Psychologist SA
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Meet Rae Starkey
Rae Starkey
Clinical Psychologist
BSc Psych and Crim (Hons), MSc Foren Psych, Mast Psych (Clin), MAPS, FCCLP
Rae Starkey obtained her Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Criminology (with Honours), and Master of Science in Forensic Psychology in the UK, and completed a Master of Psychology (Clinical) in Australia. She started working as a psychologist within the Department for Correctional Services in South Australia providing assessments, reports, and psychological interventions. She then went on to work with children as a psychologist within the Department for Education and Child Development. Rae also worked with Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services providing therapeutic interventions to young people and their families. She then started working as a private psychologist, providing evidence based psychological interventions to adults and adolescents in country SA and metro regions whilst also working as a psychologist within a secure SA Health inpatient unit. Rae Currently consults in West Lakes, and can provide services under Medicare to people in all parts of Australia via Videoconferencing.
Rae's statement
"I have been practicing as a psychologist since 2010, and I am passionate about conducting therapy to address a wide range of issues. I have extensive experience of providing one to one evidence based therapeutic interventions with adolescents and adults, and my particular areas of interest are anxiety disorders, helping people overcome the trauma of narcissistic relationships, chronic pelvic pain, and couples therapy.
My therapeutic approach fosters an understanding, caring, warm, supportive, and non-judgmental environment for all patients. I completed a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Criminology (with honours), Master of Science in Forensic Psychology in the UK, and a Master of Psychology (Clinical) through Charles Sturt University in Australia. My training has emphasized the importance of tailoring evidence based therapeutic interventions and using validated assessments for each individual patient. I provide therapy for individual patients mainly from a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) paradigm, as this is has the strongest basis of scientific evidence proving its effectiveness. In addition to CBT I also use other evidence based approaches including Trauma Focussed CBT (including Graded Exposure Response Prevention Therapy), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Gottman Therapy, Emotion Focussed Therapy, Family Systems Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, tailoring the approach to best suit the needs of each individual patient.
The research clearly shows that happy healthy relationships are life enriching and are the main component of a happy life. My granddad always used to say (in his London cockney accent) ‘Ain't love grand’, which is a philosophy I have carried with me throughout my life, and which has inspired me to help couples achieve happiness and fulfilment in their relationships. I truly believe that love can be grand, however this does take a bit of conscious effort by both partners to keep the relationship a happy and fulfilling one. To develop my practice in relationship therapy, I have completed training in level 1, 2, and 3 in Gottman Therapy and also Emotion Focussed Therapy for couples which are both gold standard evidence based therapeutic interventions for couples. All couples are welcome including those with diverse backgrounds and people who are part of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Relationships can cause us the most joy we experience in our lives, but also the most pain and sadness too. As a Clinical Psychologist who is also a survivor of narcissistic abuse I also have a particular interest in providing trauma informed care to help people recover and heal from narcissistic abuse.
I also have a particular interest in treating all anxiety disorders, including OCD, death anxiety, health anxiety, social anxiety and phobias.
I also have an interest in treating patients with pelvic pain, having lived experience of pelvic pain myself. I have been a member of the Adelaide Pelvic Pain Network for a number of years, which is a multidisciplinary team of specialist health professionals including doctors, surgeons, and Allied Health Professionals who all specialise in treating patients with pelvic pain. The Adelaide Pelvic Pain Network aims to provide effective evidence based treatments for patients with pelvic pain conditions.
As a Clinical Psychologist, I work collaboratively with my patients, engaging them in a joint process where they are active participants in both deciding what they would like to achieve from their time in therapy, and in implementing the therapeutic strategies. Within a healing and caring environment, I help patients to learn new skills and strategies to help them address mental health diagnoses, improve their daily functioning, and achieve happier interpersonal relationships. Additionally I help patients to gain a deeper understanding of their own personality and values, and enable patients to use this knowledge to make life decisions and set goals. My aim is to provide patients with skills and knowledge, which they can use for the rest of their lives. I genuinely care about all of my patients' wellbeing and happiness, and I feel grateful and honored to have the opportunity as a psychologist to walk alongside my patients as they make positive life changes in order to lead a happier and more fulfilling life."
