therapy and focuses on creating a warm, compassionate connection with each of her clients, no matter their age, gender or background.

Shalini Alé

Clinical Psychologist
Provider number: 4876722J

Anxiety and Panic
Depression
Coping with Marital Separation
Managing Chronic Illness
Treatment for Adolescents
Clients who identify as LGBTQI
Drug and Alcohol Addiction
Sleep Problems
Clinical Supervision

Shalini primarily works with adolescents and adults and has experience in treating a wide range of presenting problems, she has a client-focused approach and is passionate about achieving long term sustainable change.

Dr Alison Bocquée

Team Leader
Clinical Psychologist
Provider number: 401437BK

Children and Families
Parent- Child Relationship
Anxiety and Trauma
Sleep Issues
Mood Disorders
Family Problems
Clinical Supervision

Alison is a Clinical Psychologist and has over 15 years’ experience working in Brisbane-based government and private community and inpatient settings with individuals across the lifespan, presenting with a range of mental health concerns, developmental conditions, and those with dual or more complex presentations.

Dr Elizabeth Torbey

Clinical Neuropsychologist
Provider Number: 5828291X

Bachelor of Psychological Science (Hons I)
Doctor of Psychology (Clinical Psychology and Clinical Neuropsychology)
Endorsed Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Neuropsychologist
Board-approved supervisor

Elizabeth completed her postgraduate studies through the University of Queensland and has dual qualifications in the areas of clinical psychology and clinical neuropsychology. She has considerable experience in treating complex clinical and neuropsychological cases within the public health setting, having worked within multidisciplinary teams in several major hospitals across South-East Queensland and Melbourne.

Her experience as a clinical psychologist has included providing Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) interventions to assist clients with mood and anxiety disorders, adjustment disorders, and other neuropsychiatric issues. Elizabeth has a particular interest in providing evidence-based psychotherapy to clients experiencing psychological, cognitive, and/or behavioural changes associated with neurological conditions (e.g. acquired brain injury, neurodegenerative disorders).

Natalie Miller

Clinical Psychologist
Provider Number: 5465353Y

Adolescents
Young Adults
Depression
Substance Use
Adjustment difficulties
LGBTQIA+ issues

Natalie enjoys working with adolescents, young adults, and older adults. She has experience with individuals presenting with depression, anxiety, stress, grief and loss, relationship issues, trauma, self-harm and suicidal ideation, and substance misuse. She uses various therapeutic approaches to inform treatment, including Schema Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT).

Dr Karien Hill

Clinical Psychologist
Provider Number: 5647493F

Mood Disorders
Anxiety Disorders
Trauma
Sex/Porn Addiction
Pain Management
Adjustment

Karien has experience working with individuals with a range of presenting concerns and cultural backgrounds. She uses evidence-based psychological treatments combined with a compassionate approach. She is currently completing her PhD researching ways to improve suicide prevention skills in the public. She is passionate about working with clients to improve their quality of life.

Sarah Scupham

Clinical Psychologist
Provider Number: 5571372L

Self-esteem and confidence
Relationships and emotional intimacy
Couples therapy
Anxiety and panic
Trauma recovery
Young adults

Successfully completing Honours in Psychology in 2014, Sarah relocated to rural Queensland to help children and families in the NGO sector. Since then, she completed a Masters of Clinical Psychology and gained experience in both private practice and in the public sector for Queensland Health.

Dr Alex Gardner

Clinical Psychology Registrar
Provider number: 5636192J

Anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders
Low mood, depression and management of suicidality
Self-esteem
Grief and loss
Parenting and parent-offspring difficulties
Interpersonal relation difficulties (e.g., coping with rejection, attachment difficulties)
Appearance concerns and disordered eating
Personal and occupational adjustment difficulties

Alex works primarily with children, adolescents and adults experiencing emotional difficulties (e.g., mood, anxiety, low self-esteem, grief and loss, adjustment challenges) and interpersonal problems (e.g., parent-child conflict, difficulties with peers, dealing with rejection and romantic relationship difficulties). He is passionate about working with young people and helping all clients feel sufficiently motivated to engage in change within an atmosphere of warmth, understanding and compassion.

