Sharyn Brew, PACFA

Sharyn Brew is an experienced infant, child and adolescent psychoanalytic psychotherapist and a registered clinical counsellor who brings a thoughtful, relationship-focused approach to working with children and their families. She holds membership with the Psychotherapy and Counselling Association of Australia (PACFA) and trained through the Child Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Association of Australia, grounding her work in specialised clinical training that emphasises early emotional development and family dynamics.

Across many years of clinical practice, Sharyn has developed particular expertise supporting children with neurodevelopmental challenges and intellectual disabilities, and she works closely with parents and carers to address behavioural concerns at home and at school. She is also experienced in recognising and responding to trauma that may have affected families across generations, helping caregivers and children process complex emotional histories and build more secure patterns of relating.

Sharyn offers a calm, supportive space where parents, carers and young people can explore emotions, understand behaviour and develop practical strategies for change. Her practice combines depth of clinical training with a pragmatic focus on the everyday challenges families face, aiming to help children grow in resilience and carers feel more confident and connected.

Approaches for children, families and online care

Sharyn uses psychoanalytic psychotherapy to explore how early relationships and unconscious patterns shape a child’s feelings and behaviour. This approach helps uncover underlying emotional needs and supports longer-term change in how children relate to themselves and others.

She also works with attachment-focused, parent-child interventions that strengthen the caregiving relationship and improve emotional regulation and behaviour at home and at school. These interventions are practical and aimed at helping parents and carers respond to a child’s needs with greater confidence and attunement.

Finding the right therapeutic approach is part of the process and Sharyn collaborates with families to determine the best fit based on a child’s needs, goals and the family’s preferences. She works alongside appropriately qualified or registered professionals when needed to ensure a coordinated plan.

Online therapy offers flexible ways to access support via video calls, phone sessions, live chat or text-based messaging. These options make it easier for busy families to attend sessions without travel, to maintain continuity of care during transitions, and to choose the format that feels most comfortable for the child and carers.