Louise Wakefield

Registered Psychologist, Medicare P/N 5586472X

Louise Wakefield is a registered psychologist with the Psychology Board of Australia and a member of the APS (MAPS) and the Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing Association of Australia (EMDRAA).

She works with adults and the elderly, and graduated a Bachelor of Psychological Science at the University of Queensland, obtaining Honours in Psychology. Louise has previously studied Natural Therapies at the Australian College of Natural Medicine. She believes in treating people with a wholistic mindset creating improvements in a person’s ability to improve their mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health.

Louise has worked predominantly in private psychology clinics along with government organisations within Brisbane and surrounding areas: The Department of Communities Child Safety, Transformations Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Centre, Prince Charles Mental Health Unit (Group Therapy Volunteer), and non-profit organisations, including Encircle. Louise has facilitated a variety of therapeutic psychology groups including multi-cultural client groups, grief and loss groups, self-confidence groups and adult literacy mentoring.

During her time working in a non-government organisation Louise developed and facilitated a grief and loss program for the bereaved and a self-awareness and self-development program for individuals struggling with their mental health. Louise has also facilitated women’s groups, social mature aged singles groups, and was a team leader for a hosting team within a large Brisbane organisation.

Trauma counselling

Louise has a flexible approach to her work and enjoys working with severe trauma using Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR Therapy), Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Mindfulness and Positive Psychology to help people build resources within their lives and relationships. She is passionate about assisting people to increase their self-awareness, and develop additional self-direction skills to create and live an authentic, fulfilling life.

Louise has worked in a trauma specific centre for over five years and has worked extensively with clients who have experienced complex childhood trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder, domestic violence (emotional, mental, physical and sexual abuse), and borderline personality disorder. She understands trauma can be crippling, especially without the right intervention. She has a heart for trauma victims and is passionate to help clients develop their mental, emotional and physical regulating skills required to manage their responses to trauma. She helps her clients desensitise traumatic events they have experienced and assists them with reprocessing their negative beliefs, thoughts, emotions and physical sensations in relation to the traumatic event. This enables them to experience a life with minimal negative effects related to the traumatic events they have experienced in their lives.

Relationship counselling

Louise is also passionate about improving the lives of her clients through relationship counselling. Relationships benefit from supportive guidance that focuses on the positive attributes of all parties involved. Relationships are an important factor that underpins the majority of areas of our lives, including our married life, family life, work life, sporting activities and general interests. When we have a high level of awareness of ourselves and others and possess a high level of appropriate communication skills, our interpersonal relationships become more effective. We are also able to express our own beliefs, thoughts, emotions and needs to a greater extent and we are able to discuss the challenges we face on a daily basis with the ones we love while actively sharing our hopes, dreams and our life with our significant others.

Additionally, Louise helps couples to improve the quality of their relationships by helping people to increase their ability to encourage others to express their needs, increase and strengthen shared understanding and create a supportive environment for their partner, family, friends and work colleagues.

Louise helps couples, families and others with the use of the Circle of Security theory and the Gottman Relationship Method. The Circle of Security theory helps to increase people’s skills which enables them to learn how to be sensitive and empathetic to the needs of others: to be bigger, kinder, stronger and wiser within all relationships, and to increase the ability to be a secure healthy attachment figure for significant others in their lives.

Furthermore, Louise supports relationships with the latest research from The Gottman Institute. The Gottman institute was developed by Drs. John and Julie Gottman who for over 40 years researched couples in order to develop clinical assessments and interventions specifically designed for married couples, interpersonal relationships, marriage afflicted with addictions and or affairs, and children and parental relationships. The Sound Relationship House Theory was developed from the research on couples to help others create greater connection, self-awareness, awareness of their spouse as well as increasing communication, love, trust and commitment within a relationship.

