About Brendan McMahon, Brisbane Psychologist and Psychotherapist.
Brendan McMahon
B, Psych (Hons), MAPS
Registered Psychologist, and Psychotherapist
Brendan McMahon
I am a fully-registered, Brisbane-based psychologist and a psychotherapist with over 15 years of experience in the fields of psychology, counselling and psychotherapy and primarily conduct psychoanalytic/psychodynamic psychotherapy. My practice is centrally located at Silverton Place on Wickham Terrace in the Brisbane CBD. I have experience in private practice, inpatient psychiatric settings, community organisations, research, and teaching psychology students in a university. I have experience with all age groups, however my focus these days is on adult psychotherapy with persons 18 years of age and older. I completed my qualifications in psychology at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Brisbane. My Pronouns are: He/Him/His.
I am registered as a psychologist with the Psychology Board of Australia and am a full member of the Australian Psychological Society (APS). I am also a member of the APS Psychoanalytically Oriented Psychologists Interest Group (POPIG) and previously held the position of national web editor with POPIG. I was previously employed as a sessional academic in the School of Psychology and Counselling at QUT. Additionally I am an international affiliate member of the American Psychological Association (APA), which is the world's leading body for the science and practice of psychology.
In addition to the provision of adult psychotherapy, I am also a Psychology Board of Australia approved supervisor for provisional psychologists undertaking the 4+1 and 5+1 pathways towards full-registration as a psychologist. I also conduct psychoanalytic supervision that is of a more collegial nature with other psychologists, counsellors, psychotherapists, and others who work in health care for professional and personal development purposes. To learn about this click here.
I am a member of a number of other organisations devoted to psychology and psychotherapy and these are listed below. I was a former committee member of the C.G. Jung Society of Queensland and have an active interest in Jungian and Post-Jungian Psychoanalysis/Analytical Psychology. I have also published peer-reviewed research on spirituality and anxiety via QUT. As a psychologist, I am registered with Medicare for the provision of psychological services and am also registered with most major private health funds.
Problems and issues I work with
My focus is on adult psychotherapy and I have experience with and provide empathic and compassionate therapy for the following issues:
Depression
Low self-esteem and self-image
Personal Growth
Adjustment Difficulties
Difficult Life Transitions
Problems of Mid-Life
Existential Issues
Anxiety
Obsessionality
Self-Sabotage
Burn-Out
Psychological Trauma and PTSD
Childhood Issues
Adult Survivors of Child Abuse
Cult Involvement and Cult Recovery (either yourself or a family member)
Spirituality and Religious Issues (including religious and spiritual abuse)
Life Meaning
Creativity
Attachment Difficulties
Abandonment
Relationship Difficulties and Relational Problems, as well as Relationship Enhancement
Sexuality and Gender, Including LGBTIQ Issues. I am also kink friendly and have experience working with persons who practice consensual non-monogamy (CNM) sometimes called ethical non-monogamy (ENM) such as swinging (also called the lifestyle) and polyamory
Sexual Difficulties and Pleasure
I also see persons who do not have a psychological or psychiatric diagnosis and wish to engage in personal and self-development and explore issues of life meaning, spirituality, creativity, lack of passion in life, difficult life transitions, and existential issues. I also believe that life is meant to be enjoyed and can be fun and am happy to help you work on things that prevent you from doing this.
Many of these are people who work in creative industries, or they may be in high pressure executive roles or medical professionals and may find that they are becoming burnt-out and that life is lacking that certain spark that it used to have. I also work with people who have difficulty in prioritising their own self-care and need a special space to attend to their own needs as they continue to balance the demands of their career, family, and other aspects of life.
I mainly work from a contemporary psychoanalytic/psychodynamic framework which is influenced by the following schools of psychoanalytic thought: Jungian and Post-Jungian Psychoanalysis, Object Relations, Intersubjective Psychoanalysis, Psychoanalytic Self-Psychology, and Relational Psychoanalysis. However I also incorporate ideas and interventions from other schools of therapy such as Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT), Mindfulness Based Interventions, and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), where appropriate.
To learn more about Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic Psychotherapy click here