Our counsellors

Dr Sean Murray is a highly experienced and accomplished professional with extensive expertise in the fields of counselling, accessibility, and wellbeing services. He has been serving as the Head of Counselling, AccessAbilty & Wellbeing Services at Curtin University for the past 16 years, where he has made significant contributions to the university’s counselling and mental health programs.

Dr Murray’s extensive experience as a psychologist spans across several government and military environments, including psychiatric hospitals, student counselling services, substance abuse programs, and private practice. He holds an MA degree which he completed in 1988 and a PhD, which he completed in 1995.

In his spare time, Dr Murray enjoys swimming, fishing, boating, and scuba diving. With his extensive knowledge, experience, and expertise, he is a valuable asset to Curtin University and the wider academic community.

Graham is passionate about connecting with clients to understand the issues affecting them and working together to navigate these difficulties, making changes as required and achieve some healing. He uses a mix of Person-Centred Therapy, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Compassion-Focused Therapy depending on the needs of the client.

You can expect to find a warm, safe and trusting environment in your sessions with Graham, where you can speak freely without judgement. He seeks to establish a good working alliance with clients, incorporating openness, curiosity and compassion. Graham possesses a Master of Psychology from Curtin University.

Karen is passionate about helping people to make meaningful changes in their lives that can be applied well beyond the therapy setting. She has a Person-Centred Approach and uses evidence-based treatments including Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Compassion Focused Therapy to help people achieve greater psychological health.

You can expect to find warmth, calm, compassion, kindness, acceptance and a safe place in sessions with Karen. Karen possesses a Master of Counselling Psychology from Curtin University.

Penny is passionate about providing a safe place to assist clients in understanding their own experience of the world and to promote positive change. She is particularly interested in working with students from cross-cultural backgrounds. Penny’s approach is a mix of evidence-based therapy to suit her clients, including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and a Person-Centred Approach.

You can expect to find warmth, compassion, kindness and no judgement in sessions with Penny. Penny possesses a Master of Counselling Psychology from Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand.

Ruth is passionate about self-discovery, self-understanding and going on your journey with you even if only for a short time, and complexity. She takes a trauma-informed and mentalised approach to therapy, where there is transparency, collaboration, empowerment, safety and a sense of trust while always seeking to have a shared understanding of what is going on in someone’s world. Once these foundations are in place, then a suitable therapy mode can be decided upon that feels like the best approach for both parties.

You can expect to find a safe space, curiosity, acceptance of whatever comes, warmth, compassion and a willingness to support people however they need in your sessions with Ruth. She likes to make sure that there is a shared understanding, or plan to get a better understanding, of what is going on for someone when they take the leap into therapy. Ruth possesses a Master of Counselling Psychology from Curtin University.

Brent is passionate about living consistently with his values, spending an inordinate amount of time drinking and making coffee and helping others address barriers to their sense of satisfaction and fulfillment. He has a integrative Person-Focused therapeutic approach and applies evidence-based treatments such as Schema Therapy, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy and Acceptance Commitment Therapy.

You can expect to find authenticity, curiosity, warmth, playfulness, acceptance and empathy in sessions with Brent. He aims to model and encourage honesty and compassion in your sessions. Brent possesses a Master of Counselling Psychology from Curtin University.

Dr Kristen is passionate about helping clients resolve their presenting problems, identify their strengths and to develop skills to face future challenges. Her therapeutic stance has been influenced by the humanistic perspective characterised by a commitment to evidence based interventions and acting from a place of curiosity, genuineness and empathy. She draws from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Schema Therapy.

You can expect to find warmth, enthusiasm, openness and where relevant, lightheartedness in your sessions with Dr Kristen. As a previous student of Curtin, she can relate to the rollercoaster of the student experience. Dr Kristen possesses a Master of Clinical Psychology and PHD from Curtin University.

Mikayla is passionate about making students feel welcome and doing her best to create a space that suits each person and their needs. She has a Person-Centred Approach that incorporates elements of Compassion Focused Therapy, Schema Therapy and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy that is underpinned by safety, trustworthiness, humility and respect for diversity.

You can expect to find warmth, kindness, curiosity and a strong desire to do her best to meet student needs in sessions with Mikalya. Mikalya possesses a Master of Clinical Psychology from Murdoch University.

Karen is passionate about making students feel welcome and doing my best to create space that suits each person and their needs. She uses a Person-Centred Approach that incorporates elements of Compassion-Focused Therapy, Schema Therapy and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy that is underpinned by safety, trustworthiness, humility and respect for diversity.

You can expect to find warmth, kindness, curiosity and a strong desire to do her best to meet your needs in your sessions with Karen. Karen posesses a Master of Psychology from Curtin University.

Simone is a Gija woman raised on Noongar Whadjuk Boodjar, with strong continued connections to the Kimberley region, specifically on Gija, Jaru, and Mirrawong Dwang countries where members of her family, the Bridge family, resides. Simone has received the 2022 NAIDOC Perth Education Achievement and the 2020 Premier’s Shell Aboriginal STEM Student of the Year Awards.

In her professional approach, Simone embodies a down-to-earth, client-centered, and cultural humility embedded interpersonal style. She works collaboratively alongside her clients, utilising evidence-based cognitive-behavioural therapeutic techniques, with a particular emphasis on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Simone’s goal is to empower her clients in navigating their student journey, helping them mitigate the adverse effects of life events and existing challenges on their university experience.

Beyond her clinical practice, Simone advocates for culturally-informed changes and increased supports for Indigenous university psychology students. Outside of her professional endeavours, she is an avid gardener, actively engages in environmentally conscious practices, and looks to build connections within her local community. Simone holds a Master of Clinical Psychology from the University of Western Australia.