Dr Dan Wilson PhD
Clinical Psychologist
Credentialed Eating Disorder Clinician
Taking new clients: Yes - limited availability from late October
Consulting days: Monday, Tuesday
Client age: 15+
Qualifications
PhD (combined MClinPsych/PhD)
Bachelor of Behavioural Science
Bachelor of Applied Science
Memberships and affiliations
Credentialled Eating Disorder Clinician
"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying 'I will try again tomorrow'." - Mary Anne Rademacher
​Problems I can help you with
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Eating Disorders and related issues, including body image problems, difficulties with anxiety/guilt/shame around eating, binge eating, weight/shape concerns
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Difficulty regulating emotions, behaviours and relationships
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Reactions and responses, emotions and beliefs related to traumatic events
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Difficulties with obsessional thoughts and compulsive behaviours
​How deep my understanding of these issues is
I'm a clinical psychologist, and have been extensively trained and supervised in assessing and treating clinical problems.
I'm a Credentialed Eating Disorder Clinician and I have a PhD which focused on understanding the relationship between personality, emotions and Eating Disorders.
I am a research fellow at the University of Queensland, where my research focuses on how the co-occurrence of other mental health problems (trauma, OCD, interpersonal difficulties) impact on the treatment of Eating Disorders, and how to best optimise the treatment for each individual.
I supervise other psychologists in working with people with these difficulties.
How I can help you
My primary orientation for Eating Disorders is CBT-e. CBT-e helps people to understand their Eating Disorder and what maintains it (scroll down the page for more information about CBT-e).
I will work collaboratively with you to make the decision about what elements of your eating problems are important to address and how, with the end goal of being in control of your eating, weight and shape (rather than being controlled by them).
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I will possibly be your individual therapist if you are part of our comprehensive DBT program.
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For other problems, I will use evidence-based cognitive and behavioural treatments.
​What does your involvement look like?
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Regular attendance
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Willingness to share information about current problems and collaborate on how to address them
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Willingness to take an active role in treatment
Let's get to know Dan
Q. What is one of your favourite psychology approaches and why?
A. I have always loved utilising CBT-E (for help with body image and eating problems) and DBT (for help with emotions, relationships and behaviours), and at the moment I’m particularly passionate about Prolonged Exposure for help with processing traumatic events. It is a challenging therapy (like most are!) but find it very helpful in enabling people to process previous painful events and build a life free from the impacts of trauma.
Q. What drew you to a career as a psychologist?
A. I’ve always been interested in understanding what makes people tick, and the wide array of similarities and differences in the way people work. So being able to work full time with people to figure this out and work together towards important goals was very appealing to me!
Q. Do you use psychology strategies in your everyday life?
A. Absolutely. DBT skills in particular I think should be taught in schools.
Q. Favourite food
A. Anything served with a side of hot chips
Q. Do you have any pets?
A. I have a pet greyhound (Ziggy) who is a rescued ex-racer. Zig is an absolute klutz and lacks an array of life skills (navigating stairs, for one), but is an absolute heartthrob nonetheless.
Q. What do you like to do in your spare time?
A. I love hanging out with my wife and Ziggy, going for a ride or run with friends (especially if it gets competitive), and getting a little bit too intensely interested in a range of hobbies (e.g., coffee roasting, beer brewing, vinyl records).