Louise trained in the Gottman Relationship method to help couples focus on developing communication and connection skills, to increase understanding of their partner’s world, to explore ways of increasing shared fondness and admiration, to develop an Emotional Bank, and to increase a couple’s ability to turn towards each other during difficult times rather than away. She focuses on helping partners develop positive partner perspectives while reducing negative perspectives as a way to increase relationship strength.

Conflicts naturally occur within relationships. Louise discusses best communication practices for reducing conflicts within relationships, for helping couples understand each other’s points of view and how to set appropriate relationship boundaries and develop improved communication. Additionally, she increases a couples’ ability to accept influence from their partner and increase their ability to compromise. This enables both partners to have their needs met, develop increased happiness and improve relationship satisfaction.

Self-soothing techniques increase a person’s ability to emotionally regulate during times of conflict. Louise helps couples identify situations where self-soothing would be beneficial and teaches couples a variety of techniques to increase their ability to remain calm and relaxed during communication.

After an affair every relationship can experience very difficult times. Trust, loyalty, and love may diminish, and feelings of fear, insecurity and the need to withdraw may result. Louise helps couples to increase their ability to discuss and explore the causes of the indiscretions, identify the couple’s needs, and rebuild love, trust and loyalty within the relationship.

Growing together as a couple throughout the years is very important. Louise helps couples identify their life goals and increases their ability to work together to support each other’s personal goals as well as their goals as couples, building a sense of shared purpose, meaning and the gradual development of a family legacy.

Areas of counselling offered by Louise include:

  • Post-traumatic Stress
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
  • Complex-Childhood Trauma and Complex-Trauma
  • Dissociative Identity Disorder
  • Anxiety
  • Emotional Instability
  • Obsessional Compulsive Disorder
  • Panic Attacks and Phobias
  • Relationships
  • Pre-marital counselling
  • Depression and Bipolar
  • Emotional Instability and Dysregulation
  • Sleeping Problems
  • Stress Management and Coping Skills
  • Grief and Loss
  • Adjustment Issues
  • Low self-esteem and feelings of Worthlessness
  • Personal Growth and Self-Awareness
  • Eating and Body Issues
  • Addictions including Drug, Alcohol, Gambling, Sexual, and Computer Gaming.
  • Domestic Violence
  • Improving Communication
  • Aggression
  • Separation and Divorce
  • Parenting Advice
  • Improving Motivation
  • Academic Issues

Louise continually undertakes further professional development to hone her skill sets which enables her clients to increase their ability to attain their goals. She has completed the following extra training to support her clients:

EMDR Level 1

EMDR Level 2

EMDR for Dissociation

EMDR for Eating and Body Issues – the Body Blame program

Developmental Needs Meeting Protocol

Dialectical Behavioural Therapy

Gottman Marriage Counselling Level 1 Clinical Training for Relationships

Gottman Marriage Counselling Level 2 Clinical Training for Relationships

The Gottman Method to Treating Affairs and Trauma

The Gottman Method to Treating Alcohol

Psychological Interventions include:

  • Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)
  • Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR Therapy)
  • Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
  • Positive Psychology
  • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
  • Mindfulness
  • Motivational Interviewing (MI)
  • Brief Solution Focused Therapy
  • Gottman Relationship Therapy

Louise’s Personal Life

Louise is a mother of two children. She is very passionate about creating the best possible life for people so they can grow, develop and create a wonderful life for themselves. She is keenly interested in trauma and methods of healing trauma, including yoga, tai chi, trauma therapy, natural healthy eating, essential oils, and Bach flower remedies.

She believes everyone should feel loved, cherished and cared for and views every moment shared as timely and precious. She loves spending time with her family and enjoys taking part in her children’s interests. She loves nothing better than snuggling up on the couch in the evening with her children, dogs and cats while watching a good movie.

Louise has a fondness for music and an appreciation of the natural beauty of the world. She enjoys going for drives in the country, attending markets and socialising.

Louise is available each week day including evenings. She is also available via online (Zoom Pro) and telephone consultations.

If you would like to make an appointment with Louise,
please call us on (07) 3831 4452