Alana Pisani
she/her
Alana Pisani
Clinical Psychologist
MPsych(ClinPsych), BPsychStud(BHons), BPsychStud (Interpersonal & Organisational)
How Alana works
Alana provides a safe and secure base that gives her clients permission to explore and make sense of their inner experiences as they navigate their journey to becoming a parent.
She has a warm, engaging and compassionate interpersonal style and assists clients in enhancing their mental health and wellbeing, overcoming life’s challenges, strengthening their attachment relationships and living their life in accordance with their values.
What she focuses on
Alana has a strong interest in perinatal mental health and is passionate about supporting women and families during all stages of the perinatal period, from preconception, pregnancy and the transition and adjustment to parenthood.
She has experience working with parents who present with a range of issues including low mood and anxiety, perfectionism, interpersonal and relationship challenges, trauma, attachment concerns and perinatal grief and loss.
Her work is evidence based, relational and trauma-informed and draws on approaches such as ACT, DBT, CBT, Schema Therapy and attachment-based therapies. These approaches are used flexibly and collaboratively, with consideration for the unique needs of each individual.
Alana is also trained as a Circle of Security group facilitator and enjoys working with parents to help them reflect upon their own attachment relationships and their children’s emotional needs. She is passionate about empowering parents to learn to hold, understand and make sense of their children’s emotional experiences, which helps to develop and strengthen secure attachments with their children.
Alana welcomes the whole family to engage in the Circle of Security Parenting program, as this helps to strengthen connections and provide parents with a shared language and way of thinking about their children’s emotional needs. She encourages parents to challenge the idea of needing to be a perfect parent, with a strong focus on “good enough parenting”. This allows parents to be authentic in their parenting style and embrace and accept imperfections, while providing a safe, consistent and predictable emotional landscape for their children.
Professional background
Alana is a senior clinical psychologist working in the Perinatal Emotional Health Service at St Vincent’s Hospital and has over a decade of experience across public and private perinatal settings. She has supported women and families during their preconception, pregnancy, birth and postnatal periods while working in the perinatal mental health services at Joan Kirner Women’s and Children's Hospital, the Royal Women’s Hospital and Northpark Private Hospital. She is also a board-approved supervisor and registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulatory Agency (AHPRA) / Psychology Board of Australia.
Alana is currently facilitating Circle of Security Parenting Program groups with WARM. You can read more about our therapeutic groups here.
