Individual psychology sessions · Islington & telehealth
Anxiety doesn't need a pep talk. It needs somewhere steady to land.
I work with nurses, teachers, allied health and early-career professionals whose jobs run on other people's urgency — and with anyone else carrying anxiety, low mood, or a life that's moved faster than they have.
How sessions work
Practical, not performative
I'm not going to ask you to journal your feelings or find your inner child in week one. Most people who sit across from me are already self-aware — they've read the books, they know the theory. What they don't have is somewhere to put it down for fifty minutes without also managing how it lands.
Sessions are grounded in evidence-based approaches — mostly ACT and CBT, adapted to you rather than run as a script — but the point is always the same: less noise in your week, sooner rather than later. No mystique, no homework you'll feel guilty about skipping.
“You don't need me to tell you that you're anxious. You need somewhere steady to land for an hour, and a plan for the other 167.” — Naomi Vardy
Who I work with
What I help with
Most of my clients are adults in their 20s to 40s. A lot of them do jobs where other people's emergencies come first.
Burnout & professional exhaustion
Nurses, teachers, allied health and early-career professionals whose work runs on other people's urgency — and who've stopped noticing their own.
Anxiety & overthinking
Racing thoughts, trouble switching off, a nervous system that stays braced long after the reason for it has passed.
Life transitions & low mood
Career changes, relationship shifts, grief, or a general sense that life moved faster than you did. Adults figuring out what's next.
About Naomi
Six years in the public system taught me what not to do
I spent six years in public hospital mental health teams before I went solo — good work, done under conditions that burn people out fast. I was one of them. When I rebuilt my own practice, I built it around the pace I wished someone had given me: fewer clients, more room per session, no ten-minute admin sprint between appointments.
I work from a small studio room behind a share house in Islington. It's quiet, it's unpolished in the right ways, and it doesn't feel like a waiting room.
Background
- Registered Psychologist, Psychology Board of Australia (AHPRA)
- Master of Clinical Psychology, University of Newcastle
- 6 years in NSW public hospital mental health teams before going solo
- Approach draws on ACT and CBT, adapted per client
Getting started
What to expect
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Get in touch
Email, call, or use the form below. I reply within one to two business days.
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A fit-check first session
Fifty minutes, in-person or telehealth, invoiced the same as any other session. No pressure to continue if it's not the right fit.
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Ongoing sessions, at your pace
Weekly or fortnightly, reviewed as we go — not locked into a fixed program.
$190 / 50-minute session
Telehealth or in-person at the Islington studio. Currently taking new clients — no waitlist.
If your GP has given you a Mental Health Care Plan, you may be eligible for a Medicare rebate on up to 10 sessions a year — ask your GP's reception for the referral.
Get in touch
Taking new clients now
Email or call directly if that's easier than a form — I reply within one to two business days, Monday to Friday.
- Email hello@understoreycounselling.com.au
- Phone (02) 4926 0143
- Studio Islington, Newcastle NSW — telehealth also available