Dr Ben Mullings is a Psychologist who provides psychological care to individuals balancing the need for empathy, trust, and emotional safety, alongside up to date knowledge from research.  Ben’s consulting rooms are in Brentwood, servicing all nearby surrounding areas. He has an extensive background experience, applying psychotherapy across a diverse range of contexts. His special interests are in anxiety disorders, relationship issues, and the positive and negative uses of technology in everyday life. Ben provides telepsychology services to reach people in distant areas. In the academic setting, he lectures and presents across a range of issues: psychotherapy models, case formulation, evidence-based care, qualitative research methods, and group therapy.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science (Psychology) with first class Honours
• Master of Psychology (Counselling Psychology)
• PhD (Psychology)

Background

Psychotherapy with Individuals, Couples, Families, and Groups

Ben has over a decade of experience with counselling and psychotherapy for individuals, couples, families, and groups. He has worked as a couple and family therapist for Relationships Australia and co-authored a chapter in the text Couple Therapy about the research basis underpinning couple therapy interventions. He has delivered individual psychotherapy across all age groups in private practice and a number of agencies including the Vietnam Veterans Counselling Service. In 2013 he worked as a group therapy co-facilitator for Fremantle Medicare Locals with the ATAPS program. Since 2007 Ben has spent the majority of his time in private psychological consulting at Brockman House (2007-2008), the Health@520 complex (2009-2013), at ‘Applecross Clinic’ (2013-2017), and now at Likeminds Clinic.

Mental Health Advocacy

Across the last decade Ben has been actively engaged in campaigning for mental health care policy reform. He calls for increased support for psychological care over radio, the newspapers, and publications within the profession. Between 2008 and 2011 Dr Ben Mullings ran a professional discussion forum (‘Conscience‘) for psychologists to reflect about critical issues within the profession.

From 2011 he has coordinated the Alliance for Better Access campaign calling for reforms to the Medicare system. The group is primarily comprised of mental health care consumers and concerned members of the general public, however, it is joined by all of the mental health professions including psychologists, social workers, psychiatrists, general practitioners, occupational therapists and mental health nurses.  A petition run by the Alliance for Better Access at Change.org had over 15,000 supporters and was lodged in the federal senate. In his role as mental health care advocate, Dr Ben Mullings has met with state and federal politicians, presented at a senate inquiry in Canberra, and has written countless submissions to Government. Between 2015 and 2020, Ben co-founded the Australian Mental Health Party to provide a humanistic political platform for policies which optimise mental health and well-being.

Lecturing and Academia

Between 2003 and 2006, Dr Ben Mullings worked as a research assistant for Curtin University, conducting reviews of the empirical support for psychoanalytic therapy, couples therapy, and compiling summaries of research about evidence-based practice. In mid-2012 he completed PhD research exploring the effectiveness of psychological services over the Internet. His written work has been published in core textbooks, in journals, and continues to be used in the training of university students studying psychology and counselling from undergrad to postgraduate levels. Ben has a decade of experience in academic roles at Curtin University, the University of Notre Dame, Murdoch University and Edith Cowan University with experience as a course coordinator, clinic director, and a supervisor for both placements and research.