Gender Affirming
Neurodiverse & Queer affirming Assessments
RMC embraces the Capital of Equality Strategy 2024 -2029
RMC is a safe space where lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer,
other gender and bodily diverse clients are truly heard and understood.
Rainbow-Mandala Clinic is :
Gender affirming
Queer affirming
Neurodiversity affirming
Trauma Informed
- Embrace and offer access to gender-affirming healthcare, for trans and gender-diverse individuals, through psychiatric assessments, with a true understanding of the discrimination and prejudice that is present in society
- Recognise Neurodiverse minds may question the actions and interactions of others, and this complexity can lead to Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria. Our Rainbow Team appreciate the mindful activity of all our communication, written and verbal
- Understand the lifelong struggles faced by our neurodiverse clients before receiving an ADHD diagnosis and how ASD can lead to a separate and yet combined set of further unique challanges
- Understand the complexity at the intersection of neurodiversity and gender diversity, and how rejection sensitivity can intensify this complexity and distress.
- Recognise the very real concerns of being supported by a Gender affirming & Queer affirming Psychiatrist
Queer affirming organisations across ACT
is the national peak body representing, supporting, and connecting those working to strengthen the health, rights and wellbeing of all trans people – binary and non-binary.
All provider listings and details are submitted and maintained by AusPATH members who have given consent to visibility on this directory and who have acknowledged their commitment in working to strengthen the health, rights and wellbeing of all trans people – binary and non-binary.
AusPATH accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of members’ details. Listing of these providers on the
AusPath website does not constitute sponsorship, endorsement, or recommendation of these providers and/or their services.
General Practices providing Gender Affirming Healthcare in ACT Region
East Canberra General Practice
Dr Clara Tuck Meng Soo, Dr Larissa Prior and Dr Tharani Tharmakumar
provide compassionate, expert care tailored to the unique health needs
of LGBTIQA+ individuals.
“At East Canberra General Practice, we recognise that many in the LGBTIQA+ community have historically experienced barriers in accessing the health care they need. Hence, we strive to create an inclusive and safe environment for all patients and this includes those who identify as part of the LGBTIQA+ community”.
Ochre Health, Bruce, ACT. General Practice, Men’s health, Sexual health, Paediatrics, LGBTIQ+ health.
Dr Wee-Sian Woon
Dr Miranda Sherley is the first private sexual health physician in the Canberra region. She completed her training in Sexual Health Medicine at Canberra Sexual Health Centre, Canberra Hospital, where she worked from 2010-2017 before starting in private practice just across the border in Bungendore Village.
She offers discreet, professional care in all areas of sexual health medicine. This includes contraception, menopause, men's health, women's health, sexual health checks, STI management, genital dermatology, trans and gender diverse medical care, HIV care and hepatitis management.
Meridian
We are a community-controlled, peer-led organisation that provides health and social support services to our community. We celebrate diversity, strengthen community and empower individuals to live their best lives.
Community, health and action are the core of Meridian and how we work.
Pride Hub is a centrally located, inclusive and welcoming community space located in historic Havelock House. This thoughtfully appointed and well-resourced room offers a safe and inclusive meeting space for local LGBTIQA+ communities, organisations and services. Pride Hub respects and reflects the diversity of needs within the local LGBTIQA+ community and offers affordable rates for new and emerging LGBTIQA+ communities, organisations and social groups.
The venue is located adjacent to the Meridian offices and Meridian Wellbeing Services.
- People living with and impacted by HIV.
- People of diverse sexualities and sexual identities, including people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer, pansexual, and asexual.
- Men who have sex with men.
- People of diverse gender identities, including people who are trans, gender diverse, and nonbinary.
- People at risk of HIV, STIs, and other BBVs, including sex workers, people who inject drugs, and people in custodial settings.
- Intersecting communities with lived experience of disability, including psychosocial disability.
- Intersecting communities who are also Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and people from diverse cultural backgrounds, including those who have sought asylum.
- Organisations who work with our communities and have shared goals and objectives.
Psychologists with special interest
AusPATH is the national peak body representing, supporting, and connecting those working to strengthen the health, rights and wellbeing of all trans people – binary and non-binary.
