Dr Christy Jones
Clinical Psychologist, MAPS, Assoc MCCLP
PhD (Clin Psych); BPsych (Hons)
"Neuroscience research shows that the only way we can change the way we feel is by becoming aware of our inner experience and learning to befriend what is going on inside ourselves... The critical issue is allowing yourself to know what you know. That takes an enormous amount of courage.."
- Bessel van der Kolk -
I work with adults requiring a space for themselves, to better understand themselves and act more effectively on their own lives. I work to engage young people who are experiencing difficulties with their mental health, peer group, families and developmental transitions. I provide consultations to families in supporting children’s mental health or overall family functioning. I enjoy working with adults who may be experiencing new mental health concerns or are noticing patterns of behaviour that they wish to shift. I work with individuals experiencing complex, prolonged mental health concerns and those who have experienced trauma early (and recently) in life. I enjoy working with the high-achievers and over-thinkers, often seeking skills to manage stress and push back on workplace pressures that are bleeding into personal lives.
If you're unsure if this is the place for you, why not get in touch. All new queries are first met with a call, so you're sure you're in the right place before taking the next steps.
My Story
I am an endorsed Clinical Psychologist with AHPRA, a member of the Australian Psychological Society (APS), Associate Member of the Australian College of Clinical Psychologists (CCLP) and member of APS interest groups for trauma and psychology, EMDR, Psychoanalytically oriented psychology, and child, adolescent and family psychology. I have been practicing as a psychologist for more than 10 years across varied settings including NSW Health, community, NGO, inpatient, private practice and research settings.
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I completed my BPsych (Hons) at the University of Newcastle in 2010, after a couple of years initially dabbling in other study endeavours and travel before finally settling into psychology. Following the receipt of an Australian Postgraduate Award in 2011, I commenced my research at the Priority Research Centre for Brain and Mental Health and the Family Interaction and Neurodevelopmental Disorders Laboratory (FINDLab), also at the University of Newcastle. My research [Here's looking at you, kid: Relationships between mothers' visual scanning, parental reflective functioning, emotional availability and child development] provided me with opportunities to work both experimentally and clinically, across the period of the study protocol. My research was strongly grounded in attachment theory and neuroscience and this foundation has seen me subsequently take on roles in which attachment relationships are the focus, including working with young people and families, in both responsive and preventative child abuse and neglect sectors and with adults impacted by early attachment experiences or having difficulty in relationships.
From here I completed training in the United States in an evidence-based family therapy model; the Functional Family Therapy for Child Welfare (FFT-CW) intervention. The model focuses on building skills in families to reduce risk of adverse child and family outcomes and break intergenerational patterns, by overcoming both significant and day-to-day challenges impacting families negatively. It has a different feel to traditional family therapy and can support families to engage in skills surrounding communication, emotion regulation, conflict, and managing child behaviours, for example, which can have a significant positive impact on their lives.
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I then spent some time working with Headspace Centres, providing psychological intervention to young people (12-25 years), specifically young people identifying within the LGBTQI+ community.
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More recently, my earlier PhD research using visual scanning and visuo-cognitive technology and my extensive experience treating trauma has led me to continue accreditation in EMDR (eye-movement desensitisation and reprocessing), an evidence-based intervention for specific trauma, early attachment trauma and developmental needs strategies. I engage in dozens of hours a week of EMDR intervention and am often sought out by clients or their referring practitioner for EMDR specifically. Read more here about the intervention approaches I tend to favour in my practice.
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In addition to working with clients in my practice in Paddington, I provide supervision to early-career psychologists and mental health practitioners seeking to improve their reflective practice and competency in delivering evidence-based intervention and building efficacious treatment plans. I have also provided consultation towards the delivery of evidence-based programs in the NGO sector and held clinical lead and sessional academic roles.