Migration & Immigration:
Psychological Assessments & Counselling
Medico-Legal Immigration Assessments
I have developed specific expertise and experience writing medico-legal reports for people in immigration pathways. I offer a niche service specialising in clinical assessments for legal counsel working in Immigration Law that includes;
- More than 10 years experience providing psychological assessments and reports for a range of immigration matters.
- Provision of psycho-legal assessments for refugee/protection, humanitarian, character, family reunion and partner cases.
- Preparation of clinical reports for the Department of Immigration, Refugee Review Tribunal and Ministerial Office.
- Highly skilled, clear and competent professional report writing.
- Careful and professional consideration for the needs of complex clients in sensitive and sometimes distressing circumstances.
Counselling for People in Immigration Pathways
I have significant experience counselling people in Immigration pathways.
I understand the difficulties associated with seeking temporary or permanent visas in Australia, and that this can be a difficult and distressing process.
Moving to a new country is a major life event that can be a difficult and stressful transition.
I have experience working with people who have experienced both forced and voluntary migration.
Some of the pathways you may be seeking residency in Australia through include:
I am familiar with the stresses and uncertainty associated with applying for permanent residency, the restrictions and requirements this can entail. I understand that while going through immigration, the challenges and circumstances of everyday life can continue.
Illness, family difficulties, financial stress and many other common concerns can arise. Sometimes these stressors accumulate and become compounded by the uncertainty of being within an immigration pathway that has not yet resolved.
I can support you through this period, offering understanding, a place to talk through the difficulties you may be experiencing and strategies for managing the strain of immigration.
I understand the difficulties associated with seeking temporary or permanent visas in Australia, and that this can be a difficult and distressing process.
Moving to a new country is a major life event that can be a difficult and stressful transition.
I have experience working with people who have experienced both forced and voluntary migration.
Some of the pathways you may be seeking residency in Australia through include:
- Skilled migration.
- As a spouse or de facto.
- Refugee or humanitarian protection claims.
- Business entry.
I am familiar with the stresses and uncertainty associated with applying for permanent residency, the restrictions and requirements this can entail. I understand that while going through immigration, the challenges and circumstances of everyday life can continue.
Illness, family difficulties, financial stress and many other common concerns can arise. Sometimes these stressors accumulate and become compounded by the uncertainty of being within an immigration pathway that has not yet resolved.
I can support you through this period, offering understanding, a place to talk through the difficulties you may be experiencing and strategies for managing the strain of immigration.
Migrant, Expatriate and Returned Expatriate Counselling
I have completed a PhD that examined the challenges and rewards of expatriate life both abroad and upon homecoming.
I have experience is assisting people through the particular difficulties of acculturative stress, whether arriving in a new host country, or having returned home from abroad.
Acculturation stress and culture shock refer to the stressful transition of entry into a new culture. Re-acculturation stress, reverse culture shock and re-entry syndrome also describe the difficult experience of expatriates returning to their home country after significant periods abroad. It is widely recognised that for many (e.g international business personnel, students, aid workers) migration and homecoming is an intrinsically difficult and stressful transition. It can include:
I have experience is assisting people through the particular difficulties of acculturative stress, whether arriving in a new host country, or having returned home from abroad.
Acculturation stress and culture shock refer to the stressful transition of entry into a new culture. Re-acculturation stress, reverse culture shock and re-entry syndrome also describe the difficult experience of expatriates returning to their home country after significant periods abroad. It is widely recognised that for many (e.g international business personnel, students, aid workers) migration and homecoming is an intrinsically difficult and stressful transition. It can include:
- Feelings of anxiety, fatigue, isolation & depression.
- Confusion about the unfamiliar or changed setting. Loss of security, routines, local knowledge & familiar things.
- Feelings of not being able to cope.
- Loss of social support, friends, status and possessions.
- Feelings of rejection by or towards the host culture, of feeling "foreign" or different.
- Value and cultural conflicts.
- Chronic stress, trauma, and burnout.
- Problems of family separation & reunion.
- Development of intergenerational cultural differences and conflicts between parents and children.