Ernst Meyer (Convenor) is originally from Bavaria in the south of Germany, and migrated to Australia in 1995. As a contemporary somatic psychotherapist in private practice he is working with adults, couples and teenage children. Ernst joined the leadership group of the PACFA’s Somatic Psychotherapy modality in 2017, and has been an educator in somatic psychotherapy since 2021.
Psychotherapy is a valid and powerful clinical alternative to psychology and psychiatry. When practiced as a non-medical talk therapy it differs significantly from medical and natural-scientific approaches to so-called mental health. As the Convenor of the College of Psychotherapy his aim is to strengthen psychotherapy’s standing both within PACFA as well as in the wider community.
Lindy Spanger Lindy is a Clinical Soul Centred Psychotherapist with a B.Ed. Lindy has been working in private practice for over 15 years and has recently completed teaching the three year in depth training in Soul Centred Psychotherapy. Lindy is currently completing her training with the Wheel of Supervision to become a supervisor.
Ermanno Bergami was born in Italy and has been practising as a clinical body-psychotherapist for the last 43 years. He is also an accredited supervisor. In London in 1980, he finished his first psychotherapy training in Bioenergetics. Ermanno has worked as a psychotherapist in the UK, Holland, Germany and Italy. 20 years ago, he moved to Australia, where he currently works in private practice with individual, couples and as a supervisor. In 2016 he completed additional training in Functional Analysis, a contemporary psychosomatic psychotherapy approach. Ermanno has devoted many years of his professional life working with complex traumas and personality disorders and in particular the relationship between trauma and addiction. Together with other colleagues, he has contributed to the development of a new approach in Group Supervision, called “Intervision”. Ermanno is also the director of, and an educator for, The Australian Institute of Functional Analysis.
Martha Calhoun is a Transpersonal and Experiential Psychotherapist with 30+years experience in private practice working with adults and children in individual and group settings. She is a trainer in this modality of psychotherapy and an accredited supervisor. Martha has also undertaken study in social sciences and psychology and more recently in forest therapy. She is keen to support the presence of psychotherapy as a profession in Australia and to further understanding of the meaningful and effective contribution psychotherapy can make in the mental health space.
Jodie Gale has been a been a depth - psychotherapist in private practice for over 20 years. She is the founder of The Psychosynthesis Centre, Trauma Warriors, Jodie Gale Soul-Centred Therapy for Women, Opening the Door on Private Practice Facebook Group and The Soul Sessions with Jodie Gale Podcast. She is a Clinical Supervisor, Private Practice Business Coach, Trainer and Facilitator. Jodie is passionate about the field of psychotherapy, and the deep, personal and spiritual work that is required to do this work. Throughout the pandemic, Jodie turned to nature as she grappled with an existential crisis and dark night of the soul – this led her to her year-long training in eco-psychotherapy – a field that is growing and necessary, more now than ever before. Jodie works tirelessly to promote the benefits of psychotherapy to those who have experienced trauma and deep suffering. Psychotherapy is both an art and a science, and the deep relationship that IS psychotherapy, changes lives from the inside out.
Lana Sciberras
Clinical Psychotherapist & Mindfulness therapist
Lana is a Gestalt psychotherapist with a deepening of this model from extensive training in Process-oriented psychology. She works compassionately and empathically with clients, carefully following and unfolding their process, to allow for what’s trying to emerge at a deeper level that will assist with growth and meaning. She combines psychotherapy with mindfulness and compassion focused therapies. Lana is a long term meditation practitioner, which supports her ability to be present with clients, and informs facilitation of Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) groups for relapse prevention for depression, anxiety and other mental health disorders including addiction. She has educated professionals at Southern Synergy, Monash University in facilitating MBCT, and worked for many years in a psychiatric hospital in Melbourne facilitating outpatient and inpatient therapy, mindfulness, compassion and addiction groups.
Currently, Lana is involved in two research studies as a therapist using psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD and Treatment resistant depression.