Meet the Team

 

Mr Lyndon Barei

BA (Psych)(Hons), MPsych (Coun), MAPS

Lyndon commenced his training to become a Psychologist in 1997. After completing a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Psychology and an Honours degree in Psychology, Lyndon subsequently completed a Master of Counselling Psychology. Lyndon was trained in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) by the Centre for Psychotherapy in 2008. Since then Lyndon has undertaken 36 months as a Skills Group trainer and undertaken Individual Therapy with numerous clients. Lyndon has also completed several training courses with Behavioral Tech, the company founded by the developer of DBT, Dr Marsha Linhean. Specifically, Lyndon has completed the ten-day/six month Intensive training as well as the 5-day Advanced Intensive training and the two-day Mindfulness and Reality Acceptance training, the latter two of which were facilitated by Dr Linehan in the United States. Lyndon has also completed a number of workshops with Dr Linehan on the occasions that she has visited Australia. Lyndon has previously been the coordinator of another DBT program in the public mental health system. Lyndon is a registered Psychologist with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and is a member of both the Counselling and Clinical Colleges of the Australian Psychological Society (APS).

 
 

Ms Katherine (Kate) MacDonald

BEd/BPsych, GradCertMgt, MPhil, MAPS

Kate is a registered Psychologist with almost 30 years’ experience.  Kate works with clients experiencing a range of issues including feelings of depression and anxiety, difficulties with interpersonal relationships and self-esteem issues. 

Her special interest is in working with people with Borderline Personality Disorder and with clients who experience suicidal thoughts and self-harming behaviours. 

  • Kate was one of the founding members of the DBT Team at the Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital (RBWH) in 2003.

  • Kate was the original coordinator of the DBT Program at The Prince Charles Hospital (TPCH) in 2012 and involved in its inception.

  • Kate was the Personality Disorder Specialist incorporating coordination of the DBT Program at the RBWH from 2012 to 2021

  • Kate is now the Director of Dandelion Suites – Psychology practice in Bracken Ridge.

 
 

Ms Rebecca Medway

BA, BSocWork, MMntlHlth

Rebecca has, since 1999, worked in mental health services in Queensland, New South Wales and England in the areas of psychosocial rehabilitation, acute mental health and traumatic grief. Rebecca qualified as a Social Worker in 2002 and is a member of the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW). 

Rebecca has Dialectical Behaviour Therapy experience as a Skills Group trainer and Individual Therapist. She received her initial training in 2008 by the Centre for Psychotherapy, and then ten days of Intensive training with Marsha Linehan’s company Behavioral Tech. In 2013, Rebecca travelled to the United States of America for Advanced training conducted by Marsha Linehan in Mindfulness and DBT.

Rebecca has subsequently had training and experience in the evidence-based DBT adaptions for adolescents and families, DBT for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), treating feelings of emptiness, anhedonia, relationship chaos and Radically Open DBT.

Rebecca volunteers her time as a leader of the Family Connections program through National Education Alliance for Borderline Personality Disorder (NEA BPD).

 
 

Ms Kathy Madson

BSocWork (Hons), MMntlHlth

Kathy is a Social Worker who has been practising in various mental health settings since 1994. She has a Bachelor of Social Work (Hons, UNSW, 1994) and Master of Mental Health (UQ, 2010), and is a member of the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW). After seeing the positive effects of the use of Dialectical Behaviour Therapy for those with Borderline Personality Disorder, Kathy began a period of self study before receiving specialist training from the Centre for Psychotherapy (2003), followed by the 10 day Behavioral Tech DBT Intensive in 2005 and Behavioral Tech DBT Advanced Intensive facilitated by Dr Marsha Linehan herself in 2011. Kathy also attended further training with Dr Linehan during her visits to Australia. Kathy has been a member of comprehensive DBT programmes since 2003, and has been a Skills Group trainer, Individual Therapist and therapists’ consultation team member consistently since that time. She also supervises clinicians offering DBT and teaches in the application of DBT to health professionals and peer workers.

 
 

Dr Sarah Swannell

GradCertBiostat, BSocSci(Psych), MClinPsych, PhD

Sarah commenced her psychology career in research, working as Senior Researcher in the Discipline of Psychiatry at The University of Queensland from 2005-2014. She commenced clinical work in 2007, achieved full registration as a psychologist in 2009, completed a PhD in 2013, and earned a Master of Clinical Psychology in 2020.

Sarah has 16 years of clinical experience across a variety of settings, including private practice, community mental health, acute inpatient and private psychiatric hospitals. From 2013 to 2021 she coordinated the outpatient DBT Program at The Prince Charles Hospital (TPCH). Sarah is skilled in addressing a wide range of difficulties among clients across all age groups, with a particular focus on working with individual adults and facilitating groups.

In her private practice, Sarah works with adults from a trauma-informed approach, primarily utilising Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT). Sarah’s work is heavily informed by the theory of structural dissociation and neurobiology of attachment.

Sarah volunteers her time to coordinate the Brisbane North Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) Mental Health Professionals’ Network and holds an Academic Title of Lecturer at The University of Queensland. Sarah has advanced training in DBT and is a Trained EMDR Practitioner with the EMDR Association of Australia (EMDRAA). Sarah is a member of the EMDR International Association (EMDRIA), the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD), and the Organized and Extreme Abuse Special Interest Group (OEA-SIG) of the ISSTD.

In her spare time, Sarah enjoys riding her road bike, reading, and spending time with her two young children.

 
 

Dr Chris May

MBBS

Chris is a registered medical practitioner having graduated from the University of Queensland in 1991.  He worked in Queensland Health exclusively in the field of Psychiatry for 26½ years, both as a Registrar and as a Senior Medical Officer at different times in a wide range of practice settings.  These ranged from Child and Adolescent Psychiatry to Adult Psychiatry to Older Person’s Mental Health, both Acute and Rehabilitation services, Inpatient and Community Mental Health settings, and Public and Private facilities.  Other subspecialty experience includes Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry (including attachments in Gender Clinic, Neurology, Oncology, Paediatrics, Sexual Health and Pain Medicine) and Addiction Psychiatry. 

Chris worked within the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital DBT Team as both an Individual Therapist and a Group Skills trainer from 2017-2021.  He completed the Behavioral Tech Comprehensive DBT Training program in 2018-2019.  These experiences were the highlight of his career to date,  revolutionising his thinking and approach towards the struggles many people face in the many forms and results of emotional sensitivity and dysregulation. 

Chris commenced private practice in 2021 with DBTBrisbane as an Individual Therapist and Skills Group trainer, also providing medical mental health care at a primary care level.