Meet the Team

Dr Catherine Matthews 

Senior Clinical Psychologist & Director
DPsych (Clin), BSc (Hons), MAPS, Member of the APS College of Clinical Psychologists

Catherine is the Senior Clinical Psychologist and Director of Southern Child & Family Psychology. With over 20 years' experience working with children, adolescents and families, Catherine has worked across a range of specialist clinical settings including the Royal Children's Hospital, Monash Health Early in Life Mental Health Service, The Melbourne Clinic, and private practice.
Catherine is passionate about providing compassionate, evidence-based care to children, young people and their families. She works collaboratively with families to develop a shared understanding of each child's strengths, challenges and needs, recognising that lasting change is often achieved by supporting not only the child, but the broader family and school systems. Where appropriate, Catherine incorporates parent work, family sessions and school consultation alongside individual therapy to promote meaningful and sustainable outcomes. 

​Catherine works with children and adolescents aged 0–18 years presenting with a broad range of emotional, behavioural and developmental concerns. She has particular expertise in anxiety disorders (including OCD and separation anxiety), trauma, attachment and relationship difficulties, elimination disorders (enuresis and encopresis), and neurodevelopmental conditions including autism, ADHD and learning disorders. She is experienced in working with complex presentations and values close collaboration with paediatricians, psychiatrists, schools and other professionals to provide integrated care.

As Clinic Director, Catherine provides clinical leadership and supervision to psychologists, provisional psychologists and allied health professionals. She is a Board-approved Supervisor and is passionate about supporting the development of the next generation of clinicians through supervision, mentoring and teaching. Catherine has lectured in Monash University's Doctor of Psychology program and Mindful's Developmental Psychiatry Course, and has consulted to Child Protection Services, the Department of Education, and a range of non-government organisations.

Catherine believes that the therapeutic relationship is at the heart of effective intervention. She strives to create a warm, collaborative and supportive environment where children feel understood, parents feel empowered, and families are supported to achieve meaningful, lasting change.

Catherine consults Monday-Thursday.

To make an appointment, please call 9069 3199, or send an email via the link below. ​

Dr Megan Clark 

Psychologist, Clinical Psychology Registrar 
BAPsych/Physiology(hons), PhD (Psychology and Public Health), MPsych (Clin), Assoc MAPS
 
Meg is a Psychologist and Clinical Psychology Registrar.  She has a special interest in working with children, adolescents, and parents across a wide range of psychological difficulties including anxiety, depression, and neurodiversity.  Meg has over 10-years’ experience conducting developmental and diagnostic assessments with neurodiverse pre-school and primary school children. Meg believes in creating a safe and supportive space that allows clients to work through their challenges, empowering them to make positive change. Evidence-based therapeutic techniques are tailored to the clients’ individual needs and draw from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Mindfulness based approaches. Meg is also passionate about working closely with parents to support the broader family unit.

Meg currently works Mondays and Thursdays.​

​To make an appointment, please call 9069 3199, or send an email via the link below.

Dr Lauren Kalisch

Clinical Psychologist
BSc (hons), PhD (Clinical Psychology), Assoc MAPS 

Lauren is a Clinical Psychologist who has worked in the parent-infant, child and adolescent mental health sector for over 10 years, providing psychological support for anxiety, depression, parent-child relational difficulties and behavioural challenges. Lauren seeks to help children build resilience, regulate their emotions, and develop their own sense of self. She is passionate about supporting neurodivergent children through approaches that embrace and affirm neurodiversity, and values the opportunity to work with children who have experienced hardship. While Lauren draws upon evidence-based techniques including cognitive behavioural therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, play therapy and attachment-based therapies, her therapeutic approach is equally guided by each child’s needs, interests and strengths.
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Lauren currently works Tuesday-Friday.
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To make an appointment, please call 9069 3199, or send an email via the link below.
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Dr Michelle Lindsay-Dawe 

Clinical Neuropsychologist
DPsych (Clin Neuro), BSc (Behavioural), Post Grade Dip (Psych), MAPS, Fellow of the APS College of Clinical Neuropsychologists

​Michelle is a Clinical Neuropsychologist with over 10 years experience in the assessment of children, adolescents and young adults. She has worked in a variety of hospital settings, including Acute Rehabilitation Units, The Royal Children’s Hospital Learning Difficulties Centre and The Victorian Paediatric Rehabilitation Service.  Michelle has also worked in Acute Paediatric Inpatient Units and the Neurodevelopmental Psychiatry Team at Monash Early in Life Mental Health Service.

Neuropsychologists specialise in assessing a young person’s thinking skills and learning.  They have an in depth understanding of brain structure, function and dysfunction, and the effects multiple factors have on cognitive, behavioural and emotional functioning.  

