Meet The Team

Meet Sue

Sue is a Psychologist based in the Hunter Valley on Wonnarua land. She is the director and principal at Valley Psychology where she leads a team of dedicated and creative psychologists. Sue has been working with marginalised and vulnerable communities for over 25 years as a psychologist and educator. She is an Australian Psychological Society (APS) registered supervisor, accredited EMDR practitioner with EMDRAA and is registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).

Sue is a registered Psychology, holds a bachelor’s degree in education, is a certified Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) practitioner, Equine Assisted Psychotherapist, certified Group Facilitator and Parenting Support Practitioner. She is also registered with the Australian Psychological Society, Outdoor Health Australia, Animal Therapies Ltd. and The Equine Psychotherapy Institute.

  • As a passionate advocate for nature-based therapies, Sue founded and co-ordinates the Nature Based Therapies interest group of the Mental Health Professionals Network Australia which promotes collaboration and professional support for those in the field. She has presented at several conferences including the Hunter New England Local Health District (HNEHD) Psychology Conference and the EMDRAA conference as well as lecturing into the Psychology course at the University of Newcastle (UON) on Equine Assisted and nature-based therapy and pathways to registration.

    Sue is also engaged in research through the UON as she seeks to deepen our current understanding nature’s role in the treatment of mental health conditions, foster meaningful discussion and increase accessibility to effective, mutually beneficial therapeutic interventions.

    Sue has worked with clients across the lifespan; her clinical work now focuses on treating adults and adolescents in individual and group therapy settings. She specialises in the treatment of various mental health presentations with a focus on integrating Nature and animal assisted processes into EMDR therapy. Sue also draws heavily from Mindfulness practices, creative self-expression, experiential, body-based interventions and ego state or parts therapies to inform her work.

Meet Nadine

Nadine is an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker and the founder of Hunter Valley Children’s Therapies (HVCT), located in the Hunter Valley of NSW on Wonnarua Land. HVCT offers a range of a range of evidence-based psychological interventions and despite the name, support people of all ages. HVCT is a unique practice because they offer Therapy in a rural setting, working alongside nature and animals for improved outcomes for our clients.

Nadine has over 20 years of experience in working with children and young people who have experiences of trauma, abuse and neglect, those with mental health challenges and children with special needs and disabilities. She takes a flexible approach to supporting clients and offers a range of Therapeutic options, including Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) and Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR).

Nadine has a particular interest in working alongside neurodivergent children, young people and adults and has developed a training package called Paddock Play, which aims to assist EAP/EAL practitioners to further develop their neurodivergent affirming practice, with the view of improving outcomes for children and their families.

  • Nadine has published case studies in Meg Kirby’s book, Equine Therapy Exposed and has presented at the Equine Psychotherapy Institute’s Conferences on Equine Assisted Psychotherapy with children, in particular Autistic children.

    Along with her experience as a practitioner, she has expertise in supervising other practitioners in public, non-government agencies and private practice, with a focus on supporting children and young people. She has completed the AASW’s award winning Advanced Supervision Program for the Mental Health sector and provides Clinical Supervision to Social Workers, Psychologists, Counsellors, other allied health professionals and those working in the field of Equine Assisted Psychotherapy and Leaning. She is Certified Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) Practitioner and an approved Supervisor with the Equine Psychotherapy Institute Australia where she provides clinical supervision to practitioners from both Australia and overseas during their journey towards accreditation and beyond.

A Collaborative Approach

Both Sue and Nadine started working independently in their separate nature-based practices when the field was just emerging in Australia. They soon realised the potential for isolation and the need for meaningful partnerships when working in the field of nature-based therapies. This led them to adopting a collaborative approach, designing and delivering group therapy programs, consultation and conference presentations as well as appearances and promotions of nature-based therapies at professional and community events.

Together, they seek to promote the validity and efficacy of nature-based therapies in the field of mental health through comprehensive professional development and ongoing research whilst encouraging positive, meaningful collaborations creating sustainability and growth in this important area of practice.