Georgia Kirkwood - Psychologist
Georgia is a warm-hearted, compassionate and supportive psychologist with a gentle, patient manner. She works collaboratively with her clients to identify and address their therapy goals and help them overcome difficulties.
Georgia enjoys working with couples and is well-trained in the Gottman Method. In addition she helps individual adults manage anxiety, depression, stress and burnout, life transitions, and workplace challenges. Georgia is also available for Telehealth appointments.
Therapy is about Feeling Safe enough to Heal and Grow
Successful therapy is always based on a therapeutic relationship that creates a safe space for growth, healing and change. Georgia helps clients to relate to their difficulties with kindness and compassion. She encourages them to find the courage and strength to make changes by taking small steps that fit within their existing lifestyle, leading incrementally to reaching their greater goals for therapy and growing as humans. Georgia helps clients to find and connect with their innate ability for personal growth.
Psychological therapy can help a person gain better self-insight, understand unhelpful thought processes, and improve mood, symptoms and relationships. Collaboratively deciding on therapeutic goals, she helps her clients through practical strategies to thrive in their lives and relationships. Georgia’s kind, non-judgemental and supportive manner means she is client-, rather than problem-centred. Georgia believes therapy is a partnership wherein she combines compassionate exploration of the origin of difficulties with helping clients move toward meaningful change.
When it comes to couples, as a psychologist trained in Gottman techniques, Georgia is skilled at helping couples improve their communication and foster increased intimacy, understanding, respect, love, and friendship with each other. Georgia’s manner is both direct and honest, yet kind, so that challenges can be dealt with compassionately and effectively.
Trained in Evidence-based Therapies
Georgia is a skilled therapist who loves learning and values continuous growth, both professionally and personally. She brings a comprehensive and rich evidence-based understanding of psychology into practice. In her therapeutic approach she draws inter alia on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Chairwork Psychotherapy, and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) which are all evidence based, effective therapy systems. Georgia remains client-centred, and tailors her approach to her client’s unique needs. She often blends therapeutic modalities to ensure her clients receive high-quality individualised support.
Psychologist providing Gottman Couples Counselling
Georgia is trained and experienced in working with couples to grow their emotional connection and become happier together. She provides a safe and non-judgemental space for couples to explore how their relationship became stuck, and how to repair, and strengthen it, by exploring the life experiences and habits that may have led them to current issues and providing practical ways to move beyond that. Georgia is skilled at guiding couples in ways to improve communication, increase intimacy and affection, manage conflict without harm, and strengthening their friendship and emotional connection.
The Gottman Method for couples focusses on teaching specific skills that foster a sense of friendship and teamwork. This may include exercises like building "love maps", which is a way to deeply get to know each other's likes, dislikes, passions, fears, important memories, longings, and dreams, as well as likes and dislikes, favourite hobbies, and even music preferences. This builds a sense of intimacy, acceptance and friendship which is foundational to a happy relationship.
She also guides couples to insight about where communication has become stuck and destructive, by understanding habits that Gottman has named "the four horseman": criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling, and replacing them with with gentle, constructive and loving communication.
Areas of Practice
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Sleep difficulties
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Identity and self-acceptance
- Adjustment & Life Transitions
- Workplace challenges
- Burnout
Qualifications & Professional Associations
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Master of Professional Psychology
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Bachelor of Honours in Psychology - 1st Class
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Psychologist, Australia Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA)
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Member of the Australian Association of Psychologists Incorporated (AAPi)