Genevieve David – AABCAP President / Management Committee Executive / Training Committee Executive

MCSW Genevieve is a Clinical Social Worker. She received her Masters from Loyola University, Chicago. She then trained as a psychodynamic psychotherapist. Her interest is in life transitions, particularly those of parenthood and midlife. She is working in private practice and is a current member of ANZAP and AASW. Married for 21 years she has three teenage children. Genevieve graduated from AABCAP’s first Buddhism and Psychotherapy Professional Training Course, she says: “it has really inspired new thinking about the way I work and also how I view my life.” She is the current President of AABCAP.

Louise Fisher – Honorary Secretary / Management Committee Executive

is a psychotherapist with a private practice in Potts Point. Louise runs a group for people suffering from depression and anxiety at South Pacific Private Hospital in Curl Curl. She is also facilitating a depression group for the Black Dog Institute. Louise previously worked in the media. She was a newspaper and radio journalist and produced documentaries for television.

Dr. Eng-Kong Tan – AABCAP Founding President / Management Committee Executive / Training Committee Executive

MBBMPM, FRANZCP Dr. Tan is a medical doctor, consultant psychiatrist and analytic psychotherapist in private practice, providing individual and couples therapy, meditation, personal development and analytic groups. He is the Founder and Chairman of Metta Clinic, a group psychiatric and psychotherapy clinic in Sydney. He was a lecturer in the Department of Psychological Medicine, Medical Faculty, University of Malaya. He is a former Chair of the Section of Psychotherapy of the RANZCP and Chairman of Training to the PPAA. He has been a member of the Training Committees of NSWIPP and ANZAP. He is currently a trustee of  the University Buddhist Education Foundation (UBEF), an executive of AABCAP and the first Director of Training of the AABCAP Buddhism and Psychotherapy Professional Training Course. In the last three decades, Dr. Tan has presented keynote addresses, seminars and workshops to Buddhist and psychotherapy organisations in Australia and overseas.

Dr. Brian Gutkin – Management Committee / Training Committee Member/ Training Course Presenter / Interstate Branch Coordinator

MB.,BCH, D.TCM,  D.PSYCHOTH,(Advanced), FRANZCP, is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin, a Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists and a member of The Australian College of Psychotherapists and The Australian and New Zealand College of Psychotherapists (ANZAP). As a Consultant Psychiatrist with advanced training in Adult Psychodynamic Psychotherapy in private practice at St Leonards, he specialises in helping individuals with anxiety, depression, addiction, and life crisis or suffering as a result of trauma in childhood or adolescence. A practising Buddhist for over 18 years, mainly in the Zen tradition, and currently a member of the Management and Training Committees of AABCAP and a lecturer and supervisor in AABCAP’s Buddhism and Psychotherapy Professional Training Course. He also offers supervision and training to therapists interested in integrating psychotherapy with Buddhist influenced therapeutic and Meditation practices.

Dr. Katie McLachlan – QLD Branch President / QLD Event Coordinator

is a consultant psychiatrist and psychotherapist in private practice in Brisbane. She works with adults presenting with mood disorders, anxiety, life threatening illnesses and the effects of trauma. A range of modalities are used according to individual needs and include psychodynamic psychotherapy and mindfulness based therapies. Katie is a practicing Buddhist in the Tibetan tradition and is a graduate of the second AABCAP Buddhism and Psychotherapy Professional Training Course.

Wendy Smith – Management Committee Member

Swee-Haa Tan – Management Committee Member

was a High School Teacher in Malaysia and was a foundation member of the Young Buddhist Association of Malaysia. Currently she is a committee member of the University Buddhist Education Foundation Fund of Australia. She is the practice manageress of Metta Clinic which consists of psychiatrists and psychologists. As an affiliate member, she is interested in supporting Buddhist Influenced Counselling and Psychotherapy and she hopes to represent the views and interests of affiliates – members who are not counsellors nor psychotherapists. She is mainly of the Theravadan tradition.

