about julie preston

Julie is an experienced Registered Psychologist with a strong background in substance and process addictions, PTSD and developmental trauma, relationships issues, mood disorders and eating disorders. Julie’s empathic and wholehearted approach creates an environment for clients to feel safe to be able to be vulnerable and explore underlying issues to their presenting problems. She is registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency and has been a member of the Australian Psychological Society. Julie also received training from The Institute for the Psychology of Eating and is a qualified Eating Psychology Coach.

Julie’s career began in this field working at Psychiatric Rehabilitation Australia, providing community based support services to people with psychosocial disadvantages and psychiatric disabilities. There she built and facilitated psychosocial group workshops, providing one-to-one support, and to encourage socialisation of members.

Julie then moved to working with children and adolescents presenting with complex needs and severe behavioural concerns including: mental health issues, drug and alcohol abuse, and trauma related backgrounds who live in residential out of home care. Julie provided: assessment, counselling, and behaviour intervention support plans to support carers with challenging behaviours of the young people who lived in the placements.

Julie also worked for Jarrah House, a residential inpatient drug and alcohol rehabilitation unit for women and their children. Here she provided Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Dialectical Behavioural Therapy, Mindfulness, Harm minimization, and Relapse Prevention based groups. She facilitated groups, one-on-one counselling and case-management, and assisted in the day-to-day running of the unit. Many of the clients there had experienced complex trauma and co-occurring mental health issues in addition to their substance use problems.

Her interest in addictions and trauma led Julie to the renowned South Pacific Private Hospital, a residential inpatient and outpatient treatment centre for drug and alcohol and process addictions, mental health issues and eating disorders. She provided group therapy, one-on-one counselling, crisis intervention, and case-management. Julie also assisted clients manage their eating disorders whilst in the inpatient program and work on shame reduction, body image issues and anxiety around meal times.  She also assisted clients in developing awareness in their relationship issues through the use of interpersonal processes and building a corrective template for relationships through Yalom style group processes.

Julie’s philosophy is that recovery is possible and her goal is to empower clients to lead fulfilling, healthy lives by providing clients the right tools and support for their healing and personal growth. 

Consultations are 50 minutes.

Standard Consultation Fees are $195

Medicare rebate $89.65

Private health fund rebate may apply

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