About Us

Our Team

• Angela Barnes

  Director/Clinical Psychologist

  Ange is a Clinical Psychologist with over 24 years’ experience. She has worked in many sectors including Private Practice for the last 10 years.

  She has previous experience in both the not-for-profit and corporate sectors doing both direct clinical work, program and policy development and strategic leadership.

  Areas of Practice

  Ange has worked across many areas. Her interests include;

  • mood and anxiety disorders
  • trauma and abuse
  • substance misuse and dual diagnosis
  • grief and loss
  • self-harm
  • personality disorders
  • pregnancy, birth and parenting
  • sleep disorders
  • anger and aggression management
  • gender and sexuality issues
  • First responder issues
  • Diagnostic assessment particularly in the areas of;
  • ADHD
  • ASD
  • Dissociative disorders

  Practice Frameworks

  Ange works in a multi modal and client centred way; her key therapeutic modalities are Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy.  She is also trained in CBT, IPT, Narrative and Attachment Therapies

  Having been a not-for-profit leader including a CEO for a number of years and then driving her own business for the last decade, Ange is very passionate about the role of leaders and leadership rather than mere management.

  Coaching /leadership work

  In 2011 she completed the Social Leadership Australia program offered by the Benevolent Society and continues to use many of these principles of innovative leadership in her coaching and consultancy work. She brings strong psychological knowledge to the world of coaching to add a dimension often missed in the world of leadership coaching.

  • return to work and vocational rehabilitation
  • coping with stress
  • personal growth and development

  Supervision

  Ange has been a STAP approved supervisor for 20 years. She continues to supervise psychology 4 + 2 , 5 + 1 interns and Masters students.

  In 2024 she will be employed by the Sunshine Coast University (SCU) as a supervisor with their Clinical Masters program.

  She also supervises other human service and first responder staff.

• Kate Fitzpatrick

  Psychologist

  Kate is a warm, caring, positive person. No issue is too big, too small or too unusual to be discussed. Kate began her career as a Registered Nurse. She has held many varied roles in hospitals and in the community in Ireland and Australia.Over time she noticed how a person’s attitude, be it positive or negative, impacted health outcomes. Her curiosity and care led her into the academic world of  psychology. Kate views mental and physical health as closely connected and equally important. She managed a complex caseload of clients with both physical and psychological injuries in ACT and NSW.

  She registered as a psychologist in 2008 and worked in Employee Assistance Programs in QLD. She assisted  Brisbane City Council through their Change Management and has attended numerous Critical Incidents in both public and private enterprise. She has worked independently as a contractor in remote locations e.g, the mining Industry.

  In recent years while building her private practice on the Sunshine Coast she worked  for Queensland Health in the area of chronic pain in their Allied Health Department.   She has consulted for Sarina Russo Job Agency addressing barriers to work for the short and long term unemployed. Kate was also contracted as the senior psychologist in a privately run jail/remand centre. In 2014 Kate completed a Masters of Science in Health Psychology. She understands people from all walks of life and is happy to visit clients with medical or disability issues in the comfort of their own home.

  Feel free to vent on life’s difficulties, seek a listening ear, with focused attention, obtain support in suffering, guidance or referral as needed.

  You are welcome to come and see Kate,you don’t need a referral from your G.P unless you’d like a Medicare rebate. Irish blessings. ☘️

• Veronique Sorensen

  Psychologist

  Véronique has worked as a psychologist and educator for over 10 years. She has a genuine and warm approach.  Véronique has helped individuals suffering from depression, anxiety, grief and loss, bullying, work related stress, trauma. She has worked in various settings (country, city, mining environment, overseas). Véronique is bilingual (French/ English). In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her equine friends.

  Veronique’s practice draws on mindfulness, positive psychology, narrative therapy, cognitive behaviour therapy with a psycho-dynamically informed substrate.

  Véronique offers consultations to adolescents and adults on Saturdays and Wednesday evenings.

• Gayre Christie

  Psychologist

  Dr Gayre Christie is a psychologist with wide experience as a therapist for over 30 years

  As well as providing a broad scope of practice to help with common presentations such as anxiety and depression and the provision of approaches such as CBT he also provides a range of more comprehensive therapies.  These include DBT, ACT, EMDR and IFS.

  Gayre can provide therapy for addictions, trauma (including childhood trauma) and a broad range of personal and inter-personal issues. He is comfortable providing therapy for all genders and all ages from mid adolescence.

  His approach is compassion-based.   He is available on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.

• Celeste Hargraves

  Administrative Services Specialist

  For all things administrative at Palmwoods Psychology, Celeste is our wonder woman!