Our Expertise   Compass Health Group is owned & operated by Jennifer & Kate Worsfold - fully registered, non-judgmental psychologists who have had varied personal & professional life experiences. Both have worked not only with a wide variety of people (from different age groups, ethnicities, sexualities & so on), but also for & within different work contexts (from large national & international commercial organizations to local & foreign government bodies).    Apart from a traditional focus on clinical or primarily psychological issues, both Jennifer & Kate have had a lifelong interest in health, nutrition, exercise & getting the most out of life, as opposed to just existing or struggling through each day. This focus underpins their positive & health psychology approach in helping clients to make health & lifestyle changes so they can live their best life.   In order to deal more effectively with a range of clients across a variety of issues, Jennifer & Kate have had training in: Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT) Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) Solution-Focused Therapy (SFT) Health Coaching & Positive Psychology approaches Mediation & Conflict Resolution. Their specific experience & achievements are further detailed as follows.   Kate Worsfold Kate has had a long track record of success, both educationally & professionally. Kate holds a Bachelor of Psychology (Hons) from Griffith University & has a distinguished academic career.  During her study Kate was awarded the KM Hatano Scholarship for academic excellence, leadership & community service. Graduating with First Class Honours and an average GPA of 6.7, Kate also accomplished the rare achievement of receiving both the Psychology & overall University medals. Kate’s interest & knowledge regarding human behaviour is reflected by her published work with Jennifer (see below publication details).   Kate’s professional experience extends from being a private research consultant as part of several large EU funded African aid projects, to Government (working with youth offenders, & the Gold Coast Schoolies Program), to Associate/Client Manager at Conics (a local research consultancy).  As part of her Conics role, Kate managed major market research activities for high profile clients like BHP Billiton Iron Ore, Delfin Lend Lease & Super Cheap Auto, in addition to management of HR activities (e.g., employee counselling, recruitment/selection, conflict resolution and so on).  Currently, Kate continues to work with Griffith University across various projects & has recently completed work for the Psychology Department on a large scale customer service & communication project. This project, in conjunction with her own published work, has provided Kate with in-depth insight into the critical behaviours necessary for facilitating good communication, maintaining relationships and achieving positive outcomes, particularly with initially negative or hostile clients. Apart from her work at Compass Health Group, Kate is now collaborating with the Griffith Institute for Higher Education on several educational psychology related projects, pending publication.   As a Psychologist, Client Manager, Caseworker, group/training facilitator & qualitative researcher Kate has developed relationships with an extremely wide variety of individuals & organisations including: remote Kenyan tribe members, NGOs, Government Departments, local community/activist groups, sub-consultants, multi-national companies, project team members, other workers, & other community individuals (from youth offenders, adults & parents to retirees). Such relationships (with both willing & adversarial clients) have only been possible due to Kate’s focus on rapport, communication & non-judgmental relationship building with each and every client. Given Kate’s roles she has a broad range of experience in dealing with:  depression, anxiety, child abuse & other trauma, life transition & adjustment issues, grief & loss, substance abuse, relationship problems, sexuality issues, conflict resolution, communication problems, poor motivation & stress management.   Jennifer Worsfold Jennifer has a broad range of experience in the treatment of depression, anxiety, stress management, irrational fears, poor motivation, dysfunctional family dynamics, interpersonal/social issues, substance abuse, mood disorders & relationship problems. She has over 3 years experience working for a statutory agency and this has given her the opportunity to work in a system that requires meeting both legal and ethical obligations while delivering services based on evidence based research and practice. This position has also refined and honed Jennifer’s ability to communicate with a diverse range of individuals, from key stakeholders in the government and non-government sectors to clients using the services delivered within a social work setting.  Jennifer puts particular emphasis on developing ongoing rapport and relationship building with all those that she works with. She has extensive experience with clients who present in a distressed, angry and chaotic state and believes that a non-judgmental and empathic communication style used (over time) can move clients from conflict to resolution.   Jennifer has also distinguished herself in the field of fine Arts, including winning the Arts Medal for her graduating year at University. She continues to have a keen interest in the field of literature and art and its transformative effects on both individuals and society. She has been a student of philosophy and as such this has shaped her as a strategic thinker – understanding the primacy of the whole and how one part or individual interconnects, influences and affects all others.  This understanding gives her the ability to help people solve problems in their lives, in sometimes a non-linear fashion – focusing on the ‘bigger picture’ and helping highlight possible intended and unintended consequences of actions and solutions. Jennifer has a keen interest in helping people discover what they really value in life & how to move towards having the life that they desire.   Jennifer is also able to provide leadership coaching and communication skill building. Her interest in this area has been fashioned from diverse sources from psychological writers such as Daniel Golman (Emotional Intelligence/Primal Leadership), Literary texts - Sun Tzu’s ‘The Art of War’ - managing conflict, to philosophic thinkers such as Hegel and his use of dialectics (Thesis – Antithesis – Synthesis). Thich Nhat Hanh (peace activist and Buddhist Monk) writings have also been a major influence – using mindfulness to promote non-violent solutions to conflict.   Jennifer also has had her Honours research published. This research focused on rapport and its effects (compared to other techniques) in a service industry setting.   Publications Smith, C., Worsfold, K., Fisher, R., McPhail, R., Davies, L. (2011). Assessment literacy and student learning: the case for explicitly developing students 'assessment literacy'. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education.   Worsfold, K., Worsfold, J., & Bradley, G. (2007). Interactive Effects of Proactive & Reactive Service Recovery Strategies: The Case of Rapport & Compensation. The Journal of Applied Social Psychology: 37, 11, p: 2,496-2,517.