Emma Kitching

Clinical Psychology Registrar
Provider number: 5851572H

Couples therapy
Mood disorders
Managing chronic health issues and significant diagnoses including chronic pain, diabetes, and cancer
Sleep issues
Adjustment to major life events
Study skills including managing procrastination
Stress, burnout, and work/life balance
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)

Emma enjoys working with older adolescence (16+) and adults and she has a special interest in working with couples. Outside of Benchmark, she works in a public hospital helping individuals manage their complex health concerns and the mental health challenges that are commonly associated. Through this work she has developed a passion for helping individuals to build resilience during times of significant life adjustment (for example, after severe health diagnoses or following parenthood). She also has a keen interest in working holistically to address health concerns such as weight gain, smoking, and sleep.

Jannikka Balko

Clinical Psychology Registrar
Provider number: 6030631F

Anxiety
Self-esteem
Social Skills
Emotion Regulation
Depression
Cognitive and Learning Difficulties

Jannikka has a client-focused approach and puts emphasis on building rapport with individuals across the lifespan, and has a particular interest in working with young people. She is particularly passionate about the assessment and intervention of individuals experiencing anxiety and panic, emotion regulation difficulties, life stress and adjustment difficulties. She also enjoys working on building self-esteem, social skills and healthy interpersonal relationships. Jannikka is able to conduct cognitive and learning assessments for clients and believes individuals gain the most benefit from therapy when treatment is evidence based by incorporating interventions, such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).

Dr Si Jing Tan (SJ)

Clinical Psychology and Clinical Neuropsychology Registrar
Provider number: 5982151W

Mood disorders
Anxiety disorders
Grief and loss
Chronic illnesses
Adjustment difficulties
Interpersonal and relationship issues
LGBTQIA+
Neurocognitive Assessments

SJ is a registered psychologist, close to completing her Doctorate of Clinical Psychology and Clinical Neuropsychology at the University of Queensland. She has worked in roles across rehabilitation and hospital settings and has experience treating complex clinical and neuropsychological cases.

Kimberley McIvor

Registered Psychologist on Advanced Placement
Provider number: 5940171F

Kimberley is a registered psychologist with ten years’ experience working in the public sector, including corrective services and Queensland Health. She is currently undertaking a placement with Benchmark to complete her Master of Clinical Psychology. She has experience with individuals presenting with depression, anxiety, emotional dysregulation, substance use issues, trauma, self-harm and suicidal ideation of varying acuity. She has a person-centred approach to therapy draws upon various evidence-based approaches to inform treatment.

Jessica Lyons

Clinical Psychology Registrar
Provider number: 6035611L

Child and adolescent mental health
Self-esteem
Emotion regulation
Social skills development
Anxiety disorders
Mood disorders
Pain management

Jessica enjoys working with individuals across the lifespan and has a particular passion for treating children and adolescents. She has an interest in therapy and assessment of individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders, anxiety, depression, emotional dysregulation, stress, and social skills training.

Holly Smallbone

Clinical Psychology Registrar
Provider number: 5934581T

Anxiety and panic
Depression
Social skills
Child and adolescent
Emotion regulation
Interpersonal and relationships difficulties
Adjustment difficulties

Holly enjoys working with individuals of all ages and across a range of different backgrounds. Holly has a warm, empathic and non-judgmental therapeutic style and aims to build strong and trusting therapeutic relationships. She believes that a strong client-therapist relationship is key for therapeutic change.

Dr Leona Chun

Clinical Psychologist
Provider Number: 5190338J

Children and adolescents
Depression, anxiety and mood
School anxiety and school refusal
Relationship issues
Cross-cultural issues
Adjustment to medical and physical health problems
Education and consultancy

Leona’s work draws on the key values of client-centred and strengths-based approaches. Leona is skilled in evidence-based interventions including: Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Circle of Security Parenting (COS-P).