2024 Women to Watch
This year we showcase over 80 South Australian women to watch throughout the year. From business, to careers, arts to science. This year’s selected women highlight the depth and diversity of the women in our state and also the vast array of opportunities to develop a business or career in South Australia. Find our more about our inaugural Women to Watch initiative here.
I currently work as a Clinical Psychologist, Researcher, Founder and Director of my own Psychology Private Practice called The Calming Suite in South Australia.
I am a Child and Youth Expert who Specialises in Developmental Disorders like ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder, Eating Disorders, Borderline Personality Disorder, and Trauma. I am also a Researcher, Conference Speaker, Media Spokesperson, School Presenter, Writer, and Supervisor/Lecturer to Younger Psychologists. I also provide comprehensive cognitive/psycho-educational diagnostic assessment for children, adolescents and younger adults. My greatest and most special role however, is being a wife and mother to my two beautiful children; 7-year-old Xade, and 2-year-old Iris. Regardless of how many hats I wear in my daily life, I will always be just ‘mum’ in the eyes of my babies.
// Favourite inspirational quote
Your Condition is Not Your Conclusion!
// Let’s get to know you
My journey begun at university. My academic background spans across 17 years of University Education. Despite often questioning my own sanity over that extended time being the ‘Uni student’, across those years what I gained from it was an amazing learning experience that equipped me with unparallel knowledge experience and wisdom learning from some of the most acclaimed experts in the world.
I now hold five University Degrees, including a Doctorate across fields of Psychology, Neurology, Junior Primary/Primary/high school Dance Education, and Journalism. I have been so fortunate to work in some amazing research teams all over the world and published multiple empirical studies in scientific journals. Within my practice, I often draws upon this incredible body of knowledge to inspire my clients, and transform their life.
Prior to becoming a Clinical Psychologist, I worked in roles as a Scientist (Researcher) in areas such as Psychiatry, Neurology, Psychology and Nutrition. I also worked as a Primary School Teacher (Year 6/7s) for 8 years, and a Journalist (Breakfast Radio Host), and taught dance to children and adolescents at a South Australian Dance Academy. Being passionate about the connection between the mind and body, and just the sheer beauty of mindfulness, I also became accredited in Les Mills Body Balance (yoga, Tai Chi, relaxation and meditation) as an instructor, and taught Body Balance in fitness centres around Australia for nine years.
Indeed, my vision from day one was to become a clinical psychologist who advocated for system change. Sadly, we are currently facing the greatest mental health epidemic among children, teens and young adults ever seen in history. My findings from working with youth in early research projects was by and large, most felt they did not connect well with conventional ways of delivering therapy. Hearing the voices of young people, my goal was to search across the globe for better ways to deliver psychological therapy to youth that offered more effective, compassionate, and trusting outcomes. And so, I began a journey
in Australia, the US and the UK looking for the most ground-breaking ways to improve the whole approach to psychology treatment with children and youth. I opened the Calming Suite Psychology Clinic in 2021 as a mission to become a leader in South Australia who advocated for urgent reform and to push the status quo.
I passionately dedicate time helping children and their parents who are struggling at home or school with the challenges faced by multifaceted issues (e.g., ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder, Learning Disabilities, Down Syndrome, explosive emotions, sleep disruption, and feeding challenges) that are impacting their psychological, emotional, cognitive and physical wellbeing. My therapeutic approach encompasses a compassionate-based, integrated methodology that is tailored and individualised to the client. From the use of 13 different psychological therapies I am trained in, my clients worked collaboratively with me to choose a therapy approach they feel resonates with them, connects with them, and most importantly trusts will work and meet their treatment goals and needs.
I specialise in teenage girls and young female adults and help them learn how to be empowered, resilient, confident about who they are and shine in their mind and body. Ultimately, learn how to be happy, hopeful and motivated in the face of bullying, social media, work/school/home challenges, friendships issues, and the hyper-tech world in which constantly surrounds them. Synergistically, the combination of all these challenges has left Gen Z with more instability and uncertainty than any preceding generation. I also dedicate my time in therapy prioritising those clients who are deemed “too complex, non-responsive to treatment, and high-risk”. Particularly those with eating disorders, complex trauma, borderline personality disorder, depression, and chronic anxiety. I receive many referrals from other healthcare professionals who have tried their best to help these young people but just cannot build a connection. Hence, they discharge the client. While professionally this might be viewed as appropriate by some, to these young people, they see it as they were given up on, and validating in many ways the sense of being rejected and abandoned. In my opinion, these individuals deserve the greatest efforts from me to be the one who shows them someone cares, will not give up on them ever, and helps them find their wings and learn to fly! For me, there is no greater gift in seeing this transformation.
