Melbourne trauma psychotherapy

My name is Bree Weizenegger (she/ her) and I am an accredited mental health social worker, with professional membership of the Australian Association of Social Workers. I hold a Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) from the University of Melbourne, for my research into counselling with sexual violence victim/survivors.

I offer here some information about my professional background and personal philosophy as these form a fundamental part of who I am as a person and inevitably what I bring in some shape or form to my therapeutic and supervisory relationships. The old Freudian model of the therapist being a ‘blank slate’ is generally not considered to be possible or even wanted in a therapeutic relationship anymore, and gone with it is the idea that one therapist can indiscriminately be suited to and able to work with every client. Who the therapist is as a person will inevitably be noticed and experienced by the client and the client should choose a therapist they believe or feel to be a ‘good fit’.

My own desire to become a psychotherapist was in part motivated by a long-term interest in how we as humans make meaning of our suffering. I initially studied comparative religion and sociology at university, trying to understand the ways that different societies across the world have attempted to make meaning of  human existence and suffering through the development of different religious and spiritual traditions.

During my study I unexpectedly discovered a different knowledge base that helped me to make meaning of my experiences in political terms. Intersectional feminism offered a way of seeing the world that explained the suffering of individuals in terms of social causes. This knowledge and many subsequent realisations directed me into the study of social work and the pursuit of social justice with the goal of improving women’s mental health.

I initially worked as a social worker in women’s health, providing counselling and advocacy support to women with a wide range of difficulties including a history of child abuse, adult sexual assault, domestic violence, miscarriage and neonatal loss, unplanned pregnancies, chronic health conditions, disabilities, and past experiences of trauma.

Many of the women I worked with were diagnosed with depression and anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, personality disorders, or psychotic disorders. However almost all of them had experienced some form of emotional, psychological, physical or systemic trauma. What this therefore reinforced for me is that mental health cannot be understood solely through genes or brain chemistry, or treated solely with medication, but rather mental health must be understood as being impacted by our political environment and our relationships within that environment. This not only gives us a more useful and realistic understanding of the development of mental health difficulties, but it also guides us in knowing what is most useful in the treatment of mental health difficulties.

My desire to be able to understand, connect and work with women experiencing these psychological and emotional difficulties led me to study a relational-based psychotherapy that incorporates an understanding of the place of early attachment relationships in shaping our mind and body, and the ongoing impact of relationships in the formation and maintenance of psychological and emotional functioning.

I have been working therapeutically with women and gender- and sexuality-diverse individuals who have experienced trauma for the last two decades, incorporating my understanding of the impact of early childhood experiences as well as social influences on an individual’s emotional, psychological and physical health. I remain deeply and passionately committed to the process of exploration, expression and relationship within the psychotherapeutic process. I maintain my own personal psychotherapy, clinical supervision and self-study as these continue to contribute to my own personal and professional development.

I also provide supervision, consultation, and training to social workers, psychotherapists and other professionals supporting sexual assault survivors. Previous clients have included the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission, the Victorian Office of Public Prosecutions, and a number of the Centres Against Sexual Assault in Victoria. I have also sessionally taught into the Masters of Social Work degree at Melbourne University.

Further details regarding my publications and presentations can be found here.