Megan Thorpe – AABCAP President / Management Committee Executive / Training Committee Executive / Training Course Presenter

(MA, Grad. Dip. Ed. Studies (Health), Dip. Teach.) trained in Core Process Psychotherapy, a Buddhist-based psycho-spiritual psychotherapy, at the Karuna Institute, in England. Megan practices in Sydney’s inner west, and is also Manager of the Bereavement Counselling Service at Sacred Heart Hospice in Darlinghurst. Prior to this, she worked as a Spiritual Care Counsellor for people in the last months of their lives, and managed a team of volunteer carers who offered support to palliative care patients and their families. Megan offers supervision to the chaplains who work in hospitals and prisons for the Buddhist Council of NSW, and she is a member of the teaching faculty for AABCAP’s Buddhism & Psychotherapy Professional Training Course.
She has worked as a teacher, trainer and group facilitator in health, education and social welfare for many years. Over the last 20 years she has had experience in a number of different Buddhist traditions, and since 2003 she has been practising in the Thai Forest tradition.

Fili Perdikaris – Management Committee Member

is a registered psychologist and an associate member of the Australian Psychological Society (APS). She has 20 years of clinical experience in various settings, both in individual and group work; including community health centres, psychiatric out-patients, child adult and family teams. She has spent the past 8 years in private practice in the St. George area. Fili has a psycho-dynamic framework using a number of modalities including, mindfulness, attachment and systems theory, in her therapeutic work with people. Sessions are individually tailored focussing on creating a safe, comfortable and non-judgemental environment within which issues can be explored in order to work towards change and growth. Fili specialises in working with adults presenting mainly with depression, anxiety, childhood trauma, post-natal and self-esteem issues. She has developed a Buddhist practice and philosophy both personally and professionally through the AABCAP Buddhism and Psychotherapy Professional Training Course.

Sally Carlisle – Treasurer / Management Committee Executive / Training Committee Executive / Training Course Intern

has a lifetime involvement and interest in mental health and Buddhism. For twenty-five years Sally worked as a Registered Psychiatric Nurse in inpatient and community settings and brings this wealth of experience to her clients at her private practice at Balgowlah. Sally has also been keenly involved with Buddhism and psychotherapy and was a graduate of the first Buddhism and Psychotherapy course run by AABCAP. She is now a supervisor and intern on the second course and is also an executive member of the training and management committees of AABCAP. In addition, Sally is a graduate in Adult Psychodynamic and Psychotherapy from the Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychotherapists (ANZAP) and she provides counselling services for ‘Life Springs”, a charitable service for patients with chronic or life-threatening illness. Sally is also a clinical member of PACFA (Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia).

Geoff Dawson – Co-founder of AABCAP / Training Committee Executive / Training Course Presenter

BA (Psych, Phil), is a Zen Buddhist teacher – a Dharma Successor to Charlotte Joko Beck and teacher of the Ordinary Mind Zen School in Sydney and Melbourne. He is also a psychologist and psychotherapist in private practice in North Sydney. Geoff has a long standing interest in the area of Buddhism and Psychotherapy and has presented at many conferences and published papers in this area.

Shari Read – Newsletter Editor / Management Committee Member

PhD (Social Psychology), GradCertAppSc(IntMed), BPsych(Hons), RYT200.
Shari is a Yoga Therapist/Buddhist Psychotherapist in private practice, specialising in the application of yoga, mindfulness, meditation, relaxation and traditional psychotherapies to women’s health. Shari’s Yoga and Meditation classes offer a fusion of yogic and Buddhist philosophy and practices providing individuals freedom to explore these paths to awakening through both body and mind. Shari holds a PhD in Social Psychology, a post-graduate certificate in Integrative Medicine (Mind/Body Medicine), yoga teacher training certificates and is a graduate of AABCAP’s second Buddhism and Psychotherapy Professional Training Course. She is also the author of BirthSkills : For Mind, Body and Baby and 3 meditation CDs for pregnancy and parenting. Shari has been a student of Buddhism since becoming a mother in 2003 and is currently practicing in the Zen tradition as offered by the Canberra Zen Group.

