About Kirsty
Kirsty is a registered psychologist with the Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and holds Educational and Developmental Psychology endorsement. She gained her clinical experience working with children, adolescents and adults across various settings in south-east Melbourne.
Kirsty is committed to cultivating a warm, empathic, validating and non-judgmental environment and strongly values collaboration, transparency and empowerment in her practice. She recognises her role in creating a safe space where clients can build a trusting therapeutic relationship in order to move towards change.
When working with children, Kirsty aims to create a fun, relaxed and engaging environment to assist in the development of a strong therapeutic alliance. Kirsty is adaptable in her approach; she strongly believes that a 'one size does not fit all' approach is critical for each child and family. She seeks to understand and honour the individual needs, strengths and challenges of each child and family that she works with.
Kirsty's approach to therapy is diverse as she utilises a range of therapeutic approaches depending on her client’s needs and goals. These include Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Creative Play Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and other mindfulness-based approaches, Motivational Interviewing (MI) and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT).
Kirsty is a registered ©Circle of Security Parenting facilitator and will also draw upon attachment theory in her work with clients.
Key Areas of Interest
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Children & adolescents (aged 6-18)
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Anxiety
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Stress
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Self-esteem
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Low mood
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Communication
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School-related issues
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Interpersonal challenges
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Life transitions & adjustment
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Parent support
If you/your child needs support with something that is not listed here, please contact Centre of Mind to check you/your child's suitability in working with Kirsty.
Please note, Centre of Mind is currently unable to accept referrals for:
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Clients funded by Work Cover or TAC
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Complex issues arising from family separation and/or violence
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Court and forensic issues
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Eating disorders
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Suicidal ideation and/or self-harm
Experience
Public Education Sector - Kirsty has extensive experience working in the public education sector as a senior school psychologist and former student wellbeing coordinator. She has led, managed and supported teams of allied health professionals including psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists, counsellors, nurses and youth workers. When not in the clinic, Kirsty works in a large co-educational secondary school in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne.
Tertiary Education Sector - Kirsty has worked as a university lecturer and facilitator where she delivered high-quality learning to allied health professionals in training. In her role, Kirsty was passionate about embedding innovative curricula that engaged students by contextualising theory to practice. She aimed to motivate learning through a sense of purpose and authenticity to ‘real world’ clinical presentations.
Research - Kirsty has been involved in research involving women, babies and partners during the perinatal period (conception to 12 months post birth). The research aimed to support women’s psychological wellbeing and improve obstetric outcomes for women and babies. Kirsty provided clinical support via the delivery of evidence-based intervention to new and expectant parents utilising her expertise in perinatal mental health and parent-child attachment to help foster resilience and strong emotional connections, confident parenting and positive wellbeing.
Tutor - Kirsty has always been passionate about supporting young people. Prior to becoming a psychologist and during the course of her own tertiary education journey, Kirsty worked as a mathematics tutor for over 11 years. At the core of her work in supporting children and adolescents improve their academic abilities was building a strong relationship and fostering a sense of self-efficacy.
Employment consultant - Prior to commencing post-graduate studies in psychology, Kirsty spent two years supporting job seekers in addressing non-vocational barriers to employment (e.g., low literacy/ numeracy, homelessness, domestic violence, sexual abuse, mental health issues, substance misuse). In this role, Kirsty utilised a compassionate, flexible, pragmatic, whole-person approach to supporting her client achieve positive outcomes not only in the context of their employment, but also their personal lives too.
"parenthood is without a doubt one of the best examples of an oxymoron;
it is exhausting yet invigorating,
challenging yet innately easy and
identity crushing yet allows for the exploration of a completely new and unexpected identity.'
-Kirsty Vondeling
Who is Kirsty
Mum of two young girls.
Educational and Developmental Psychologist.
Director of Centre of Mind.
Co-Director of Thrive Wellness Collective.
School Psychologist.
Avid collector of plants.
Eager traveller.
Baker and cook.
Aunt.
Lover of the outdoors and spending time with family, friends and loved ones.
Acknowledger that parenting is HARD!
Passionate about creating a safe, warm and non-judgemental space in her therapy rooms where children, adolescents and their parents feel nurtured and supported in their journey to achieving whatever goals they may be motivated to fulfil.
Qualifications & Registration
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Master of Psychology - Monash University
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Postgraduate Diploma of Psychology - Deakin University
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Bachelor of Health Science - Deakin University
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Registered Psychologist - Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Agency (AHPRA)
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Endorsed Educational and Developmental Psychologist
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©Circle of Security Parenting facilitator
Conferences/publications
Buultjens, M., Gill, J., Fielding, J., Lambert, K. A., Vondeling, K., Mastwyk, S. E., ... & Erbas, B. (2022). Maternity care during a pandemic: Can a hybrid telehealth model comprising group interdisciplinary education support maternal psychological health?. Women and Birth.
Vondeling, K. & Costello, S. (2017). Dark personalities: Exploring the links between cognitive style and the Dark Triad. Proceedings of the 15th annual Australian Conference on Personality and Individual Differences.