Mr Darius Leo
Clinical Psychologist, Psychotherapist
TrueHope Psychology
Wynnum, Brisbane QLD 4178
In Person + Telehealth
Philosophy & Vision
Darius brings a calm, confident, and reassuring presence to the therapy room. He is a published author and adjunct university lecturer. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology with Honours, and a Masters in Clinical Psychology. He is interested in the relationships between philosophy, cultural beliefs, and psychotherapy. He is passionate about helping you to find relief from your distress and enjoy your best possible life.
Background
Darius has completed the eight-year training program to become an endorsed clinical psychologist. He has previously taught psychology as an adjunct university lecturer and published research on the effects of trauma on spiritual and religious beliefs. He continues to have ongoing interests in research and public education. He has recently completed a survival guide to trauma and relationships and is developing new projects in the philosophical aspects of therapy and the internalisation of the therapist's dialogues in the client's stream of consciousness.
He has held previous supervisory and teaching positions in community mental health and psychology.
Services
Quality Provision
If you are struggling with uncertainty about yourself, your relationships, or your future, Darius can help. He is highly skilled at helping with relationship problems and painful emotions. He uses EMDR, insight based, mindful, and trauma focused therapies to help people make lasting change.
Areas of Special Interest
Accreditations
- Masters of Psychology (Clinical) - 2017
- Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) - 2014
Modalities
ACT - CBT - EMDR - Existential - Psychodynamic - Trauma-Informed
Therapy Approach
My approach to therapy is centred on the idea of 'personhood'. It is my belief that, as psychologist, we don't work with cases or illnesses, but with people. This may seem like a small point to make but it makes a big change to how a psychologist will interact with their clients.
By seeing the person first and the person's problems second, it creates an environment where a genuine human connection can be formed between the therapist and client. Psychologists have a range of helpful strategies, but these don't tend to be effective unless a genuine bond has been formed. For this to happen, there needs to be 'two humans' in a room collaborating on a joint project.
Professional Associations
- Australian Psychological Society
- EMDRAA
Practice Locations
Floor 4
10/182 Bay Terrace
Wynnum QLD 4178
The Wynnum office has plenty of free parking available in the surrounding streets. It is 650 m from Wynnum Central Train Station.
Appointments
All appointments are 50 minutes in length and start on the hour. If a client is late the session can continue and finishes at the allotted time. A cancellation fee is charged for less than two days' notice.
Fees & Insurance
I believe in making therapy accessible to people in need and charge a sliding scale. This means that I reduce my standard rate so that people on centrelink benefits and disability pensions pay a smaller gap fee.
Payment Options
All payments are processed with credit or debt cards via the encrypted booking system. No cash payments can be accepted. Payment receipts are sent via email and these can be submitted by clients to their private health cover if they wish.
Contact Darius
Please contact me to make an appointment
A conversation with Darius Leo
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When I was 17 I was walking through an opp shop with a friend and came across a book on psychology. As I was flicking through the pages I thought that it looked interesting. I paid 70c for it and took it home. It was fascinating and I just kept reading chapter after chapter.
I didn't go straight into psychology but never forgot what I read. I later worked in community mental health before enrolling in a psychology honours degree. I loved what I learnt from time studying and still read and write each week. -
Much of the way we experience our world is centred around the other people that we encounter. I am heavily influenced by approaches that examine the subjective and contextual elements of these interactions. These intersubjective approaches emphasise the interactions between therapists and clients. These are good analogies for how we all interact with the other people in our lives.
I am perpetually drawn back to existential philosophies. We live in a time when cultural and technological changes are occurring more rapidly now than ever before. Our fundamental questions about life are becoming ever more relevant - who are we, what is the purpose of our lives, what is that best way to live. Existential philosophies do not give ready made answers to these questions but act as guides as we find ways to answer these questions for ourselves. They help us to shape the questions that we ask and work through the anxieties that challenges present.
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I am most interested in transformative turning points in our lives. It is intriguing to examine both how we influence power over our lives and also how the events in our lives change who we are. Births, deaths, starting and ending relationships - these all influence who we become. I have also conducted research on how traumatic experiences influences our spiritual and existential beliefs
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A am an integrative therapist. I primarily think in terms of psychodynamic therapy but will use cognitive-behavioural, eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), and experiential techniques depending on your needs. This allows me to be responsive to different needs as they emerge during the therapeutic process and adapt the therapy accordingly.
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This depends on whether you are seeking to find relief from emotional distress, gain insight into why you act the way you do, or process traumatic memories from the past.
A good general rule of thumb is that by the end of the third session you will likely feel engaged in the therapy and be confident that the therapy is moving in the right direction. I will typically do a review with you at this time to make sure this is happening. -
It is an interesting question. I don't think about people as being either "good' or "bad'. We are simply people. Therapy has certainly made me a different person. I have come to much deeper understanding of myself by doing therapy. Everything that you learn about other people teaches you a little something about yourself.
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To be honest, I just really like spending time with people. Although it does have its difficult moments I find therapy to be very enjoyable. You also get to see people do some pretty amazing things. I'm frequently amazed by how courageous my clients can be.
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Like everyone, I have normal fluctuations in mood and energy. Doing therapy is closely aligned with my personal values. If I am having a day when I'm not performing at my peak, I reflect on why I do therapy and that keeps me on the right track. I find therapy itself to be energizing and it's not unusual for me to feel motivation building throughout the day.
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The time that we have on this planet is quite short. We could choose to be a little kinder to each other while we are here. I believe that a lot of the world's problems could be reduced simply by caring well for our families.
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Atticus Finch - a fictional small-town lawyer played by Gregory Peck in the film "To Kill a Mocking Bird'. It's also a great book. Atticus is a life-long hero of mine. He embodies what it means to be an everyday person who has the courage to live in harmony with his personal values. If I can do the same in my life, then will consider it to be a life well-lived.