Liz Turnbull – Training Committee Honorary Secretary / Training Course Presenter

PhD (Sociology), AABCAP, EMDRAA, PACFA Reg.
Liz is a psychotherapist in private practice. She was a director of Somatics – Body Oriented Psychotherapy Training (2006 – 2010). Liz has trained in somatic psychotherapy, EMDR and Hakomi EDIS.  Prior to becoming a psychotherapist she was an academic for a number of years engaged in an interdisciplinary approach to the areas of embodiment, subjectivity, and death and dying. Since 1985 Liz has been practising and meditating in the Dharma with experience in the Vajrayana, Zen, and the western insight traditions, and now teaches meditation. During her time as an academic Liz sought to bring Buddhism into her teaching and research and continues to seek ways of bringing Buddhism into the life and practice of psychotherapy.

Elizabeth Lobb – Management Committee Member / AABCAP Seminar Coordinator

PhD (psychological medicine), MAppSci (behavioural science), BAdEd (community), AABCAP
Liz is an academic and Professor of Palliative Care at Calvary Health Care Sydney. She has been a bereavement counsellor and educator for 24 years. She has a private practice specialising in psycho-oncology, palliative care and bereavement counselling. In 1998 Liz commenced practising and meditating with the Friends of the Western Buddhist order (now the Triratna Buddhist Community). She is a graduate of the second AABCAP Buddhism and Psychotherapy Professional Training Course.

Bhante Sujato – Training Committee Member / Training Course Presenter

was ordained in the forest tradition lineage of Ajahn Chah. Since 1994 he has been practicing meditation in forest monasteries in Thailand, Malaysia and Australia. He specialises in historical research into the fundamental teachings found across the Buddhist traditions. His books include A Swift Pair of Messengers, A History of Mindfulness, Beginnings, and Sects & Sectarianism. He is the abbot of Santi Forest Monastery, in Bundanoon south of Sydney. For the last several years he has been actively involved in supporting full bhikkhuni ordination for women in the Forest tradition.

Jeff Ward – Training Committee Member / Training Course Presenter

B.A. (Hons), Dip. Adult Psychotherapy (ANZAP), PhD is a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist in private practice in Canberra. From 1997 till 2009, he was a full-time member of staff teaching courses in counselling and psychotherapy in the clinical psychology program at the Australian National University. Jeff is a member of Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychotherapy (ANZAP), the International Association of Psychoanalytic Self Psychology, and the College of Clinical Psychologists of the Australian Psychological Society. He provides both short- and long-term psychotherapy and clinical supervision, and specialises in the treatment of depression and complex trauma. He has been involved in Buddhist practice since 1975 and since the mid-80’s has been practising in the Zen tradition in Japan and Australia. He is a member of the Sydney Zen Centre and practice leader of the Canberra Zen Group.

Bhante Mahinda – Training Committee Member / Training Course Presenter

was ordained as a Theravada Buddhist monk in 1976 under the tutelage of Venerable Dr K Sri Dhammananda. He undertook basic Buddhist studies and training in Sri Lanka and practiced Buddhist meditation under several masters in Sri Lanka, India, Myanmar and Thailand. He is also acquainted with Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions. Venerable Mahinda, is the Abbot of the Aloka Meditation Centre, and founder and Spiritual Director of the Australian Buddhist Mission. He has served as religious advisor to various Buddhist youth organisations in Malaysia and Singapore.

John Barter – Training Committee Member / Training Course Presenter

BA. (Psych), Grad. Dip. Sci. (Psych), M. Coun. MAPS　is a Psychologist – engaging Mindfulness based CBT, a Meditation Teacher and AABCAP Trainer. John brings to his work 30 years of personal practice in Mindfulness based Meditation, 11 years of which he was a Buddhist monk of the Theravada Forest Tradition. Through his private practice ‘WELL-AWARE-NESS Living & Health’ both in consulting to organizations and in therapy, John presents a perspective towards health, healing and human potential, which embraces the psychologies of both the East and the West.

Bhante Tejadhammo – Training Committee Member / Training Course Presenter

is the spiritual director for The Association of Engaged Buddhists and senior resident monk at Sangha Lodge. Ordained in the Theravadan tradition he has also studied and received teachings in Mahayana and Vajrayana. He has a background in Western Philosophy and Theology and is involved in inter-religious dialogue via AME (Australian Monastic Encounter). Bhante gives teachings and conducts retreats in Australia and works with people with life-threatening illness & prisoners in Sydney.