// What makes you a Woman to Watch for 2024?
I have overtime become known among my clients and families as the “Unicorn Psychologist”, inspired by one teenage girl in 2020 who expressed she finally knew that I was the one who was going to be able to help her given I was as colourful as her, and brightly standing out with a rainbow horn among a field of brown horses (she likened to the other psychologists she had seen). Not only was this one of the most heartfelt compliments I think I have ever received, it meant so much to me because it completely embodied my sense of being so different to the norm in psychology.
I am indeed bubbly, extraverted, brightly colourful and loud, and it validated for me a notion that it was okay to be different. In fact, since then so many of my clients have expressed to me how much that has impacted them positively to have someone relatable, lively, energetic and positive in that way. While the vast majority of psychologists perhaps prefer to stay behind closed doors and simply convey their knowledge within empirical scientific journals, I just feel like in many ways this is wasted opportunity to create the impact it is intended for. The real people who need to hear about developments in psychology and mental health are not necessarily doctors and scientists.
Everyone deserves to know how ways to help improve their mental health, and more importantly what they can do if they are suffering in silence. Hence, in addition to providing therapy and assessments one-on-one in my clinic, I passionately dedicate time to working hard on reaching much wider audiences and communities of young people and families. I have offered my time on many occasions by going into South Australian schools and delivering mental health prevention seminars and workshops, doing charity community events, and being a prominent spokesperson on many different media platforms.
I recently decided to step up and deliver a 3 hour evening event for teens and mothers at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on September the 15th to help those with issues such as eating disorders, body image dissatisfaction, bullying, low self-esteem, trauma, anxiety, BPD, depression, social media addiction. This was indeed the first of its kind for a psychologist to step outside on the traditional one on one format with a single client and offer therapy to a larger group of 120 people. The feedback and response I received from both young people and mothers was absolutely inspiring and has motivated me to continue my pursuit to reach wider audiences in need. Those who are disadvantaged, marginalised, struggling and who maybe have been rejected by other service providers.
I continue to I absolutely love blending my Journalism background with my Psychology Career to be able to reach people in need, and I am honoured to be a Psychology Media Spokesperson for many different media entities such as: Body + Soul, The House of Wellness, WHO Magazine, Women’s Health, Balance the Grind, Pure Health Club, Wellbeing Magazine, Bounty Parents, Channel 10, 9 and 7.
// What is your goal or intention for the year ahead? And how are you going to achieve it?
I have been working as a sole business owner and clinicalpsychologist of my own psychology practice for the last 3 years. I decided to transform my home garage into a beautiful clinic space after the birth of my daughter so that I could spend more time with her alongside being a clinical psychologist. The idea of being able to even save 45 minutes travel to and from work being at home just meant so much to me as a mother. Fastforward 3 years later, and my business has absolutely exploded to a point where I just have absolutely no capacity to take on new clients. I receive so many phone calls from desperate mothers of teen girls suggesting they have turned away multiple other opportunities to work with other psychologists, only to find my website and suggest they would come and see me and commit to treatment and help.
The most heart-breaking moment comes when I have to say to those mothers “I have no availability for their daughter until 2025”. Hence, I just could not sit back any longer any allow that to happen, I knew I had to do more. And so after nearly a a year of planning, now I am bursting with excitement to finally be able to open the doors to a brand new state-of-the-art holistic mental health sanctuary for youth in April 2024 in Clarence Park Adelaide. This will be among the first in Australia to reject the old fashioned medical white walls and embrace a space that is beautifully designed with modern day-spa tranquilly, water features, tropical plants, mocha walls, a cinematic wellness yoga studio, and offer young people an opportunity to engage in a treatment that is tailored to them with new therapies and modalities such as art therapy, yoga for trauma, eating disorders, sound therapy, dance movement therapy. Although I have had to put up a lot of my own personal savings to make this happen, and that has been quite tough and daunting at times, the time to make change in mental health for youth is well over due, and I know that I want to be someone who helps that transformation happen. I have just recruited a whole team of 4 new psychologists, a dietitian, art therapist and yoga instructor, as well as a front desk queen. I will be taking on students to help them complete their studies, and I am so incredibly excited to be their mentor and just watch this beautiful wellness space come alive, transform lives and flourish.
