In short Online therapy in English in Sydney: weekly individual sessions over secure video, scheduled across time zones. Psychodynamic depth work with a US-trained therapist. You pay directly, so nothing runs through local insurance or health records. Fees and fit are covered in a free 15-minute call.

The work

The work I do is relational and focused on pattern. I don't run intake checklists. I don't assign homework. I pay attention to what happens in the session. The moments when something shifts or goes flat. The pattern that keeps showing up underneath the problem. Most people already know their own story. They still keep landing in the same place. What's missing is someone watching in real time, someone who can name what you cannot see from inside it. More on how I work, and how I work with couples.

Why Sydney clients work with me

I am a US-trained psychodynamic therapist working online and privately: no Medicare involvement, no item number in your history, no ten-session meter, no GP letter. My fee is in line with Sydney private rates after the rebate, and the time zones cooperate: we can find a session time that suits your day. The work is open-ended and character-level, built for the patterns underneath the presenting complaint. When you need prescribing, formal assessment, or an in-room clinician, Sydney has excellent ones, and you will hear exactly that from me on the call.

What people bring to online therapy

The people I work with in English come for a wide range of reasons: anxiety, depression, stress and burnout, anger management, grief and loss, relationship difficulties, loneliness, self-esteem issues, procrastination, sleep problems, attachment patterns, self-sabotage, perfectionism, identity questions, and existential concerns. Online counseling makes this work possible from wherever you are, whether you need an English-speaking therapist, a virtual counselor, or simply someone who can work in your language at a depth that matters.

How it works

Sessions are online via secure video call. I work with individuals and couples (60 minutes). Before your first session, we have a free 15-minute call to see if this feels like the right fit for you.

In shortOnline psychodynamic therapy for internationals and couples in Sydney. Sessions set to suit your day. No Medicare paperwork. No meter.

What Sydney does to its arrivals

Sydney recruits people with the best brochure in the hemisphere, then hands them the fine print. The mortgage or rent that turns a strong package into careful math. The work culture that imported London hours without the London eye-rolling about them. The social scene that is sunny, sporty, and oddly hard to get below the surface of. Sydneysiders have their people already, mostly from school. For expat couples the distance does the heavy damage. No parents an hour away when the baby comes. No old friend to absorb one partner's venting. Just the two of you and a beautiful view. The eastern-suburbs finance crowd. The tech arrivals around the harbour. The British and South African families on the north shore. The visa-dependent partners whose right to stay rides on the relationship. Different streams, same undertow. The lifestyle is real. It just is not a substitute for being known, and the city quietly bets that you will not notice the difference for a few years.

Getting therapy in Sydney: system and reality

The machinery is the national Better Access scheme, identical here to everywhere else in the country; the rebate figures and plan mechanics are spelled out on my Melbourne page and the Australia page. What Sydney contributes is its pricing. Fees at established practices in the east, the north shore, and the CBD sit at or above the 250-to-300-dollar mark, gaps of 100 to 160 are normal inside the plan, bulk billing is nearly mythical, and the practices people actually want have closed books or multi-month waits. Past session ten you are at full freight regardless. The national mechanics live on my Australia page.

Questions people ask from Sydney

How much does a psychologist cost in Sydney?
Established Sydney practices commonly charge 250 to 300 dollars a session. With a Mental Health Treatment Plan, Medicare rebates 145.25 (clinical) or 98.95 (registered) for up to ten sessions a year, leaving gaps of roughly 100 to 160. My fee is comparable to the post-rebate cost of Sydney private work.
Do you offer sessions that fit Sydney time?
Yes. I can work across time zones, so we can schedule at a time that fits your day. Many Sydney clients prefer earlier sessions, which tend to survive the workday better than evening ones.
Can both of us do couples work from Sydney?
Yes. Expat couples in Sydney, where distance from family and visa dependencies amplify ordinary strain, are a substantial part of my practice. Sessions run online with both partners together.

Selected research on this approach

My work is psychodynamic and depth-oriented. These are some of the studies on the effectiveness of that kind of therapy. They describe research on the method in general, and are not claims about any individual outcome.

  • Shedler, J. (2010). The efficacy of psychodynamic psychotherapy. American Psychologist, 65(2), 98-109. doi:10.1037/a0018378
  • Steinert, C., Munder, T., Rabung, S., Hoyer, J., & Leichsenring, F. (2017). Psychodynamic therapy: as efficacious as other empirically supported treatments? A meta-analysis testing equivalence of outcomes. American Journal of Psychiatry, 174(10), 943-953. PMID 28541091

The full reading list is on the approach page.

Related Reading

Therapy for trailing spouses
Therapy for expats
Therapy in English in other countries