Referring to Marenwood

Thank you for considering Marenwood for your patients . This page gives you the clinical background, referral process, and everything you need to make a confident referral.

Marenwood is a family-inclusive child and adolescent psychology practice in Croydon, Victoria.

Rebecca Hamilton is a registered clinical psychologist (AHPRA) with clinical endorsement from the Psychology Board of Australia, and over 12 years of experience working with children, adolescents, and families across school, public mental health, and private practice settings.

Marenwood's practice is deliberately family-inclusive. Rebecca works with the child and their parents throughout the therapeutic process, grounded in the evidence that meaningful change in children's mental health occurs within the family system. This is not family therapy — it is child and adolescent therapy that treats the family as an essential part of the process, not an afterthought.

CLINICAL APPROACH

Rebecca draws on a range of evidence-based frameworks, adapted to each child's individual presentation and the family context:

  • Attachment-based interventions

  • Psychoanalytic and psychodynamic psychotherapy

  • Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)

  • Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)

  • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

  • Play therapy (for younger children)


Assessment follows a thorough intake process: an initial joint session with the child and parents, a parent-only session, and an individual session with the child, followed by a feedback and planning meeting with parents. Treatment is formulation-based rather than symptom-focused.

Two women sit on a beige sofa talking to each other, with a young boy playing on the floor nearby. The room has a minimalist decor with a framed painting, a potted plant, and toys on a rug.

Marenwood accepts referrals for children and adolescents (aged 0–18) presenting with:

  • Mood disorders — depression, dysthymia, adjustment disorders

  • Anxiety disorders — separation anxiety, GAD, social anxiety, phobias, OCD, school refusal

  • Behavioural difficulties — emotional dysregulation, oppositional presentations, conduct difficulties

  • Trauma and attachment difficulties

  • Neurodevelopmental presentations — autism and ADHD, for both assessment and therapy

  • Parent-child relationship difficulties

  • Developmental concerns — social, emotional, or cognitive

  • Younger children (infant to preschool) — settling, sleep, separation, and early relational difficulties

We are not resourced to accept high-acuity presentations requiring crisis support or intensive intervention. Families requiring this level of care will be referred to appropriate services.

A woman and a young boy playing with dollhouse furniture in a living room. The woman is kneeling, and the boy is sitting on the floor, both engaged with the toys.

Making a referral

The simplest way to refer is to provide the family with our contact details and encourage them to reach out directly. Families can also self-refer — a GP referral is only required for Medicare rebate eligibility, not to access the service.

Please email referrals to: admin@marenwoodpsychology.com.au