Dr ROWAN BURCKHARDT
Dr Rowan Burckhardt is a clinical psychologist and the founder of the Sydney Couples Counselling Centre. He holds a Master of Clinical Psychology from the University of Wollongong, where he also completed his Bachelor of Arts, majoring in psychology. In addition, he holds a Master of Psychology from the University of Bordeaux in France and was awarded all these degrees with distinction. He gained his PhD from the University of NSW, which examined the relationship between emotion regulation and mental health problems. He received numerous grants and scholarships from the private and public sector to advance his PhD research and was offered the opportunity to roll out the program he created across Australia.
Rowan was the first couples counsellor in Sydney that was certified in Emotionally Focused Therapy by ICEEFT, Dr Sue Johnson's organisation that oversees accrediting therapists internationally. He was trained by Dr Jenny Fitzgerald (Australia), Ms Lorrie Brubacher (Canada), Dr James Furrow (United States), Ms Gail Palmer (Canada), Dr Veronica Kallos-Lilly (Canada), and Dr Clare Rosoman (Australia), who are all internationally renowned trainers of Emotionally Focused Therapy. Rowan is also an ICEEFT accredited supervisor, allowing him to help train and supervise other therapists in Emotionally Focused Therapy. In addition, he completed specialised training in applying Emotionally Focused Therapy to individuals and families.
Rowan's passion for psychology has led him to work at a variety of places in the past. He spent almost a decade working at the Black Dog Institute as both a clinician and a researcher and also worked for four years at the University of Sydney Gambling Treatment Clinic. In addition, he taught psychology to undergraduate students at university for several years. Rowan has been involved with a number of psychological research projects, which has helped him extend and consolidate his knowledge for various evidence-based therapeutic techniques. He has published academic papers in the areas of emotion regulation, bipolar, early intervention, dialectical behaviour therapy, positive psychology, and acceptance and commitment therapy, which can be found here. Rowan has also published a chapter in an Emotionally Focused Therapy textbook for therapists on doing couples counselling when one partner has a gambling problem (this chapter can be found here). He has presented at both national and international conferences and has featured in numerous media outlets including the ABC national nightly news, the Sydney Morning Herald, Channel Ten’s Studio 10 TV show, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, ABC Everyday, the Daily Telegraph, and News.com.au.
Rowan has a strong client-centred approach which emphasises the uniqueness and humanness of each person he works with. He sees the process of couples opening up to him and allowing him into their inner world as both an honour and a privilege. Rowan has spent many years living and studying overseas. Living abroad has helped Rowan develop a strong sensitivity to the role of culture in couples counselling. Whilst he is a native English speaker, he also offers therapy in French and Spanish.