Professional Supervision

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Supporting Clinical Excellence and Professional Development

 

Professional supervision provides psychologists with a dedicated space to reflect on their clinical work, strengthen professional capabilities, navigate complex clinical and ethical issues, and continue developing throughout their careers.

At Lightner Centre, professional supervision is provided by a team of experienced Board-Approved Supervisors with diverse clinical backgrounds, therapeutic expertise, and areas of professional practice. Our supervisors bring experience across complex mental health, trauma and dissociation, neurodivergence, defence and first responder populations, relational work, research, private practice and professional education.

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Supervision is available to psychologists at different stages of professional development, from provisional and early-career psychologists, through to experienced clinicians seeking advanced consultation, professional development, or a reflective space for complex clinical practice.

 

Depending on the supervisee's experience, professional goals, and needs, supervision may support:

• Clinical formulation and complex case consultation

• Development of therapeutic skills and clinical decision-making

• Trauma-informed and complex mental health practice

• Ethical and professional decision-making

• Risk assessment and management

• Reflective practice and professional self-awareness

• Managing the emotional demands of clinical work

• Sustainable practice and prevention of professional burnout

• Research and evidence-based practice

• Career development and professional progression

• Private practice and broader professional development

Supervision is individually tailored and may be provided as an ongoing professional relationship or as focused consultation around a particular presentation, therapeutic approach, or area of clinical complexity. Individual and group supervision options are available.

 

Our Supervisors

 

Dr Sharelle Smith

 

Principal Clinical Psychologist & Director
Board-Approved Supervisor

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Dr Sharelle Smith provides supervision informed by extensive experience across trauma, PTSD and Complex PTSD, dissociation and Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), severe and chronic mental health conditions, and complex clinical presentations. Her professional background includes senior roles within hospital emergency, crisis stabilisation, and acute mental health services, the Department of Veterans' Affairs and Open Arms, alongside extensive private practice experience. Sharelle also brings significant academic teaching and research experience, having taught and supervised postgraduate psychology students within university settings and contributed to the education and development of emerging psychologists. Her research background includes doctoral and ongoing research in trauma, PTSD, dissociation, psychological recovery, and psychometric assessment, providing a strong scientist-practitioner perspective for supervisees interested in integrating contemporary research, outcome measurement, and evidence-based practice into their clinical work. Sharelle has a particular professional interest in complex trauma and dissociative presentations, including DID, and incorporates advanced trauma-informed and phase-oriented approaches into her clinical practice. She also brings a strong academic and research perspective, with her doctoral research into PTSD and trauma recovery leading to the development of the Trauma Recovery Measure. 

Supervision with Sharelle may be particularly suited to psychologists seeking support with complex trauma, DID and dissociation, PTSD/CPTSD, severe or high-risk presentations, complex case formulation, advanced clinical practice, research and evidence-based practice, and professional or career development.

 

Dr Mary Asic-Kobe

 

Advanced Clinical Psychologist
Board-Approved Supervisor

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Dr Mary Asic-Kobe brings more than 20 years of experience in mental health care, spanning community services, private practice, professional training, program management, and clinical supervision. Her experience includes trauma and PTSD, anxiety, mood disorders, grief and loss, substance use, OCD, workplace stress, domestic and family violence, cross-cultural concerns, and significant life transitions. Mary has worked with diverse populations, including within specialised torture and trauma services for resettled refugees, and brings considerable experience in adapting psychological treatment to the individual, their circumstances, and cultural context. Her broad clinical background provides a valuable supervisory perspective where presentations involve multiple psychological, interpersonal, social, or cultural factors. Supervision with Mary may be particularly suited to psychologists seeking support with broad clinical practice, trauma, culturally responsive care, complex presentations, therapeutic flexibility, clinical decision-making, and development of an individual professional style.

