Nick Averbuj

Clinical Psychologist Registrar

My name is Nick and I am a Clinical Psychologist Registrar. Interestingly, the best predictor of therapy “working” is not actually the type/style of therapy that you’re given… It’s not even how skilled or expereinced your psychologist is… It’s actually just whether you share a good rapport with your psychologist. And logically, we can see why: if you don’t like and trust your psychologist, then you’re not going to be as open or committed to the therapy process.

So, instead of just telling you about my training and experience, I’m going to talk about the way I approach therapy and what you can expect from working with me. And if that seems to click with you, then we’re already heading in the right direction.

My colleagues describe my process as “a psychotherapy model that employs a psychoanalytic and person-centred approach”. What this means for you is that:

  1. I generally apply a longer-term approach to therapy: in the vast majority of people, it’s rare that a meaningful shift in the way you approach life can be created in less than 6 weeks.
  2. If it’s relevant, we’ll touch on how past events or feelings have contributed to the way you now approach the world; understanding the whole story is often important in making sustainable changes.
  3. I recognise that you are a complex combination of your past, your perceptions, your feelings and experiences; this means your therapy will be an individually tailored process.

Connected to that, I have experience in formal treatments (e.g. CBT, DBT, Schema Therapy) and these are all employed within the above framework, as needed.

The people who have found working with me have had a range of symptoms (anxiety, sadness, demotivation, low self-esteem, excessive drinking, drug use etc…); a lot of the clients I have been successful with in the past describe things like:

  • They are conflicted about needing to make a change;
  • They have lost a sense of identity/meaning (or are struggling to find one);
  • They feel worried and can’t pinpoint why,
  • They’re afraid they’re addicted to a substance (or way of life);
  • They have strong feelings they can’t control (but want to);

I mainly work one-on-one, but also find that couples and families respond to this deeper way of approaching therapy as learning about the unconscious processes that are driving your reactions is strongly correlated with creating lasting change.

In our first session, I’ll ask some questions and we’ll talk about what’s been bothering you and what you’d like to get from therapy. From there, our sessions will be about what I call “moving the psychological furniture”. Specifically, that means becoming aware of the underlying feelings and assumptions you have so that they no longer drive you to certain reactions or feelings that cause you distress.

Instead, there might also be a number of simple practical things I can suggest that can have a great effect on your mood and sense of fulfillment. So, we might also just spend four sessions together, if those tools or a new perspective is all you need to resolve your issues.

Nick’s Training and Associations:

  • Committee Member of the CG Jung Society of WA (2011 – 2014);
  • National Police Clearance and Working With Children Check (current);
  • CBT for Trauma (2016);
  • Introductory courses on Schema Therapy and Somatic Experiencing.

Working with couples and families

Nick loves to work with couples who are experiencing difficulties in their relationships such as conflict, communication, addiction, breaches of trust and intimacy issues. His approach to working with couples is communication focused and psychodynamic. His aim is to help you build a deeper connection and understanding of yourself and your partner. Nick believes that bringing hidden feelings to the consciousness, is an important part of resolving present difficulties.

Nick’s approach to family counselling is to assist with improving communication and understanding of individuals and the family unit. A psychodynamic approach to family therapy focuses on unconscious processes and unresolved conflicts but views them in the context of family relationships. Nick can assist with parenting, teen issues, blended families and more.

Working with Children/Teens

Nick has a great capacity to connect with young people. He is a personal and directive psychologist that is well suited to listen, connect, have fun and engage with your young person!


The issues I am experienced and passionate about working with are:

  • Childhood trauma
  • Relationship difficulties
  • Low self-esteem
  • Parenting
  • Separation/divorce
  • Blended families
  • Adjustment disorders
  • Depression
  • Eating disorders
  • Anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder
  • Life transition difficulties
  • Narcissism
  • Self-harm or suicidality
  • Lack of motivation
  • Attachment issues
  • Children
  • Grief and Loss
  • Personality disorders