Deborah Brooks is a Clinical and Specialist Gastrointestinal Psychologist. She holds full membership with the Australian Psychological Society (APS), is a Fellow of the College of Clinical Psychologists (FCCLP), is a member of the APS Interest Group, the Psychology of Eating Weight and Body Image (PEWBIG), and a Certified Eating Disorder Clinician (CEDC). Deborah is an experienced and skilled professional having worked in community, university, specialist clinic and private practice settings.

Deborah has a long-standing interest in the bidirectional relationship between mind and body, in particular the way in which not only past trauma, but also chronic/acute stress and the simple outworking of the daily grind can contribute to both physical and mental `dis-ease’.

She has a specific focus in supporting and treating people experiencing functional gastrointestinal disorders including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), as well as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and coeliac disease. She also has experience in supporting people suffering from chronic health conditions, in particular ME/CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome).

She utilises an evidence-based and eclectic approach in response to patient needs, drawing on applied Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioural therapies such as mindfulness-based CBT, ACT, DBT, Narrative Therapy and Positive Psychology models. She also employs Clinical Hypnotherapy and Gut Directed Hypnotherapy, as evidence-based treatments for IBS and chronic pain.

Deborah is a warm and empathic clinician with a focus on the whole person not simply symptom presentation. Her goal for therapy is that patients walk away with a toolbox of practical strategies that they are able to employ long after treatment has finished. Deborah has a preference for multidisciplinary care and is happy to be contacted by referring and treating health practitioners.-