Merrilly established her psychology practice in 1995.

Prior to setting up her private practice as a psychologist, Merrilly worked as a Youth Worker, a University Tutor, and as a Marriage & Family Therapist and Group Counsellor for Relationships Australia. In recent years, her therapy with couples has been greatly influenced by the work of relationships experts, John & Julie Gottman, and Dr Sue Johnson. According to Merrilly, so many aspects of our lives are affected by the quality of our relationships. “A client will often present for depression, but we end up inviting the partner in for some couple sessions as it becomes clear that there are problems within the relationship that are contributing to the person’s depression. Addressing these issues can significantly improve the psychological health of the individual as well as greatly benefit the couple’s relationship.”

Merrilly is also an experienced hypnosis practitioner and regularly incorporates hypnosis in her work. She has taught in the hypnosis training course for the South Australian Society of Hypnosis (SASH) and served on its Executive Committee for 11 years (as Chairperson for 5 years), and from 2010-2011, she was the Federal Secretary for the Australian Society of Hypnosis. In late 2012, she and her colleague Marta Lohyn established Hypnosis Today, an organisation that offers training and support for healthcare professionals wishing to learn hypnosis or further develop their skills in this area.

With her broad range of experiences, Merrilly is comfortable working with individuals (adolescents & adults), couples and families. Her specialty areas include depression, anxiety, relationship issues, trauma-related problems, weight concerns, & skill -building for increasing resilience and self-confidence.

QUALIFICATIONS:
BA,DipAppPsych,GradDipGroupWork,DipClinHyp


OTHER TRAINING:
Couple Therapy Training (Relationships Australia)
Clinical Hypnosis & Strategic Psychotherapy (Australian Society of Hypnosis, Dr Michael Yapko)
EMDR
Family Therapy (Dulwich Centre)


SPECIALTY AREAS:
Depression, Anxiety, Trauma, Weight Issues, Relationship Issues, Grief, Self-Esteem/Confidence,
Stress, Sleep Difficulties, Pain


CLIENTS:
Individuals (Adults & Adolescents), Couples, Families


PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS:
Australian Association of Psychologists Inc
International Society of Hypnosis