About Me

Dr Melissa Tso
BA (Psych), LLB, Grad. Dip. Psych, DPsych (Forensic)

I am a registered psychologist (with forensic endorsement) and have experience working with a variety of clients within public and private settings. I utilise a combination of:

•    Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT);
•    Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT);
•    Mindfulness;
•    Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT); and 
•    Psychodynamic- and Schema-informed therapy. 

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My areas of interest include:

•    Mood disorders (such as anxiety and depression); 
•    Adjustment issues (including cultural difficulties, particularly those from South-East/East Asian backgrounds); 
•    Stress management (including improving emotional regulation, and impulsive and compulsive behaviours); 
•    Addictive behaviours (such as substance use, pornography and internet use, gambling, etc.)
•    Interpersonal and relationship difficulties; and 
•    Difficulties associated with perinatal mental health.

My therapeutic approach begins with the creation and fostering of an alliance between therapist and client that ensures a strong foundational basis for a journey of self-exploration. From there, an individualised approach with your goals for therapy is taken, with the care and understanding that is required to create a haven of psychological safety, and to enable exploration of elements of the self that can sometimes cause discomfort and pain, but also include periods of enlightenment and epiphanies. 
 
Within the therapeutic relationship, I hope to create for you a sanctuary for your thoughts, a safe refuge where there is freedom to discover all aspects of yourself, including those that may be hidden. I hope to help you feel inspired to develop a sense of curiosity about your emotional states and their origins, rather than defaulting to a judgemental and punitive state of mind. The world around us is chaotic, and a retreat from life is often needed, where we can be at peace and experience internal tranquillity. Together, I hope to help you embark on a journey of discovery, to build on self-awareness and strengths, as well as identify limits and vulnerabilities, in order to cast different perspectives on past and present struggles and experiences. This in turn will assist in achieving more autonomy and mastery over unhelpful and uncomfortable thoughts that are often overwhelming, and enrich the way that you relate to your world and those around you.