About
Sebastian Salicru
Sebastian has been a registered psychologist for over 25 years, and has professional experience in both clinical and corporate settings.
Working with uncompromising commitment to client-centered services and ethical excellence, he makes sound judgments in managing sensitive and confidential information.
Sebastian empowers his clients to: make better (and often previously unimaginable) decisions and choices about their personal and/or professional lives; set ambitious goals; take positive and bold action; change the status quo; achieve real outcomes and long-lasting results; enjoy intimate relationships, and live meaningful lives.
Sebastian’s working style is caring, compassionate, educational, insightful, inspiring, and strengths focused. He is also an astute and respectful challenger.
Having worked globally with people from multiple cultural backgrounds, Sebastian has the intercultural awareness, competence and sensitivity required to work with clients from diverse cultural backgrounds. In addition to English, Sebastian speaks French, Italian and Spanish.
Due to his extensive corporate experience working with senior and middle level executives from public, private and not-for-profit organisations, Sebastian also provides executive/leadership coaching services, which cover a wide range of issues.
In addition to being a registered psychologist, Sebastian is: a board-approved supervisor by the Psychology Board of Australia; a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) of the International Coach Federation (ICF); a graduate from the ‘Art & Practice of Leadership Development’, Harvard University Kennedy School; a Fellow of the Institute of Coaching, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School; and author of multiple publications.
How do I know I can help you?
There are three main reasons why I can help you.
First, I have the tertiary qualifications and specialised advanced professional training required to do my work competently, effectively, and to the highest ethical standards.
Second, due to my extensive life and professional experience, and commitment to my on-going personal and professional development, I know how to apply the latest and best available research, principles and practices, to produce real and lasting results.
Third, I’m not just a well-qualified, highly trained and experienced professional, and author with a good resume and a pretty face!
Having faced significant adversity in my own personal life – especially as an adolescent and a younger man – I know what it is like to be at the ‘bottom of the barrel’ from real first-hand experience. For a significant period of my life, I worked with multiple psychotherapists and coaches who used different orientations and modalities of psychotherapy and coaching. I learned as much (if not more than) from them as from my formal studies at university and other professional training. In fact, I learned the real-life application of principles and practices for what really works. Most importantly, I have learned how to ‘climb out of the barrel’ and live a meaningful, fulfilling and satisfying life.
I look forward to working with and being of service to you!
Sebastian Salicru
HOW DO I WORK
Sometimes, people ask me how I work, or what therapeutic frameworks and modalities I use in my work.
Therapeutic Frameworks and Modalities
I use Integrative Psychotherapy – an inclusive, multidimensional and flexible approach that integrates knowledge and skills/competencies from different therapy modalities into a unified practice approach, to treat a range of mental health issues.
This includes approaches informed by current theory, empirical research evidence and expertise from clinical practice, which are complementary and recognised as evidence-based psychotherapies, such as:
- Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Action Methods: Psychodrama and Gestalt Therapy
- Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Existential Therapy
- Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Family Therapy (Structural FT and Gottman Method)
- Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT)
- Narrative Approaches
- Meaning-Centered Therapies (e.g. Logotherapy)
- Psychoeducation
- Strength-based Approaches and Psychological Capital
- Relational Psychoanalysis and Self Psychology
- Social Skills Training (SST)
- Schema-Focused Cognitive Therapy (ST)
- Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)
- Written Emotional Disclosure (WED)
Collaborative Care Treatment
My approach is collaborative care treatment, as it is widely recognised as an effective approach to improve the quality of mental healthcare through enhanced and structured collaboration between client and practitioner. Therefore, I customise the type of treatment or modality to suit my unique clients’ needs and preferences.
This approach is also in line with the ‘Collaborative Recovery Model’ included in ‘Pathways of recovery: 4As Framework for preventing further episodes of mental illness’, developed by the Department of Health.
The basic elements of the Framework to promote the mental health of people who have been affected by mental illness and to prevent further episodes of mental illness are the 4As: Awareness, Anticipation, Alternatives and Access.
Awareness
awareness of mental health status and understanding of the factors that affect mental health and mental illness, including potential vulnerability to further episodes of illness.
Anticipation
planning for future mental health in terms of self-management, recovery, continuity of care and crisis planning.
Alternatives
availability of self-management and service alternatives that address all the risk and protective factors for mental health, according to a holistic approach.
Access
early, easy and equitable access to services that meet all the changing care needs of people who have been seriously affected by mental illness, and for their families and carers.
My approach is also in line with the following five principles established by the Clinical Framework for the Delivery of Health Services to people.
- Principles
- Measure and demonstrate the effectiveness of treatment.
- Adopt a biopsychosocial approach.
- Empower the injured person to manage their injury.
- Implement goals focused on optimising function, participation and return to normal daily life and work.
- Base treatment on the best available research evidence.
In summary, my approach is an evidence-based way to provide collaborative and integrated care to support the recovery processes of people with mental illness (including recurring mental illness). Above all, this approach emphasises recognition of consumers’ subjective experience of recovery.