Subhana Barzaghi – Training Committee Member / Training Course Presenter

B.A.Soc.Sc., Masters App. Psychotherapy with 20 years experience in the field of psychotherapy. Subhana is a practicing Buddhist for over 30 years and is a Zen Buddhist Roshi & Insight Meditaiton teacher. She is a resident teacher of Sydney Zen Centre and Blue Gum Sangha.  Subhana teaches regular intensive Zen sesshins and Insight Meditation retreats and Dharma programs throughout Australia and New Zealand.  As a psychotherapist she conducts therapeutic workshops, leads intensive 8 week programs in Buddhist psychotherapy, provides clinical supervision and has a private practice in Mosman.

Malcolm Huxter – Training Committee Member / Training Course Presenter

B.A. Hons. (Psych.).  M. Psych. (Clin.), has over 30 years consistent Buddhist meditation practice experience including a short two years as a Buddhist monk in Thailand in the late 1970s and intensive retreats in Burma, Thailand, Australia and USA. Mal currently works both in private practice and in community based mental health services in rural NSW, Australia.  Mal has been using mindfulness related strategies in clinical settings for over 15 years and has written and conducted mindfulness based programs for different clinical populations including: Panic, Bipolar disorder and GAD. The GAD program has been empirically validated and is currently being submitted for publication.

Venerable Chonyi Taylor – Training Committee Member / Training Course Presenter

(Ven Tenzin Chönyi, Dr Diana Taylor) B Sc, M Ed, PhD, MAPS　is a retired psychotherapist, an authorized teacher of Tibetan Buddhism, and a coordinator for the AABCAP professional training course. She has presented a number of papers on Buddhism and western psychology in Australia and overseas. Her writing appears as a regular column in Mandala magazine, and as occasional articles in other Buddhist magazines. Her first book, Enough! A Buddhist Approach to Addiction is to be released by Snow Lion in August. AABCAP will have the honour of hosting the Australian release of the book. Ven Chönyi is well known in Sydney from her continued teachings at Vajrayana Institute where she was the previous western teacher. She maintains a practical and balanced approach through the grounding effect of her children and grandchildren.

Patrick Kearney – Training Committee Member / Training Course Presenter

is an independent dharma teacher in the lineage of Mahasi Sayadaw of Burma, who was a key figure in the modern revival of insight meditation and mindfulness training. Patrick has trained extensively in the Mahasi approach to insight meditation, both as a bhikkhu (Buddhist monk) and a layman. His principle teachers in this lineage have been Panditarama Sayadaw and John Hale. He has also trained in the Diamond Sangha lineage of Zen Buddhism. His original teacher was Robert Aitken Roshi, and he has since studied with other Diamond Sangha teachers in Australia. Patrick has a particular interest in the original teachings of the Buddha – Buddhism as it was before Theravada or Mahayana were ever thought of. He has studied early Buddhism at post-graduate levels, and continues to study Pali, the language of the earliest surviving Indian recension of the Buddha’s teachings. He seeks to bring his understanding of the early texts to the practice of dharma in the contemporary world.

Reverend Miao You – Training Committee Member / Training Course Presenter

B. Ed., is an experienced teacher in Mahayana Buddhism at Nan Tien Temple. She is a disciple of the world renowned Dharma Master, the very Venerable Master Hsing Yun. She has been in the temple for the past 6 years after spending two years in Fo Guang Shan, Taiwan where she received her training from the Meditation College.

Ariya Chittasy – Tech Support / Webmaster

is a Bachelor of Psychology student at the University of Sydney. He was the previous President of the University of Sydney Buddhist Society where he led workshops, meditations and assisted the running of Buddhist events. In 2008, he produced and directed HEART, a Buddhist Musical production, for members and friends of the Buddhist community. He also has assisted teaching children and novices the Dharma at Wat Phrayortkeo, a Lao Temple in Bonnyrigg. He is completing his Honours year in the field of positive psychology.