Our Team
Dr Catherine Olweny
BA(Hons), BMBS, MA, MCoun, Dip Clinical Hypnosis, FANZCA, AFRACMA.
“Change will lead to insight far more often than insight will lead to change.” ― Milton H. Erickson
I am a Consultant Paediatric Anaesthetist with over 20 years of experience in a tertiary hospital setting. As a peer and a colleague, I have insight into the challenges faced by medical students, doctors in training and senior medical officers. As a Counsellor and Clinical Hypnotherapist. I support health care professionals with concerns such as anxiety, mild to moderate depression, burnout, career decisions, imposter syndrome and exam stress and with balancing, personal, family or relationship challenges with the demands of professional life. I am registered with the Australian Counselling Association (ACA) and abide by the organisation’s codes of ethics.
Strengths Based Approach
Grounded in humility, curiosity, empathy and respect, my approach is strengths based and tailored to your needs. I use a range of supportive counselling techniques that encourage you to discover your own resources to overcome difficulties. These include Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Hypnotherapy.
Background and Experience
I graduated from Flinders University of South Australia in 1999. I undertook anaesthesia training at Monash Health, Melbourne and completed a fellowship in paediatric anaesthesia at the Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne. I have been a staff paediatric anaesthetist at the Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne since 2010. In 2018, I completed a diploma in clinical hypnosis through the South Australian Society of Hypnosis and commenced practice as a clinical hypnotherapist. I recently, completed a Master of Counselling at Monash University and undertook a Counselling Fellowship at Victorian Doctors Health Program (VDHP) where I worked as part of the VDHP team supporting medical students, doctors in training and senior medical officers in distress. I discovered that doctors and medical students appreciate working with a therapist who understands first hand the lifelong journey that is a career in medicine.
Affiliations
- Registered Specialist Medical Practitioner (AHPRA)
- Fellow of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (FANZCA)
- Registered Counsellor Australian Counselling Association (ACA)
- Certified Practicing Member Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA)
- Associate Fellow Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators (AFRACMA)
- Associate member Australian Play Therapists Association (APTA)
- Member South Australian Society of Hypnosis (SASH)
- Member of the Society for Paediatric Anaesthesia in New Zealand and Australia (SPANZA)