Alongside this very exciting venture, I still plan to continue working as a clinical psychologist seeing clients, working in the media this year more (even applied for a new TV reality show child expert position to help children on Warner Brothers Australia casting), being a clinical supervisor to younger psychologists, conference presenter (there are few new international conferences I am considering depending on how busy I am with the new clinic). And still going into schools to help with mental health prevention workshops. I just delivered two at Immanuel College in Adelaide and they were just inspiring. When considering how I will achieve these goals, I am a meticulous planner, fiercely dedicated, and tunnel vision motivated person. When I see a possibility to help young children and teens, it is just not a question in my mind. I will move every inch of my mind, body and soul until I have completed every single aspiration I have intended and more.
// If you could share one takeaway from your business or career journey, what would it be?
To know that you do not have to come from a privileged background, have a seamlessly perfect childhood, be absent of hardship, traumatic times, challenges and struggle to achieve your dream career. That no matter what you have gone through, what you look like, what you believe in, your values, your passions, who you are as a person is and always will be good enough, and you matter! You do not have to be accepted, or fit into societal norms, ideals and expectations. The only ideal you need to fit is your own belief. And when you can do that, just watch what you can achieve in your career and how many doors open.
// What would you like to see for the future of South Australian women and girls?
So much! The world we live in has drastically changed over the past 20 years. There is recent concern among parents, educators, psychologists, and other healthcare professionals about how these changes in our society may be affecting the mental health of Australian female children, adolescents, and young female young adults. Indeed, results from a recent Australian National Youth Mental Health Survey taken in 2020 -2021 showed Gen Zer’s are reporting the highest rates of anxiety, depression, trauma, stress, loneliness, unemployment, housing stress, educational disruption, eating disorders, substance abuse, and social anxiety, ever since in history!
With increasing direct and non-direct family violence prevalence, childhood adversity, widening income and wealth inequality, alarming access to a multitude of online social media technologies ushered within a digitally enhanced world, growing pressure to compete against peers in a variety of sectors including: school, university, work, sport, and body image, and the recent impact of COVID-19, mild and chronic mental health conditions, including suicidality among Australian youth, has proliferated over the past five years to a level never seen before in history.
Of particular concern is the study findings showing the average number of young girls in South Australia requiring in-patient treatment for eating disorders has exploded in the last three years by nearly 300%. This was accompanied by an increase in referrals for outpatient eating disorder treatment that nearly quadrupled when compared to pre-pandemic data. There has also been an estimated 200% increase in the demand for psychological services in the last two years since the COVID-19 pandemic, which is suggested to be close to impossible at present to meet anywhere in Australia due to a dire lack of resources, clinicians, healthcare facilities and funding.
What would I love to see? I would love to see South Australian girls and woman free of negative body image ideals that were created generations ago, but are still alive and well today. Free of the societal expectations and standards that they are meant to be the caretaker and always in the shadow on men and boys. That they can be equally respected and considered vital contributors to society in all workplace industries, and have the opportunities to fair justice and equality. A future generation of girls and woman in South Australia who are smiling happiness through their eyes because they are embracing who they are with confidence and an empowering knowing of how special and important they are.
As Much As I Wish I Could Literally Go And Make My Life’s Mission To Eradicate All Of Social Media, Every Single Platform Tik Tok, Instagram, Facebook One By One, Technology Is Silent Assassin That Has Been Wrapped Up In So Much Addiction By The Greatest Leaders Of This World There Doesn’t Appear To Be Much We Can Do To Stop It Yet! And I Say Yet Because I Still Hold Hope That At Some Point It Becomes So Catastrophic For Mental Health, They Just Declare It A Pandemic Problem.
If optimal mental health is the catalyst to healthy longevity in all sectors of health and life, then what I would love to see first and foremost more tailored treatment approach options for youth with eating disorders and body image issues in South Australia that have not recovered previously with conventional models. More psychology experts willing step out into the community and do more on the prevention side of things in schools, seminars, social media, charity events.
Get in touch with Alissa:
LinkedIn: Alissa Knight
Website: www.thecalmingsuite.com.au
Check out all of the incredible Women to Watch for 2024 here as their profiles are uploaded throughout the year.
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