Dr Melissa Davis

Senior Clinical Psychologist

I am a clinical psychologist working in the Assessment Team. I fell in love with psychological assessment early in my career when I experienced how important good assessment is in helping to answer complex questions and the power it can have in helping to change the lives of children and their families. My clinical career has been exclusively with children, young people and families in child protection and inpatient and outpatient mental health services. I have also worked for two decades as a psychology educator in universities where my main teaching area has focused on my passion for psychological assessment. 

I love learning about the delightful and unique pattern of strengths and challenges of every child, recognising that they are 'a work in progress' with so much potential.  I have enormous respect for the resilience of children and families and see it as a great privilege to work with them at such important times in their lives when they are seeking answers and paths forward. My approach is to meet families exactly where they are at in their journey, support them every step of the way through the assessment process, and collaborate to develop a plan with practical strategies to help them meet their current needs and goals. 

When I am not at work I like to find any reason to cook or bake for family, friends, and colleagues. I love reformer pilates, reading, long walks along the beach, and classical music concerts.  I adore beautiful flowers and while I might aspire to be a good gardener, in reality, pots of herbs, pansies or petunias are the best I can manage.