Our people

Jacqui Brown

Jacqui is a clinical psychologist, registered with the Psychology Board of Australia / Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and she is also the director and founder of Complex Psychology.

Jacqui has worked with clients who have complex needs since 2001. Her broad range of experience spans services such as alcohol and other drug (AOD) and harm reduction programs, dual diagnosis, forensic services, international development programs in Cambodia and she has extensive experience in program management in the health and social services area. Jacqui has presented at a range of national and international conferences.

Jacqui’s areas of interest include risk assessment and the provision of expert witness testimony for people with cognitive disability involved in the court system. She also has an interest in the development of service plans and behaviour support plans for clients with complex needs, mental health and personality assessment and coordination under the Multiple & Complex Needs Initiative (MACNI). Jacqui works with a range of services to improve their capacity to work with clients who have complex forensic, dual disability, dual diagnosis and mental health problems and who present with significant risk issues.

Michelle James

Michelle is a psychologist registered with the Psychology Board of Australia / Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) since 2005. She has worked across public and private sectors in the delivery of direct client services, the supervision of staff and the co-ordination of service delivery within a custodial setting.

Michelle is experienced in providing individual and group based psychological intervention to clients with complex needs across a range of settings, including within private practice, custody, and in-patient psychiatric and outreach settings. Michelle has experience in the assessment of risk, particularly amongst offenders, and she also provides Care Plan Coordination under the Multiple & Complex Needs Initiative (MACNI).

Megan Darwish

Megan is the Office Manager at Complex Psychology. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and has also completed further studies in Office Administration and community services. Megan has several years of experience as an EA and in administration roles across various industries, including not for profit, health, community services, recruitment and real estate. She looks after all of the practical day to day management of the office and is a key point of contact for Complex Psychology staff, stakeholders and clients.

Jasmin Hudson

Jasmin is an experienced and dedicated social worker with over 10 years' experience in community mental health, disability and complex needs. At the heart of Jasmin’s work is the belief that building a safe and strong therapeutic relationship is key to supporting an individual to reach their goals and positively impact their quality of life.

Jasmin provides Specialist Support Coordination and Positive Behaviour Support under the NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme) and coordination under MACNI (Multiple and Complex Needs Initiative).

Grace Moore

Grace is an occupational therapist and Senior Clinician at Complex Psychology, registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and Occupational Therapy Australia (OTA). She has a special interest in the area of forensic disability and is skilled in working with complex and high-risk clients including those with co-occurring diagnoses of intellectual disability (ID), acquired brain injury (ABI), autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and severe mental illness. Grace has prior experience working in public and private settings including community and inpatient mental health and secure forensic facilities.

Grace is passionate about advocating for the rights of her clients and promoting every opportunity for their increased independence and autonomy. She has strong interests in person-centred care, cross sector collaboration, risk identification and management and recovery through activity. Grace is now utilising her experience to provide care coordination under the NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme) and MaCNI (Multiple and Complex Needs Initiative) programs, and also undertakes independent occupational therapy assessments and positive behaviour support.

Victoria Athanasiadis

Victoria is a Senior Occupational Therapist registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA), and a member of Occupational Therapy Australia (OTA). Victoria studied a Bachelor of Health Science and Master of Occupational therapy through Latrobe University. She has gained experience working across inpatient and outpatient public health services, and within private practice clinical settings with NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme) participants. Victoria has experience working with youth and adult clients with multiple and complex needs, including physical, neurological, and psychosocial disability.

Victoria acknowledges that each client has their own unique occupational identity and is passionate about utilising a person-centred, holistic model of care to support their ability to re-engage in social and community settings and improve their overall quality of life.
She has a strong interest in the area of identifying her client’s cognitive, sensory and emotional needs to minimise risk, manage behaviours of concerns, develop a strong sense of self, and further support their ability to engage in valued day to day activities.

Victoria has collaborated with diverse treating teams, and places a high importance on clear and effective communication in order to best advocate for her client’s needs and in helping them achieve their identified goals Victoria is now utilising her experience to provide Specialist Support Coordination under the NDIS, NDIS positive behaviour support, assessment, care plan development, and care plan coordination under MACNI (Multiple and Complex Needs Initiative) programs), and is also completing Occupational Therapy assessments

Alex Talent

Alex Talent is a Social Worker registered with the AASW and located in Mildura, branching Complex Psychology’s services to the North West region of Victoria. Alex completed her Master of Social Work degree in 2015 through LaTrobe University and has since worked in the disability field as well as an Adviser in agency monitoring and compliance. Alex brings with her knowledge in client advocacy, local support availability, funding requirements and service delivery requirements. Alex is passionate in being able to use this knowledge to create systematic change and promote system growth for individuals with complex needs.

Stacey Politis

Stacey is a Complex Client Consultant registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and is currently completing a Doctor of Philosophy (Clinical Psychology). Her research interests include clinical and social psychology, including the motivations driving people in highly emotive contexts. Stacey has worked with children and youth presenting with complex trauma and mental health, and she is particularly passionate about supporting people with complex needs to live more meaningful lives.

Stacey provides Positive Behaviour Support under the NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme) and coordination for clients under the NDIS and MACNI (Multiple and Complex Needs Initiative).

Rebecca Halsall

Rebecca is the Intake Coordinator at Complex Psychology. She holds a Bachelor of Psychological Science with further studies on the horizon. Rebecca has several years of administrative experience across various industries, including construction, engineering, and retail. She has experience working with children and young people presenting with complex trauma and mental health and she is particularly interested in working with people around sexual relationships issues and well-being. She looks after all new referral requests and consults with senior management around the management and allocation for the Complex Psychology waitlist.