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Lauren McIntosh

 

Clinical Psychologist
Board-Approved Supervisor

 

Lauren McIntosh is an experienced Clinical Psychologist and Board-Approved Supervisor whose practice is grounded in the scientist-practitioner model and evidence-based psychological care. She has extensive experience working with adolescents and adults across anxiety disorders, PTSD, stress, grief and adjustment, OCD, workplace difficulties, health-related concerns and significant life transitions. Lauren's clinical approach emphasises understanding the broader factors underlying a person's presenting difficulties rather than focusing solely on symptom reduction. Her work combines thoughtful case formulation, evidence-based intervention, and a strong therapeutic relationship to support meaningful psychological change. Supervision with Lauren may be particularly suited to psychologists seeking to strengthen case formulation, evidence-based intervention, therapeutic relationships, reflective practice ,and the translation of psychological theory and research into effective clinical practice.

 

Jayde Phillipson

 

Clinical Psychologist
Board-Approved Supervisor

 

Jayde Phillipson provides supervision informed by extensive experience working with individuals, couples, military personnel, police, emergency service workers, and corporate professionals. Her clinical experience includes acute and occupational trauma, PTSD, workplace stress and burnout, mood and anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, substance use, grief and relationship difficulties. Jayde's therapeutic experience includes Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP), Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and Prolonged Exposure (PE). This provides a valuable supervisory perspective for psychologists interested in emotional processing, relational work, trauma-focused intervention, and understanding the processes underlying presenting symptoms. Supervision with Jayde may be particularly suited to psychologists working with trauma, defence and first responder populations, workplace mental health, couples and relationship presentations, ISTDP, EFT, Prolonged Exposure, and emotion-focused clinical work.

 

Johanna "Joh" Knyn

 

General Psychologist
Board-Approved Supervisor

 

Joh Knyn provides supervision informed by extensive experience in complex and developmental trauma, dissociation, Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), and RAMCOA-related presentations. Her clinical work has developed a particular focus on complex dissociative presentations, plurality, developmental and relational trauma, and presentations associated with organised or high-control environments. Joh's approach is trauma-informed, neurodiversity-affirming and system-affirming, with particular attention to safety, stabilisation, pacing, therapeutic relationships, and adapting psychological interventions when working with complex dissociative systems. She brings specialised professional development in complex trauma and dissociation alongside training in EMDR, the Comprehensive Resource Model, and phase-oriented trauma treatment. Supervision with Joh may be particularly suited to clinicians seeking support with DID and dissociative identities, RAMCOA-related presentations, complex and developmental trauma, high-control environments, plurality, system-affirming practice, and phase-oriented trauma treatment.

 

Andrea Schwede

 

Advanced Clinical Psychologist
Board-Approved Supervisor

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Andrea Schwede is an experienced Clinical Psychologist and Board-Approved Supervisor with more than 20 years of experience across public and private mental health settings. Her professional experience spans metropolitan, regional and rural Australia as well as international practice in London, providing a broad perspective on psychological practice across different clinical and service settings. Andrea has particular expertise in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and evidence-based psychological treatment with adults. Her clinical experience encompasses a broad range of psychological presentations, with particular interests including anxiety, depression, stress and burnout, adjustment difficulties and women's mental health, including pregnancy, the postnatal period, fertility challenges, pregnancy loss, birth-related trauma and adjustment to parenthood. Andrea has been STAP-accredited since 2010 and has extensive supervision experience across different stages of professional development. She has supervised Clinical Psychology Registrars, Clinical Psychologists undertaking peer supervision, General Psychologists, other mental health and allied health clinicians, and Psychiatry Registrars completing the CBT component of their training. Supervision with Andrea may be particularly suited to clinicians seeking support with CBT and evidence-based practice, adult mental health, women's and perinatal mental health, clinical endorsement and registrar development, reflective practice, and the ongoing development of clinical skills and professional confidence.

 

Finding the Right Supervisor

 

Different stages of professional development and areas of clinical practice can benefit from different supervisory perspectives. The breadth of the Lightner Centre supervision team allows psychologists to select a supervisor whose clinical background, therapeutic expertise and approach to practice align with their professional needs and development goals. Supervision can be ongoing or focused on a particular area of practice, therapeutic approach, or complex clinical presentation. Having multiple Board-Approved Supervisors within the Lightner Centre team also provides access to different areas of expertise as a clinician's practice and professional interests develop. At Lightner Centre, we view supervision as more than a professional requirement. High-quality supervision is an important component of safe, reflective, evidence-based, and sustainable psychological practice, supporting clinicians to continue developing their knowledge, clinical judgement, confidence, and professional identity throughout their careers.