Our people combine years of experience in psychology, counselling and education.
Matthew Ryan —
Director & Psychologist
BPsychSc (Hons.), GradDipEd(Sec), MPsych, MAPS
Memberships
— Australian Psychological Society
— Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency
— Victorian Institute of Teaching
Matthew has over twenty-five years of combined psychology, counselling, and education experience. He started his career as a secondary teacher, before transitioning to the role of School Psychologist. Matthew now runs Regional Psychology Group in Wodonga where he partners with clients on mental health issues including trauma, grief, anxiety, depression, perinatal loss, and his core research area, managing complex career transitions.
Matthew brings a collaborative approach to counselling that empowers his clients to set clear goals and consistently evaluate their progress. He adapts a variety of counselling techniques to individuals’ desired outcomes and personal style to ensure they leave their sessions with practical strategies to manage their psychological health and wellbeing.
Matthew established his practice in regional Victoria motivated by a desire to increase access to quality mental health services for regional and rural Australians. He enjoys the many benefits of living in Northeast Victoria, including spectacular golf courses, and spending time in a rambling garden with his wife Marguerite, and their children Ava and Hamish.
Marguerite Ryan —
Program Manager, Kindred Spirits
BA (Hons.), MBA, GradDipPsych, Assoc MAPS, GAICD
Memberships
— Australian Institute of Company Directors
— Australian Human Resources Institute
— Australian Psychological Society (Associate Member)
Marguerite is program director of Kindred Spirits and Provisional Psychologist. Kindred Spirits is a mental health first aid program for bereaved parents following perinatal death.
Marguerite and Matthew established this program following the birth, and death, of their second child, Alexander, in 2017. Through Alexander’s life, they were supported with the intense dedication of the medical professionals who guided their son into the world. However, they were surprised by the limited psycho-social support on offer for bereaved parents. The Kindred Spirits program was designed to address this absence by providing a space for parents to receive helpful resources.
These resources include, and are not limited to, creating space for parents to talk about their babies and explore ways of continuing bonds with them, connecting parents with other parents who have experienced perinatal loss, sharing reading materials designed for parents, friends, and family of bereaved parents, exploring grief and loss counselling techniques and answering questions about the different types of formal and informal support available.
Marguerite combines her lived experience with a fifteen-year background in organisational psychology as a Human Resources Director, and a keen interest in the field of perinatal psychology and child development, to run Kindred Spirits with Matthew at no cost to parents.