Dr Esme Dark has over 15 years of experience working as a Clinical Psychologist with people experiencing psychological distress. She currently works as a Trial Therapist as part of the Clinical Psychedelic Research Lab at Monash University. The team are investigating Psilocybin-assisted Psychotherapy to treat Generalised Anxiety Disorder. This is the first trial in the world to look at Psilocybin- assisted Psychotherapy as a treatment for Generalized Anxiety Disorder and is the largest psychedelic research trial in Australia to date. She is about to commence work on the upcoming trial using MDMA Assisted Psychotherapy to treat PTSD in military veterans and first responders. She provides consultation to other trials on issues relating to psychotherapy protocols and therapist training. Esme draws on a range of psychotherapeutic approaches including Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Internal Family Systems and Mindfulness based Cognitive Therapy.
Dr. Dark is the founder of a Private Psychology Practice based in Melbourne through which she works therapeutically with adults, provides clinical supervision for therapists and runs psychotherapeutic group programmes. Prior to this role Esme spent 9 years as a Senior Psychologist in the refugee mental health space in the UK, Thailand and Australia. Esme has provided training and consultation to hundreds of staff teams working in the mental health and trauma space across Australia and internationally.
