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Monica Lay

Clinical Psychology Registrar

Monica is a friendly and compassionate psychologist dedicated to helping people feel understood, supported, and empowered to make the changes that matter most to them. She has over 12 years experience counselling adolescents, adults, and families, and feels privileged to be trusted with her clients’ stories. Clients often describe Monica as kind, open minded, and easy to connect with. She brings curiosity, humanity, and empathy to the therapy room, and is skilled in supporting clients to sit with vulnerability and get through those heavy, difficult conversations, whilst using humor and playfulness to make the entire process of therapy a little more manageable.

Professional Experience and Qualifications

Monica is a member of the Australian Health Practitioner Agency (AHPRA) and Australian Association of Psychologists (AAPi). She holds a Master of Clinical Psychology, Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Psychology, Postgraduate Diploma of Social Health and Counselling, and Bachelor of Psychological Science. She is an accredited provider of the Cool Kids/ Chilled Anxiety Program, and has worked across women’s refuge and crisis services, not-for-profit organisations, outpatient clinics, occupational rehabilitation, and private practice.

Monica is experienced and has a keen interest in working with the following presentations:

  • Neurodivergence: ADHD, autism, AuDHD, late diagnosed neurodivergence, and rejection sensitivity dysphoria
  • Perinatal mental health and wellbeing
  • Eating disorders and body image concerns: anorexia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and bulimia nervosa
  • Anxiety, depression, OCD, social anxiety and other phobias
  • Assertiveness issues, and low self-esteem
  • Identity issues e.g., gender and sexuality, cultural identity in second-generation and CALD Australians
  • Interpersonal and relationship difficulties
  • Trauma e.g., intergenerational trauma, complex trauma, and relational trauma
  • Tourette Syndrome, tics, and body focused repetitive behaviours (BFRB) e.g., excoriation disorder and trichotillomania
  • Insomnia

Monica’s Therapeutic Style

Monica draws from a diverse toolkit of evidence based modalities to provide person centered formulations and psychological interventions. This eclectic and flexible approach allows her to truly tailor her services to each individual’s unique needs, goals, and preferences, ensuring treatment is safe, relevant, and pragmatic.

Monica’s therapy toolkit includes:

  • Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT)
  • Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)
  • Narrative therapy
  • Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT)
  • Motivational interviewing
  • Psychodynamic therapy
  • Enhanced cognitive behaviour therapy for eating disorders (CBT-e)
  • Comprehensive behavioural intervention for tics (CBIT)
  • Exposure and response prevention therapy for OCD (ERP)
  • Cognitive behaviour therapy for insomnia (CBT-i)

She also understands that as people and their circumstances evolve, so too should their therapy.

Therapy with Monica is…

  • Inclusive
  • Supportive
  • Neuroaffirming: Monica believes neurodiversity is an underutilised source of opportunities and strengths which should be embraced at the individual and societal level
  • Holistic and culturally responsive
  • Person centred, trauma-informed, and strengths-based
  • Body-positive: working from a Health At Every Size (HAES) framework
  • Pragmatic: focusing on attainable goals which individuals identify as most important to
    their current functioning and wellbeing
  • Rogerian: emphasis on collaboration, empathy, the therapeutic alliance, individual autonomy, and seeing the strengths and goodness in clients (especially during times when they may not be able to see it for themselves!)

Monica understands that seeing a psychologist can feel daunting, regardless of what concerns have brought you into therapy. So don’t be afraid to ask for things to make the process more comfortable for you. Whether it be sitting down, standing up, having shoes or the lights on or off, snacking throughout, speaking in hushed voices, limiting eye contact, playing music, using alternative communication methods, or something else entirely, it’s likely Monica has seen it before and is more happy to make reasonable in-session accommodations.

Outside of work, Monica enjoys playing board games and escape rooms, baking sourdough bread, musical theatre, experimenting with new foods, and spending time with her loved ones.

Monica is available on Tuesday and Wednesday in Lane Cove
50 minute consultation $285
Medicare rebate $101.55
Private health fund rebates may apply