Working at the Intersection of People and Systems
Meet Dr Anita Tan
PSYCHOLOGIST, THERAPIST, THINKER
I’m a registered psychologist with over 20 years of experience supporting individuals and teams in complex settings – from frontline clinical work to strategic roles across mental health, justice, and community contexts.
My practice now spans clinical therapy, supervision, reflective coaching, and organisational consultancy. What ties it all together is a deep commitment to supporting people who work, and live, in high-pressure, trauma-exposed, or emotionally complex environments.
In therapy, I work with adults and couples – especially those navigating the impacts of stress, trauma, cultural adjustment, anxiety, or identity-based challenges. I bring a calm, steady presence and believe that real change happens when we create space to think, feel, and reconnect with what matters.
My approach is respectful, collaborative, and attentive to the layers of lived experience forged from different cultural identities, life stages, and social contexts.
Therapy with me isn’t one-size-fits-all; it’s a shared space where your full story is welcome, and where we work together to make sense of your experience in a way that honours your values and strengths.
Outside the therapy room, I provide clinical supervision and reflective coaching to allied health professionals, team leaders, senior managers, and executive boards.
My leadership journey has taken me through diverse systems, including government, forensic, and not-for-profit sectors, which means I’ve probably been in a room like the one you’re in. Many of the professionals I work with are supporting communities affected by trauma, systemic marginalisation, or crisis, and are trying to do that without losing their own centre of gravity.
My supervision and reflective practice sessions are intentional and interactive. I take care to co-create an environment that feels both containing and spacious; a setting where it’s safe to think deeply, share uncertainty, and engage in genuine learning.
I am also partial to gentle humour where appropriate – because sometimes, shared laughter can offer just as much insight as theory. Whether I’m working with individuals or teams, I aim to offer a considered space where people feel supported to think clearly, stay connected to their values, and sustain themselves in the work that matters most to them.
In terms of qualifications, I hold a PhD in Psychology, a Master of Clinical Psychology, a Master of Corporate Governance, and a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment. I am an AHPRA-endorsed supervisor and contribute to national training programs for Psychology board-endorsed supervisors.
If you’ve found something here that resonates – whether you’re seeking therapy, supervision, or a reflective space to think things through – I’d be glad to hear from you.
Do reach out for a conversation about how we might work together.
Registered psychologist with 20+ years of experience
Specialist in trauma-informed therapy and supervision
Background in mental health, justice, and community sectors
AHPRA-endorsed supervisor and national educator
PhD and Master of Clinical Psychology
Known for a calm, thoughtful, and systems-aware approach
Why I Do This Work
At the heart of my work, across both therapeutic and organisational domains, is a deep commitment to supporting people and systems in navigating the struggle to thrive within challenging spaces.
Whether I’m sitting alongside an individual moving through the fog of trauma or burnout, or working with a leadership team grappling with cultural dysfunction, the thread that runs through it all is this: complexity is not a barrier to growth, it’s the terrain of it.
For over two decades, I’ve worked in roles that bridge the personal and the professional, helping people make sense of what happens when life, work, identity, and systems collide.
I bring clinical depth as a psychologist and trauma-informed practitioner, coupled with a strategic, systems-level understanding honed through senior executive roles in mental health, justice, and organisational settings.
In both therapy and consultancy, I support clients to locate clarity amidst complexity, drawing on frameworks that honour context, identity, and the powerful stories we carry, often quietly, into our work and relationships.
The name Intention speaks to this journey.
It’s a wordplay that reflects what I’ve witnessed time and again: the transition from being in tension, with ourselves, others, or the systems we operate in, toward living and leading with intention.
It’s about restoring a sense of agency, making meaning from difficulty, and cultivating responses that are not only adaptive but grounded in purpose, values, and self-awareness.
Whether in the therapy room or the boardroom, this is the work I support: moving through complexity with care, and stepping into the next chapter with mindful, restorative intent.
Statement of Recognition
We recognise the unique place held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the original owners and custodians of the lands and waterways across the Australian continent.
We acknowledge their enduring cultural practices of caring for Country and affirm that the sovereignty of this land was never ceded: Always was, always will be Aboriginal land.