Professional Experience

Donna is a Registered Psychologist and Clinical Psychology Registrar who supports children (6+), adolescents, adults, and older adults (80+) with a range of concerns, including anxiety, depression, stress, trauma and PTSD, grief and loss, adjustment difficulties, emotional regulation, relationship concerns, chronic pain and illness, and neurodivergent presentations.

Donna has a particular interest in supporting people experiencing anxiety, trauma, stress, depression and adjustment difficulties, including when these challenges occur alongside chronic pain or illness. Through her experience in private hospital and private practice settings, she has worked alongside multidisciplinary pain management teams and contributed to the development of an inpatient chronic pain group program. This experience has given her a deeper understanding of how persistent pain and illness can affect many aspects of a person’s life, including their mood, relationships, identity, confidence and everyday functioning.

She also has experience in psychological assessment for neurodivergent presentations in children and adults, including ADHD assessments and cognitive assessments. She enjoys bringing together information from interviews, standardised measures, observations and other relevant sources to develop a clearer understanding of each person’s strengths, challenges and individual needs. She approaches assessment with care and sensitivity, recognising that the process and its outcomes can be meaningful for both clients and their families.

Having grown up in Taiwan, Donna is fluent in Mandarin and Taiwanese Hokkien and is comfortable supporting clients who prefer to communicate in these languages. Her experience of moving to Australia has also shaped her understanding of the challenges that can come with significant life transitions. She recognises that our cultural background, family values, relationships and life experiences can all influence how we understand ourselves and our difficulties. She aims to create a space where clients feel comfortable bringing these parts of themselves into therapy and where their experiences are met with openness and respect.

Donna places strong importance on building a warm, genuine and collaborative therapeutic relationship. She sees therapy as a space where clients can feel heard, understood and accepted without judgement, while also having the opportunity to better understand themselves and work towards meaningful change.

She believes that each person is the expert in their own lived experience. Rather than assuming what might be best for a client, Donna takes the time to listen, ask questions and understand their perspective. She brings her clinical knowledge and evidence-based strategies alongside the client’s own understanding of themselves, working together to find an approach that feels realistic, relevant and meaningful.

Donna draws on evidence-based approaches including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Schema Therapy, mindfulness-based approaches, and Solution-Focused Therapy. Donna particularly enjoys using CBT formulation, especially in the early stages of therapy, to help clients make sense of the connections between situations, thoughts, emotions and behaviours. This shared understanding can provide a helpful starting point for identifying practical ways forward, drawing on strategies from different therapeutic approaches depending on the individual’s needs and goals.

Donna also recognises that progress does not always look like a major or immediate change. Sometimes it can be becoming a little kinder towards yourself, recognising a pattern for the first time, trying something differently, or beginning to believe that change is possible. She values these moments and sees therapy as a process that can unfold gradually, at a pace that feels right for each person.

What Donna finds most rewarding about psychology is getting to know the person behind the presenting concern. Every client brings a different story, perspective and way of experiencing the world, and this continually encourages her to remain curious, learn and reflect on her own practice. She believes that being a good psychologist requires not only clinical knowledge, but also humility, patience and a genuine willingness to understand the person sitting in front of you.

Ultimately, Donna hopes to create a therapeutic space where clients feel safe to be themselves, comfortable being open, and supported in finding their own way forward. Her goal is not simply to reduce symptoms, but to help clients develop greater self-understanding, self-compassion, confidence and a sense of agency in navigating life’s challenges.

Outside of work, Donna is a foodie, referred to by friends as “Sydney’s food version of Google Maps” for knowing about all the newest cafés and restaurants. She enjoys exploring new places to eat, experimenting with recipes in the kitchen, spending time with family and friends, going for runs, and sitting by the beach watching the waves. 

• Mandarin and Hokkien-speaking WorkCover psychologist
• Mandarin and Hokkien-speaking ADHD psychologist (Assessments)
• Mandarin and Hokkien-speaking Child psychologist