About Hope
Hope feels passionate about her commitment towards a deeper understanding of ‘well-being’ and ‘coping’, and how we can all work toward health and happiness by addressing each of our ‘four selves’. This follows on from what Dr William James, a pioneering American psychologist and philosopher, calls the consciousness of self.
Hope’s deeper understanding incorporates the evolution of Hope’s re-evaluation of William James’ constituents of the 4 selves or
(a) the material or physical Self
(b) the social or emotional Self
(c) the spiritual or individual Self
(d) the pure ego or mental Self
By working with all four being states, and caring for and taking responsibility of each of them, the ‘human being’, is able to actualise the ability we have to be the truly magnificent life form that can take care of itself. This is articulated today by Dr Bruce Lipton’s years of work with genetics and stem cell research to demonstrate this knowledge through the new science of epigenetics, and his tutelage on our belief system. Hope believes that if we work on and have trust in our belief system, we are able to make the changes we are seeking. This also harmonises with Dr James’s famous quote,
“The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitude of mind.”
With stress and grief known to be the two factors that adversely affect health, Hope has personal experience of running the City to Surf marathon without any preparation due to a number of life events at that time, and she was still able to complete the race in under 2 hours in her desire not to let her team down, and her belief that she could complete the race.
Included in Hope’s trauma training is over 40 hours of certified IFS training which is an evidence based modality that has been shown to be effective for treating a variety of conditions including depression and anxiety which may be experienced when dealing with long term unresolved trauma. IFS itself is based on an integrative model, and works well with Ego State Therapy models as the different internal parts come to the fore when they are invited to participate, for example, when the emotional exile is at that level of consciousness and willing and able to do so. A basic assumption of the IFS model is the Self that is trying to re-establish all parts to work together to achieve harmony and balance within the internal system.
Hope has over 30 years of experience in psychotherapy, health and lifestyle counselling, including nutritional and remedial therapies. This included a 10 year period of gaining new experiences and working in the Northern Rivers, Tweed, Gold Coast and Brisbane locations prior to returning to Sydney. In that time Hope worked as a practitioner in a Women’s Centre & other NGO’s offering somatic work, diet and lifestyle counselling, together with outreach workshops and training; facilitating quarterly meetings for community organisations such as the Lung Support Group, Arthritis Support Group, and the National Seniors Association to help them understand the physiology of their pain whilst resourcing them on self help options; and running a local private practice in the town centre.
Hope’s psychology practice is influenced by her post graduate training including her presentation of Alexander Romanovich Luria whose work resulted in creating the field of Neuropsychology, her thesis on “Emotional Intelligence, Fortigenesis or Coping, and Wellbeing in the Workplace” and on returning to Sydney Hope worked on the Twin-E (the Twin study of Wellbeing using Integrative Neuroscience of Emotion) research at the Brain Dynamics Centre. Hope's interest in trauma is informed by Dr Francine Shapiro, Dan Siegel, Dr Peter Levine, Dr Bessel van der Kolk, Dr Stephen Porges and Caryn Scotto D'Luzia.
Hope believes in a life dedicated to the wisdom of continued learning
The strengths and values that inform Hope’s practice are her commitment to help people reach their desires and goals by a greater understanding of the ‘mind’; the mechanisms of the 'triune' brain and their connection to the body; and the effects of these on our hope, health, happiness, fortigenesis, spirituality, and well-being.
Hope is a Registered Psychologist with the Psychology Board of Australia and regulated by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). Please Note: Due to the details of my name and the IT database limitations, to find my registration on the AHPRA website you are required to complete an Advanced Search or, following the initial search indicating '0 results' the database offers a choice to Refine your search, and requires the sequence of entering Michaelson first and entering Hope on the 2nd line.
Hope also holds professional membership with Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing Association of Australia, and is a member of the Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute. Hope holds a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in Psychology; a Post Graduate Diploma in Education; a Bachelor of Health Science (Naturopathy) degree; a Diploma in Naturopathy; a Diploma in Nutrition; a Diploma in Botanical Medicine; a Diploma in Classical Homoeopathy; a Diploma in Remedial Therapies; including training in Spiritual Studies and Philosophies, Post Graduate Diploma in Psychology including Neuropsychology and Clinical Studies; 12 months of ‘The Artistry of Psychotherapy’ and numerous modalities at certificate level including clinical hypnosis, two levels of Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing & an Accredited Practitioner with EMDRAA; certification in Clinical Applications of Mindsight and Interpersonal Neurobiology; and is a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner or SEP including the Poly Vagal Theory and the Alchemy of Shame Resolution.
Current and previous studies include transformation, rituals, collective trauma healing and ancestral healing.