Irene Economou

Irene is a passionate and experienced social worker with over 7 years working across the public and private sectors in disability, mental health, youth justice and complex needs.

Irene has completed her Bachelor of Human Services and Master of Social Work. She is an accredited social worker registered with the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW).

Irene is committed to upholding clients voice and choice and is dedicated to supporting high-risk individuals with complex needs, often presenting with dual diagnosis and forensic involvement.

Irene is now utilising her experience to provide care coordination within the Multiple and Complex Needs Initiative (MACNI) and National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). She also undertakes positive behaviour support and MACNI assessment and care plan development.

Karen Rodriguez

Karen is a forensic psychologist registered with the Australian Health practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). Her qualifications are a Bachelor of Psychology obtained in Colombia and a Master of Forensic Sciences (Forensic and Penitentiary Psychology) from Spain. Karen came to Australia with six years of experience in the forensic psychological system in Colombia conducting forensic psychological assessments of victims of crime and of individuals being accused of serious crimes.

In Australia, Karen has experience in assessing risk of general, violent, and sexual re-offending of individuals with a variety of complex presentations. Karen has also developed comprehensive forensic assessments for individuals with complex needs, as well as assessments and care plans for the Multiple and Complex Needs Initiative (MACNI). She is a member of the Australian Psychological Society.

Amanda Giordano

Amanda is an experienced social worker registered with the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW). Amanda completed a Bachelor of Criminal Justice Administration at RMIT University and obtained a Master of Social Work degree at La Trobe University. Amanda has experience working across various service systems and is highly skilled in collaborating with multidisciplinary teams to work towards impactful systemic change. Most notably, Amanda brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in the forensic setting, working in the Youth Justice system supporting highly marginalised young people with multiple and complex needs, including complex trauma, psychosocial disability and extreme social disadvantage.

Amanda is passionate about client advocacy and utilising a holistic model of care to support individuals to enhance their community inclusion and to improve their overall quality of life. Amanda is now utilising her skills to provide Care Plan Coordination under the Multiple and Complex Needs Initiative (MACNI) and Specialist Support Coordination and Positive Behaviour Support under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

Garth Boyd

Garth is a social worker, having completed the Master of Social Work at Latrobe University and is registered with the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW). He has over 13 years' experience working in the community services and clinical mental health fields. Garth has worked in varied roles with experience in psychosocial mental health, severe and persistent mental health coordination, clinical mental health crisis assessment and Child and Youth Mental Health Services. Garth strives to promote positive change, address systems barriers, and reduce stigma in the lives of people with a mental illness in the community.

Garth is currently providing Positive Behaviour Support, Care Plan Coordination under the Multiple and Complex Needs Initiative (MACNI) and Specialist Support Coordination.

Jeraldine Rule

Jeraldine is an AASW registered Social Worker located in Mildura and has 7 years of experience in the local region, having worked in the not-for-profit sector throughout that time.

Jeraldine has experience working in the NDIS, community mental health, children’s mental health and complex care coordination, having worked with people across the lifespan in these spaces. Jeraldine has a keen interest in supporting people living with mental illness and disability and believes that holding hope is essential to her role as a Social Worker. Jeraldine’s approach focuses on building strong and meaningful relationships with clients, their loved ones and services to improve client’s quality of life and outcomes.

Jeraldine provides Specialist Support Coordination and Positive Behaviour Support under the NDIS (National Disability Scheme) and coordination under MACNI (Multiple and Complex Needs Initiative).

Ness Pitts

Ness (Vanessa) Pitts is a Psychologist registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). Ness has experience working across various systems, including the NDIS, public mental health, and the forensic sector.

Ness has experience in conducting comprehensive forensic risk assessments, including assessing risk of violent and sexual re-offending. She is also experienced in delivering individual and group-based psychological interventions to clients with a variety of complex presentations.

Ness provides Positive Behaviour Support under the NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme), individual psychological intervention under NDIS, psychological assessments, and care coordination under NDIS and MACNI (Multiple and Complex Needs Initiative).

Jenny Vo

Jenny is an Occupational Therapist and is registered through the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). Jenny comes with a range of experience in the forensic, complex disability and mental health space. Jenny has worked with both men and women within these spaces, advocating for living life with dignity and improving quality of life.

Jenny’s interests and expertise lie within functional assessments, individual intervention and group interventions focusing on improving daily living skills. She brings an honest, quirky approach to her life and work with others and feels strongly about putting in 110% for all her clients.

Thandie Mketwa

Thandie (she/her) is a Provisional Psychologist registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and is currently completing her student placement at Complex Psychology where her passion for hands-on engagement and advocacy has grown. She is dedicated to empowering individuals to lead more fulfilling lives. Thandie provides individual mental health support, Positive Behaviour Support under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), and co-support coordination under the NDIS.

Thandie has experience working in local government, assisting families experiencing various hardships in accessing resources to improve their wellbeing. She also has a wide range of experience working in private practice from being a research assistant, focusing on mental health issues, to being an intake clinician, conducting one-on-one assessments to determine service suitability and therapist allocation. Additionally, she serves as a workshop facilitator and wellbeing support for community and organisational workshops.

Thandie applies an intersectional approach to societal and individual issues aiming to achieve true inclusivity in research and mental health practices. By embracing this perspective, she strives to create more inclusive solutions in the field of mental health and advocacy.