Helen Gavriel

Helen completed her Bachelor's Degree in Psychology at 

the University of Western Australia and her Master's Degree in Clinical and Health Psychology at Curtin University in 1999.  She has over 35 years’ experience as a psychologist.

Helen began her career in Darwin and worked with various government departments in employment, hospital and community psychiatry, outpatient psychology clinic and child and adolescence programs.

 
When Helen moved to Perth in 1991, she spent 8 years at HMAS STIRLING providing psychology services to Navy personnel as well as coordinating the Critical Incident Stress Management programme.  After leaving the Department of Defence she worked for a period of two years conducting detailed psychological assessments requiring recommendations for a wide range of conditions. Following this she worked for 10 years with an oil and gas company here in Perth, providing in-house employee clinical and counselling assistance. After leaving this position she went into private practice full time – for the last 13 years. 

 

Helen has extensive experience in the areas of trauma, anxiety, phobias, depression, loss and bereavement, relationship and interpersonal difficulties and workplace stress. Throughout her career Helen has worked with children, adolescents, and adults in various settings and her interest in the lifespan of people remains. She has a particular interest and extensive experience in the work of trauma for both adults and children and adolescents.

 

Helen is Board Approved Supervisor. For several years, she provided university-based supervision to clinical psychology students for their child placements. She has supervised clinical psychology students towards their registration, and she currently supervises experienced Clinical Psychologists as well as those seeking registration. Helen is an Accredited EMDR Consultant and provides supervision for those working in the field of EMDR.

 

Helen's therapeutic approach and framework are strongly influenced by the importance of the therapeutic relationship and working towards providing a safe, trusting, and empathic frame to begin to understand what led to the difficulties people experience. She is influenced by the concept of ‘what happened to you’ rather than what is ‘wrong with you’.  Helen integrates the many approaches that she has experience and training in. These include Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT), Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), and various trauma informed therapies.

 

Helen is a fully registered member of the Australian Psychological Society; the Institute of Clinical Psychologists, and EMDRAA.