Home About Lindsay

A psychologist who starts
with your story

Before any strategy or framework, I want to understand what is actually going on for you. That is where every piece of good work begins.

Lindsay Perlman, Clinical Psychologist at InFocus Psychology Bondi Junction
15+
Years in
practice
About Lindsay

Clinical psychology with genuine warmth at the centre

Hi, I am Lindsay Perlman. I have been a registered clinical psychologist for more than 15 years, and I work in a way that puts the relationship first. That is not a phrase I use lightly. It means that before we talk about tools or strategies or frameworks, I want to understand your story properly. What has been hard. What has been tried. What you are hoping for.

I have a particular passion for new mothers and families navigating the early years. Postpartum depression does not always look the way people expect, and too many women sit with it quietly for far too long. I also work with teenagers who are finding life harder than it looks from the outside, and with adults who know something needs to shift but are not quite sure where to start.

Before my clinical career, I spent a decade in organisational psychology at Deloitte, working with executives and teams through large-scale change. That experience shapes how I work with high-functioning people who are carrying a lot, performing well on the outside, and quietly struggling on the inside.

I hold two Masters degrees, one in clinical psychology and one in organisational psychology, and I am accredited in Circle of Security, which is an internationally recognised perinatal attachment program. My approach is eclectic because people are not one-size-fits-all. I draw on CBT, ACT, Schema Therapy, DBT, EMDR, and psychodynamic work, and I choose what fits the person in front of me.

BScPsych (Hons) MClinPsych MOrgPsych MAPS AHPRA Registered Circle of Security Gottman Trained
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How I work

Relationship before technique.
Always.

Every modality I use is a tool, not a formula. What matters more than any specific approach is that the person sitting across from me feels genuinely understood before anything else happens.

CBT and ACT

Practical tools for understanding how thoughts, feelings, and behaviours connect, and how to gently loosen patterns that are no longer serving you.

Schema Therapy

Deeper work that explores the patterns formed early in life and how they show up now, particularly useful when the same themes keep reappearing.

DBT

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy offers concrete, evidence-based skills for emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and navigating intense feelings.

EMDR

Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing is a well-researched approach for trauma that helps the brain process distressing memories differently.

Psychodynamic therapy

Exploratory work that makes space for reflection, meaning-making, and understanding the deeper emotional forces that shape how we relate and respond.

Circle of Security

An internationally accredited perinatal program grounded in attachment theory. Built for parents who want to understand their baby's emotional needs from the start.

"With greater self-awareness comes increased self-compassion, understanding and acceptance."

Lindsay Perlman  |  Clinical Psychologist

My path

Where I have been shapes
how I work now

My background is not linear, and I think that is one of the more useful things about me. I have worked in corporate boardrooms and psychiatric hospitals, with executives and with new mothers, and that breadth shapes how I see people.

Early career

Organisational Psychology at Deloitte

Ten years working in change management, executive coaching, and leadership development at one of the world's largest consulting firms. This is where I learned how people behave under pressure, what high performance actually costs, and how organisations can either support or quietly erode the people inside them.

Clinical training

Masters in Clinical Psychology

A second postgraduate degree and a full pivot into clinical practice. My research focused on attachment, specifically the impact of early infant social withdrawal from the caregiver and what that means for social, emotional, and cognitive development. It cemented a lasting focus on early relationships and perinatal mental health.

Hospital and clinic work

Psychiatric hospitals, anxiety clinics, and early intervention

I worked across a range of health settings before private practice, including psychiatric inpatient settings and specialist anxiety clinics. I ran groups on postnatal depression, mother-baby attachment, and parenting. That clinical breadth grounds everything I do in private practice now.

Now

InFocus Psychology, Bondi Junction

Private practice working with new mothers and families, adolescents, adults, and couples. In-person and telehealth. Medicare rebates available with a Mental Health Treatment Plan. And a free 15-minute call to start, because the first step should not feel like a leap.

Who I work with

Finding the right fit for where you are now

I work with people at different chapters of life. Here is a little more about the four main areas where I spend most of my time.

🌱

Perinatal and postnatal

Pregnancy, birth, and the months that follow are a profound transition, and postpartum depression and anxiety are far more common than most people admit out loud. If you are not feeling the way you expected to feel, that is not a failing. It is a signal worth paying attention to. I work with mothers, fathers, and families navigating the full emotional weight of the early years.

Postpartum depression Perinatal anxiety Mother-baby attachment Circle of Security Birth trauma Parenting
🌿

Adolescents (ages 10 to 21)

Teenagers are navigating identity, friendships, school pressure, family dynamics, and the digital world all at once. That is genuinely a lot. I work with young people who are finding things harder than it looks from the outside, including anxiety, depression, emotion regulation difficulties, and the particular loneliness of feeling like you cannot show anyone what is really going on.

Anxiety Depression Emotion regulation Identity School stress Social difficulties
💛

Adults

Anxiety, depression, burnout, life transitions, grief. Sometimes people come because something specific has happened. Sometimes they come because they have been carrying something quietly for a long time and they have finally decided they do not want to do that anymore. Both are completely valid reasons to start. I have a particular affinity for high-functioning people who are performing well on the outside and struggling on the inside.

Anxiety Depression Burnout Grief Life transitions Work stress
🤝

Couples

Couples therapy is not just for relationships in crisis. Sometimes it is for two people who want to communicate better before small tensions become bigger ones. Sometimes it is for couples going through a significant transition, including a new baby, a career change, or a loss. I am trained in Gottman method and I work to help couples feel genuinely heard by each other again.

Communication Conflict repair Intimacy Gottman method New parents Relationship transitions
What I believe

A few things I think matter

These are not polished marketing statements. They are the things that shape how I actually work in the room, session to session.

