Sonia is an AHPRA Endorsed Nurse Practitioner with over 30 years’ experience in Nursing, Credentialed with ACMHN, ACA Registered as a Level 4 Clinical Psychotherapist and NDIS Registered Provider. Sonia started her nursing career in neurosciences and paediatrics while completing her advanced psychiatry studies and moved into working in Child and Youth Mental Health Services. Sonia has worked in a wide range of areas from acute in-patient services, community mental health, intensive youth outreach to crisis assessment services. This included clinical lead roles in triage, primary mental health programs and headspace services.
Sonia gained a Masters in Advanced Mental Health and Quality Improvement in 2000, working in areas of quality management, complaints management and project management developing clinical services and mental health programs in primary mental health. Then working in Nurse Education and Consultation roles in clinical settings which focused on standards of practice and integrating evidence based practice and clinical supervision for groups and individuals.
In 2012 Sonia achieved AHPRA endorsement as a Nurse Practitioner which has enabled an expansion of skills to provide advanced biopsychosocial assessment, diagnosis, a range of psychotherapeutic interventions and talk based psychotherapies, clinical investigations, prescribing, specialist referrals and sick certificates.
All these roles led Sonia to setting up her private practice incorporating clinical consulting, professional consulting, supervision and training and education. Sonia is highly motivated to see more Mental Health Nurses working autonomously in Primary Care to improve access to service for all individuals in the community. Mental Health Nurse Practitioners have experience with preventative care including mild stress related concerns, providing psychoeducation and a wide range of talk based psychotherapies to working with people who have severe, long term and complex mental illnesses.
Sonia has worked with children, youth and adults, individuals and families who present with a wide range of lived experiences of mental distress and illness which informs an empathic approach to the feelings, throughs and attitudes toward each client’s experience. Each client brings their own unique understanding of health or ill health and entrust their most private feelings and experiences, which takes enormous amount courage to take the step to engage with a mental health services. Sonia has a great appreciation for the uniqueness of each individuals needs and understands that people just need to talk through issues in a non judgemental setting or may need discuss more complex requirements of navigating your way through more serious challenges in life. The focus of practice is a wholistic perspective on each persons health needs when planning treatment and recovery focused.
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