List of providers by state
Ainsley Waddington
Qualifications: MClinPsych
Address: Level 1/5 Sargood Street, O’Connor ACT 2602
Phone: (02) 9182 5471
Email: ainsley@awaddingonpsychology.com.au
Brianna Thomas
Qualifications: Masters of Clinical Psychology
Website: www.briannathomaspsychology.com
Address: 4/8 Phipps Close, Deakin ACT 2600
Phone: 0436 104 151 | (02) 9170 6558
Email: hello@briannathomaspsychology.com
Elizabeth Shen
Qualifications: B Psych (Hons), Ph.D. (Clinical Psychology)
Affiliation: Canberra Health Services – Paediatric Gender Service
Address: Yamba Drive, Garran ACT 2605
Phone: (02) 5124 6640
Email: chs.wyc-paediatricgenderservice@act.gov.au
Josephine Alchin
Qualifications: Master of Clinical Psychology & Bachelor of Social Work (Paediatrics)
Address: 7 Edgar Street, Ainslie ACT 2602
Phone: 0406 375 100
Email: josephinealchin@gmail.com
Lisa O’Connor
Qualifications: Registered Psychologist; MSc Occ Psych, Post Grad Dip Psych, Grad Dip Psych, BVA
Address: 6 Elwick Place, Lyons ACT 2606
Phone: 0402 249 404
Email: psychstudio1@gmail.com
Lisa Shirt
Qualifications: MClinPsych
Website: www.synthesispsychology.com.au
Address: 5/16 Barker Street, Griffith ACT 2603
Phone: (02) 8044 1445 | (02) 6189 1056
Email: hello@synthesispsychology.com.au
Rebecca Fitzpatrick
Qualifications: Doctor of Clinical Psychology and Doctor of Philosophy (DPsych & PhD)
Address: Unit 1, 3 Hall Street, Lyneham ACT 2603
Phone: 02 0184 3303
Email: dr.r.fitzpatrick@gmail.com
Tabitha Frew
Qualifications: Clinical Psychologist (BSc Hons, MMgmt, MClinPsych)
Organisation: Ascentem
Website: www.ascentem.com
Address: LG01/17 The Causeway, Kingston ACT 2605
Phone: (02) 6188 4166 | (02) 6188 4122
Email: admin@ascentem.com
Tushara Wickramariyaratne
Qualifications: Doctor of Psychology (Clinical)
Address: 1 Hobart Place, Canberra ACT 2601
Phone: 0459 539 607
Email: tushara@samartaservices.au
Gender & Sex Recognition
Frew, T., Watsford, C., & Walker, I. (2021). Gender dysphoria and psychiatric comorbidities in childhood: a systematic review. Australian Journal of Psychology, 73(3), 255–271. https://doi.org/10.1080/00049530.2021.190074
Gender Affirming HealthCare Standards Of Care Guidelines
RMC embraces the WPATH Standards of Care Version 8 (SOC8) which provides global, evidence-based guidelines for transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) healthcare .
RMC has experience of undertaking Gender Affirming Surgery Psychiatric Consultations with the aim of providing a letter of readiness gender affirming surgery.
is embraced by RMC for people identifying as Intersex, the consensus statement by Australian and Aotearoa/New Zealand intersex organisations and independent advocates.
In 2013, the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 was amended to introduce new protections from discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status in many areas of public life.
These legal protections are complemented by the Australian Government Guidelines on the Recognition of Sex and Gender, which commenced in July 2013.
The guidelines recognise that individuals may identify as a gender other than the sex they were assigned at birth, or may not identify as exclusively male or female.
RMC statement on Sex and Gender :
Definitions of sex and gender binaries are upheld by structural violence.
Gender is part of a person’s personal and social identity. It refers to a way a person feels and sees themselves. It can be about differences in identity, expression and experience as a woman, man or gender diverse person.
Gender identity refers to a person’s internal sense of their own gender, which may or may not align with the sex assigned at birth.
Gender is a complex and multifaceted concept that extends beyond a simple binary classification.
At RMC we embrace Gender Identity as:
Non-binary: gender sits outside of the spectrum of man or woman or male and female. A person who is non-binary might feel like they have a mix of genders, or like they have no gender at all.
A person might identify solely as non-binary or relate to non-binary as an umbrella term. They might consider themselves as genderfluid, genderqueer, trans masculine, trans feminine, agender or bigender.
Intersex : physical or biological sex characteristics (such as sexual anatomy, reproductive organs, hormonal patterns and/or chromosomal patterns) that are more diverse than stereotypical definitions for male or female bodies. For some people these traits are apparent prenatally or at birth, while for others they emerge later in life, often at puberty
Sistergirl: Within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities gender diverse people that have a female spirit and take on female roles within the community, including looking after children and family.
Brotherboy: Within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities gender diverse people that have a male spirit and take on male roles within the community.
Agender : Identifying as having no gender.
Bigender: Identifying as two genders, either simultaneously or switching between them.
Gender-fluid: Experiencing a gender identity that varies over time
Pan Gender :Identifying with many or all genders.
Xenogender: gender identities that are influenced by concepts beyond traditional human understandings of gender.
