- Thomas Merton
Dr Gillian Robinson
Group Therapist, Social Worker
Carlton North, Melbourne VIC 3054
In Person Consultations
Philosophy & Vision
I am a practising Social Worker in mental health working with many years of clinical experience. My preferred modality is psychodynamic psychotherapy. I am training as a group psychotherapist. Group therapy's primary aim is to enable the participants to lead more fulfilling, creative and productive lives. In order to help the individual thrive, it aspires to engage its members in a psycho-social educational experience. The process of such engagement is both personal and social, both psychological and political, through the experience of the group it seeks to enable for each member - a future that is more hopeful and creative.
Background
I have been a practising mental health social worker for the past 35 years. For most of my career l worked in adult mental health and more recently l have moved to a child and youth mental health setting. I mostly work supporting with young people/young adults and their carers/parents where appropriate. I began running groups early on in my career and also saw clients 1:1 for psychodynamic psychotherapy. Mostly, l have worked in the public system. I worked as an honorary psychotherapist seeing clients for a number of years within the NHS. I am an accredited Balint leader and I am currently in training as a group psychotherapist.
Services
Most of my work to date has been in public mental health services in both the NHS, in the Uk and subsequently Melbourne, Australia. Gillian brings many years of clinical experience. running reflective groups, supervising and mentoring junior clinicians, and supporting young people and their families as well as 1:1 psychodynamic psychotherapy and more recently psychotherapy groups.
Quality Provision
Holding a Professional Doctorate in Social Work awarded by Essex University in collaboration with the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust. Dr Robinson's research focuses on using Balint and work discussion as a form of reflective practice for specialist mental health social workers. Gillian has lectured on infant observation to allied health; advanced social work modules at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust, Hertfordshire and Latrobe universities.
Areas of Interest
Accreditations
- Qualified as a Social Worker - 1991 - University London
- Professional Doctorate in Social Work - 2022 - University Essex
Modalities
Experiential - Interpersonal - Object Relations - Process Oriented - Psychoanalytic - Psychodynamic - Systems Theory - Trauma-Informed
Therapy Approach
My therapeutic approach is a reflective psychoanalytic/psychodynamic approach to psychotherapy helping adults with anxiety, depression, and life transitions. My approach is informed by British psychoanalysis and trauma informed in its orientation particularly focusing on understanding how early experiences can continue to shape emotional and relational patterns over time.
My work includes perspectives from contemporary object relations, intersubjective psychoanalysis and relational psychoanalysis. This approach in my view helps to understand the human experience, putting your thoughts into words helps to deepen insight, discovery, growth and meaning. Typically, it allows the person to have a deeper understanding of themselves.
Professional Associations
- Australian Association of Group Psychotherapists
- Australian Association of Social Workers
Practice Locations
Lygon Therapy, 622 Lygon St
Carlton North VIC 3054
Lygon Therapy, 27 Royal Parade
Parkville VIC 3052
Appointments
The group will run on Thursday evenings weekly for an hour and half.
There will be individual consultations prior to joining the group.
Fees & Insurance
Individual sessions will be charged at $100.
There will be a few consultations prior to joining the group. The consultations will be charged at $100 and weekly group therapy will be charged at $40.
Payment Options
Bank transfer.
Contact Gillian
Please contact me for more information
A conversation with Gillian Robinson
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Early on in my life l chose to see a psychoanalytic psychotherapist and found it extremely helpful. This coincided with using these ideas in my clinical work running groups and engaging 1:1 with clients and being supervised by a psychoanalytic psychotherapist. Later, l opted to pursue further research which examined how to make these ideas more democratically accessible to those working in the field of mental health.
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Group analysis is based on the work of Foulkes, this approach focuses on the group as a whole and uses the group interactions to understand individual members. It blends psychoanalysis with social and interpersonal functioning, focusing on the dynamic between individuals in a social context, rather than just treating individuals within a group.
Object relations theory - this approach focuses on how internal objects (mental representations of self and others from early life) are projected onto other group members and the therapist.
Modern Analytic Group psychotherapy:
Interpersonal/intergroup psychotherapy
Existentential-Analytic approach -
Psychodynamic psychotherapy 1:1; Group psychotherapy short-term or long term.
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Individuals would need to commit to a minimum of 6 months. It takes some time to become comfortable and to begin to trust the process.