About Me
Dr. Alex Gardner
Senior Clinical Psychologist and Board-Approved Supervisor
B.Sc. (Hons), M.Sc. (with Distinction), Ph.D. (Clinical Psychology)
Hello, I’m Dr. Alex Gardner, a Brisbane-based Clinical Psychologist with over ten (10) years of clinical experience working across a diverse range of public and private mental health settings between the Gold Coast, Brisbane and my home country, Jamaica.
I am passionate about working with adolescents, younger and older adults (16+ and older), and their families, to help them move through their struggle or emotional and psychological pain within an atmosphere of warmth, encouragement and compassion. While everyone is unique in their experience of struggle, I believe that everyone has the capacity to experience healing, and can transform their pain into powerful sources of strength and resilience. Though challenging at first, these are the building blocks that form the first step to experiencing meaningful and sustaining change.
As such, I look forward to understanding and guiding you through any past and present struggle as we collaboratively work together to build your awareness, uncover (or re-discover) your inner resilience and develop safe coping strategies to help support you during life’s difficulties. When I am not working in my clinical role as a Psychologist, I enjoy reading; spending time with friends; exploring diverse foods, cultures and entertainment spaces; long drives out; musical festivals, and embracing the sun and the sand at the beaches across the Sunshine and Gold coasts.
I have developed and grown my expertise across a range of therapeutic approaches, but practice primarily from three core frameworks: Emotion-focused individual therapy (EFIT), Schema Therapy, and third-wave cognitive-behavioural therapies (CBT) such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT).
I also have undergone training and developed competence in working across other key approaches such as Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT), Motivational Interviewing (MI), trauma-focused Cognitive-Behavioural therapy (TF-CBT) and Dialectical-Behavioural Therapy (DBT).
Throughout the delivery of these psychologgical interventions, I actively strive to inform my work through a strengths-based perspective, along with embracing both trauma-informed and neuro-affirmative approaches of care to best align with each client’s presenting difficulties.
Equally important, I endeavour to create space for supporting clients of varying ethnic backgrounds and diverse gender and sexual identities. Another aspect of my professional approach to therapy is that I regularly engage in outcome monitoring of clients’ emotional difficulties and integrate feedback-informed practices to help clients get the most of their treatment experience.
Click here to see more information on the fees and rebates for these clinical services:
As a STAP-trained Board-Approved Supervisor, I am highly passionate about cultivating safe, supportive, and compassionate spaces to allow for supervisees’ and students’ learning, development, and growth.
I enjoy providing mentorship and learning experiences to younger mental health professionals and have supervised across several universities clinical masters’ programs, including Griffith University, Bond University, and Charles Darwin University.
I offer both in-person and online individual and peer supervision services at various stages of learning and development; including Provisional Psychologists within a post-graduate program (4+2, 5+1), the clinical registrar program, or for like-minded individuals interested in ongoing CPD requirements. If you have a shared love for life-long learning, curiousity, and intentionality within your professional practice, then I welcome the opportunity to share in this exciting endeavour of collaborative learning with you.
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Take the First Step Today
Taking the first step toward emotional healing and growth is simple. Reach out now and begin your journey with the support and guidance you deserve.
Your brighter, healthier future starts here.