Michelle has experience in the areas of:
  • Neurodevelopmental Disorders (ADHD, Intellectual Disability, Learning Disorders, Autism)
  • Brain Injury (including mild TBI / Concussion)
  • Neurological Conditions (ADEM, Epilepsy, Encephalitis, Stroke)
  • Endocrine Disorders (such as Diabetes) 
  • Effects of Drug and Alcohol use 
  • Psychiatric Disorders including psychosis  
  • Trauma 

Michelle offers tailored cognitive assessments for young people aged 3 – 18 years. Assessments range from a basic cognitive (IQ) assessment to a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment covering multiple areas such as IQ, academic functioning, memory and attention. Assessments may be either diagnostic, to identify strengths and weaknesses, or to provide a baseline or track changes over time.

Michelle has a passion for helping young people and their families better understand the impact of cognitive difficulties and how to best utilise cognitive strengths.

To make a neuropsychology appointment, please send an email via the link below.  
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Dr Caitlin Hrysanidis

Psychologist, Clinical Psychology Registrar 
PhD (Clinical Psychology), BA (Hons), BVA

​Caitlin is a Psychologist and Clinical Psychology Registrar with over 5 years of experience working with children, adolescents, and families. Warm and down-to-earth, Caitlin is passionate about paediatric mental health and cognitive development, with experience in anxiety, mood disorders, eating disorders, psychosis, and neurodiversity. She takes a holistic, systems-based, and integrative approach, considering the broader family and social context alongside each young person’s unique strengths and challenges. Drawing on multiple modalities, including cognitive behavioural therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, and dialectical behaviour therapy, Caitlin tailors interventions to best support each child and their family.

Caitlin currently works Tuesdays and Wednesdays. 

To make an appointment, please call 9069 3199, or send an email via the link below.

Dr Olivia Bruce

Psychologist, Clinical Psychology Registrar 
BSc(Hons), PhD (Clinical Psychology) 

Olivia is a Psychologist and Clinical Psychology Registrar with experience working with infants, children, and young people from birth through to adolescence. She brings a genuine passion for working with families and is committed to neurodiversity-affirming, strengths-based practice that celebrates the unique qualities each individual brings. Olivia has experience working with young people navigating a broad range of acute and chronic health conditions, as well as mood disorders, anxiety, autism, ADHD, school can’t (sometimes called school refusal or avoidance), and trauma. In her practice, Olivia draws upon evidence-based approaches including cognitive behavioural therapy, dialectical behaviour therapy, and mentalisation-based therapy, tailoring her approach to best support each individual and family. She also has experience conducting neurodevelopmental and cognitive assessments, supporting families to better understand their child’s profile of strengths and support needs. 

Olivia currently works Mondays and Tuesdays. 

To make an appointment, please call 9069 3199, or send an email via the link below.​

Gabriella Stanszus

Psychologist, Clinical Psychology Registrar 
MPsych (Clinical), BA​

Gabriella is a Psychologist and Clinical Psychology Registrar with over five years of experience working with children, adolescents, and families. Gabriella has a warm and collaborative approach and highly values each individual's unique strengths and resilience. She works with young people navigating anxiety and mood disorders, eating disorders, and interpersonal challenges, and has particular experience supporting individuals managing complex trauma responses. Gabriella is passionate about building genuine therapeutic relationships with clients and their families and takes a holistic, trauma-informed and neuro-affirming approach. Her work is grounded in interpersonal, attachment, and family systems frameworks and incorporates elements of cognitive behavioural therapy, play therapy, somatic therapy, and dialectical behavioural therapy. She is committed to creating a comfortable therapeutic space for First Nations clients and members of the LGBTQIA+ community and recognises the significance of the systems and communities that surround each individual.

Gabriella currently works Wednesdays and Thursdays
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To make an appointment, please call 9069 3199, or send an email via the link below.
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Dr James Meyer-Grieve 

Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist ​
MBBS MPM FRANZCP (Certificate Child and Adolescent Psychiatry)
 
Dr James Meyer-Grieve is a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist with specialist experience in child neuropsychiatry, behavioural disorders, and psychotherapy.  His psychotherapeutic experience extends from anxiety and mood disorders to more complex presentations of social/emotional difficulties.  He has worked for over 20 years in public psychiatry, and took the clinical lead for the development of Monash Children’s Endeavour Neurodevelopmental Psychiatry team and The Oasis Child Neuropsychiatry Inpatient Unit.  He is an Adjunct Lecturer at Monash University, and provides State-Wide training for the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders through Melbourne University’s Mindful program. 

To make a psychiatrist appointment, please send an email via the link below. ​

Esther Harris

Administrative Manager
BA (Hons), PGDip (Modern Languages)
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Esther has worked in administration for many years in various settings, including a
kindergarten, an accountant’s practice, a vet surgery and allied health. Before coming to
Australia from England in 2004, Esther lived in Germany and Russia. She is fluent in
German and speaks conversational French. Esther manages reception as well as the operational functions of the practice.  Esther is often your first point of contact with Southern Child and Family Psychology, and she will help you in any way she can.
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