About Suzette
Clinical Psychologist
Warm • Compassionate • Thoughtful • Grounded
I’m Dr Suzette Goldwasser, a Clinical Psychologist, and I work with people at different points in their lives, through a range of experiences and challenges.
I’m interested in what shapes us as people - the experiences we have, the relationships we form, the ways we learn to understand ourselves, and how all of these things can influence the way we move through life.
My work is grounded in curiosity about the whole person.
I’m interested not only in what is happening now, but also in understanding how someone has come to experience themselves, their relationships and their circumstances in the way they do.
My hope is that, through developing a deeper understanding of yourself and your experiences, you can recognise your own strengths, develop greater trust in yourself, and find ways of responding to life's challenges that feel more helpful and aligned with what matters to you.
Understanding
My research has included attachment theory, which explores how our early experiences and relationships can influence the ways we understand ourselves, relate to others and respond to stress and difficulty.
This has shaped my interest in how the past can continue to influence the present — sometimes in ways we recognise, and sometimes in ways that are less obvious.
I’m interested in making sense of these connections and understanding how experiences, relationships, thoughts and feelings can influence the patterns we develop and the ways we respond to life.
For me, this is part of understanding the whole person and creating space to explore not just what is happening, but why it may be happening and what it means for you.
Experience
Before becoming a psychologist, I worked as an engineer in government and corporate environments. I later made a career change into psychology, and along the way I have lived and worked in different countries and experienced periods of change and transition in my own life.
These experiences have contributed to my interest in how people navigate change, uncertainty and different stages of life. They have also shaped the way I think about the wider context of a person's life the experiences, relationships, expectations and circumstances that influence where we find ourselves and how we respond.
Some of the ways I learned to think as an engineer have stayed with me too. Engineering taught me to look at systems, consider how different parts interact, and look beyond the immediate issue to understand the wider context. I find this perspective relevant to psychology, where our experiences, relationships, history and circumstances are often interconnected.
My work in psychology has included experience across community and public mental health, working with people experiencing a broad range of difficulties and life circumstances. This has included anxiety, depression and mood difficulties, stress, self-esteem and identity concerns, eating-related issues, relationship difficulties and significant life transitions.
I have also worked with people during periods when they feel uncertain, stuck or simply not quite themselves times when there may not be one clear problem, but a sense that something needs attention.
Across this work, I have developed a particular interest in understanding the person behind what has brought them to therapy, and in exploring what may be contributing to the difficulties they are experiencing now.