01

The relationship is the work

Research consistently shows that the quality of the therapeutic relationship is the strongest predictor of outcome. I take that seriously. Before any technique, I want to earn your trust.

02

Insight enables growth

That is the idea behind the name InFocus. When something comes into focus, you can finally see it clearly. And once you can see it clearly, you can begin to work with it differently. Greater self-awareness brings greater self-compassion. That is not a theory. It is what I watch happen in the room.

03

Early help is not weakness

People often wait until things are very bad before they reach out. You do not have to. Coming to therapy when things are hard, but not catastrophic, is one of the best investments you can make.

04

Context shapes everything

I do not believe in seeing people in isolation from their families, their histories, their workplaces, or their culture. What happens to us, and around us, shapes us deeply.

05

Curiosity over judgment

I am genuinely curious about people. I do not approach a session with a fixed idea about what someone should think or feel or do. I approach it wanting to understand what is true for them.

06

Seasons change, and so can you

This is at the heart of why I do this work. People are not fixed. Change is possible, often in ways that surprise us. I have watched it happen too many times to think otherwise.

Common questions

Things people often want to know

If you are wondering whether to reach out, these might help. And if your question is not here, just call or email me directly.

What is the difference between a psychologist and a therapist or counsellor?

A registered psychologist holds a minimum of six years of university-level training, including a postgraduate degree, and is regulated by AHPRA, which is Australia's health practitioner registration authority. That means you can check my registration status, and there is a formal complaints process if you ever needed it. Counsellors and therapists have varying levels of training and are not subject to the same regulatory framework. It also means that as a psychologist I can offer Medicare rebates when you have a Mental Health Treatment Plan from your GP.

Do I need a referral to see you?

You do not need a referral to book an appointment. You can contact me directly and we can start from there. If you would like to access Medicare rebates, you will need to see your GP first and ask for a Mental Health Treatment Plan. That plan allows you to claim rebates on up to 10 individual sessions per calendar year. I can walk you through that process if it is new to you.

What happens in the first session?

The first session is mostly me listening. I want to understand what has brought you in, what things have been like, and what you are hoping might change. I will ask some questions to get a fuller picture, but it is not an interrogation. You do not need to have it all worked out before you come. Many people arrive with a vague sense that something is not right, and we work out the shape of it together. By the end of the first session, we usually have a clearer sense of what we might focus on and what working together could look like.

How do I know if you are the right psychologist for me?

The honest answer is that you will not know until you have had a conversation. That is exactly why I offer a free 15-minute call before any booking. It gives you a chance to get a feel for whether the way I work sounds like a good fit for you. There is no obligation and no pressure. If after speaking with me you feel like someone else might be a better fit, I am genuinely happy to help point you in the right direction. Getting the right fit matters more to me than filling a spot in my schedule.

Do you work with postpartum depression and postnatal anxiety?

Yes, and it is one of my main areas of focus. Perinatal mental health, which includes both the antenatal period and the postnatal period, is something I feel deeply committed to. Postpartum depression does not always look like crying all day. It can look like numbness, irritability, feeling disconnected from your baby, or like you are going through the motions without really being present. Postnatal anxiety can look like constant worry, hypervigilance, difficulty sleeping even when the baby sleeps, or a persistent sense that something is wrong. Both are more common than people realise and both respond well to the right support. I am also accredited in Circle of Security, which is an attachment-based program for parents.

Do you see teenagers and young people?

Yes. I work with young people from around age 10 through to 21. Adolescence is a genuinely complex time and I take it seriously. I work with teenagers navigating anxiety, depression, emotion regulation difficulties, school pressure, identity questions, and social challenges. When I work with younger adolescents I usually have an initial conversation with the parents as well, so we can all understand the picture together. As young people get older, sessions are more independent, and confidentiality is maintained appropriately.

What does your background at Deloitte have to do with psychology?

More than you might think. Spending a decade working inside large organisations, supporting executives and teams through change, gave me a very particular understanding of how smart, capable, driven people can end up in real difficulty. I understand the culture of high performance and what it costs. I understand why people in demanding careers often feel like they cannot let their guard down, and what happens over time when they do not. That experience is genuinely useful when I am working with adults who are functioning on the outside and struggling on the inside, and it means I can work with them without judgment and without misunderstanding what their world actually looks like.

Do you offer telehealth sessions?

Yes. I offer both in-person sessions at Harley Place, Level 4 Suite 410, 251 Oxford Street, Bondi Junction, and telehealth sessions via video. Medicare rebates apply to telehealth sessions in the same way they do for face-to-face appointments. Telehealth works well for many people, particularly those with young children at home, busy schedules, or who live outside the eastern suburbs. If you are not sure which option suits you better, we can talk about that on the initial call.

Is everything I say confidential?

Yes, with a small number of legally required exceptions. Confidentiality is something I take very seriously, and I will explain clearly at the start what those exceptions are. They broadly relate to situations where there is a serious risk of harm to yourself or someone else, or where I am required by law to disclose information. Outside of those circumstances, what you tell me stays between us. I will always talk through confidentiality with you at the beginning so there are no surprises.

How is seeing a psychologist different from talking to a good friend?

Good friends are genuinely valuable, and I would never suggest otherwise. But there are things that are hard to explore fully with someone who knows you, loves you, and has their own feelings about your situation. In therapy the relationship is entirely yours. I do not need anything from you. I am not worried about how what you say will affect our relationship, or how it reflects on people we both know. That freedom changes what people are able to say and what they are able to discover. I am also trained to notice patterns and ask questions in a way that opens things up rather than closing them down.

Ready to take the first
small step?

The free 15-minute call is exactly what it sounds like. No forms, no pressure, no obligation. Just a conversation to see if we are a good fit.

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