Coleen van Wyk

Clinical Psychologist

Coleen qualified as a clinical psychologist after completing her Master’s degree at the University of Port Elizabeth, South Africa in 1998.  She has practiced within the public and private healthcare sectors for a number of years in South Africa, Ireland and Australia. 

Areas of clinical interest include:

• Supporting patients in managing life limiting or chronic health conditions-areas such as Oncology, Palliative care, Respiratory Medicine and Gynaecology.
• Supporting adults across the lifespan with anxiety and mood disorders, interplay of attachment history on relationship with self and others, complex trauma, life transition and adjustment difficulties.
• Coleen also has professional interest and experience in offering trauma informed clinical supervision to individuals and medical/allied teams in health settings.  

She is interested in how clients can cultivate self-compassion and find a way to live a life that is authentic, meaningful and grounded in community and relationships that bring out the best in us.  The second half of life and how we navigate our mid-life transition is an area of great interest to her as she sees it as an opportunity to work out what has served us well from our past, what we can let go of and what we would like to still become.

Away from work, Coleen admits to being a book nerd (you can never have too many books according to her!) loves going to the cinema, especially foreign films or indulging in a bit of Netflix. When she is not on the couch she likes yoga, hiking and spending time in nature.

She continues to be humbled by the strength and resilience her clients have shown in the face of adversity and this has inspired her to never stop learning and growing personally and professionally. Her friends and family describe her as kind, loyal, passionate and inquisitive. Her motto is that you are never too old to learn and she has recently picked up the guitar in her fifties and loving it !

Work days: Coleen has recently returned from sabbatical. She is currently working Wednesday afternoons and all day Thursdays. She is taking new referrals and welcomes back old clients.

Coleen can be contacted directly at coleen@lifeworkspsych.com.au, or you can book an appointment on Halaxy.