About

 

 

 

Dr Jacinta Ryan

Founder of Developing Me Psychology

BA Honors, PhD (Clinical), MAPS (Clinical)

Davis™ Autism Approach & Davis Concepts for Life℠ Facilitator

I am a Senior Clinical Psychologist and Founder of Developing Me Psychology.

I specialise in the treatment of Anxiety Disorders, with a particular focus on Social Anxiety. I have worked in public and private settings (directing the Social Anxiety Program at The Melbourne Clinic and providing brief interventions for complex cases within the Alfred Hospital Continence Service) and consult in a GP centre providing CBT, Mindfulness and psychodynamic-informed therapies.

I discovered the Davis Autism Approach at the 2014 American Autism Association Conference, and now lead a team of clinicians and senior teachers working with Neurodivergent clients and co-researchers to deliver the Davis Life Concepts Approach for Autism and Neurodiversity.

We collaborate in Australia and internationally with schools, educational leadership and welfare teams, paediatricians, mental health teams, psychiatrists, allied health and mental health practitioners to deliver high-quality Davis programs safely and effectively to suitable clients.

We are gathering qualitative and independent quantitative outcome data on each program delivery to better understand the benefits and limitations of this novel strengths-based developmental approach, which was created by American Autistic engineer Ron Davis.

We want to build a robust clinical evidence base to guide how the Davis Approach® might be incorporated into the educational pathways and psychological treatment plans of Autistic and Neurodivergent children, teens and adults.

In this approach, we affirm and honour our clients while working with them to remove or lessen some of the developmental barriers inherent to Autism and Neurodiversity that can undermine psychological wellbeing and contribute to functional, educational, vocational and mental health difficulties.

Our aim is to help our clients to participate more fully in life - in line with who they are, their own unique potential and in ways that matter to them.

We began testing the Davis Life Concepts with clients who are not Autistic and who were seeking help for chronic low self-esteem, perfectionism, obsessional traits, anxiety and social anxiety. We are recording similar, very positive outcome trajectories, and will be expanding this clinical case-study series in 2023.

It seems like most of us are struggling with ‘invisible’ developmental gaps that are being addressed by this unusual methodology, and we will continue to share some of our thoughts on that revelation in conference forums this year.

 

Anna Berghamre

Head of Education

B Ed, MA Ed

Davis™ Autism Approach & Davis Concepts for Life℠ Facilitator

I am passionate about human potential and the interrelationship between language, identity, communication and the story we make of all that in relation to self and the world around us. Who am I? What am I? What is in becoming Me? What is the relationship between how I think, feel and behave? 

How we see the world around us, how we relate to each other, depends on what’s going on inside of us and there is so much untapped potential in You, Me, and Us. In this work, my aim is to release that inner potential of yours in order for you to fully live (and love) the life you want to live. 

 As parents or educators, we so often lose ourselves in the idea that we have to educate our children and students. It’s easy to think that there are ‘methods or tools’ that work on children and teenagers, but I am convinced that developing platforms and relationships for children and teenagers to grow and learn in, no matter whether it’s at home or in an educational setting, requires the same basic things as we ask for in any mature relationship; respect, integrity, interest, curiosity, appreciation, honesty, time and a great dose of fun.  That is what is growing little people into nice and sturdy bigger people.  

 I hold a Master’s degree in Education specialising in Linguistics and Literature from Stockholm University, and in Visual Arts from the University of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm. Over the last 30 years, I’ve been working in different educational settings, high schools and universities, in Stockholm Sweden, Zürich Switzerland and now in Melbourne Australia where I currently have my home.

 

Melanie Curry

Consulting to Developing Me Psychology

Director of Training for the Ron Davis Autism Foundation

Neurodiversity Specialist, Coach, Workshop Presenter

Davis™ Autism Approach & Davis Concepts for Life℠ Trainer

Davis™ Dyslexia Correction Workshop Presenter & Facilitator

My vision is for neurodivergent woman to be leaders and change-makers in their lives and the world. I believe that empowered, wholehearted women have the potential to change lives.

Creating meaningful change for themselves is AMAZING in itself, but it doesn’t stop there. Their transformation sends a glorious ripple effect through the lives of others: friends, families, communities, and beyond. What a gift that is to the world.

Through my many years of classroom teaching, it became apparent to me that traditional teaching methods were not working for individuals with neurodivergence. I saw countless intelligent, creative individuals slipping through the cracks of the education system. 

I made it my mission to find an approach that works with the strengths of the neurodivergent thinking style to empower these individuals to unlock their potential. This led me to the Davis programs, and ever since then, I have been working successfully with clients of all ages to help them unlock their knowledge, capabilities, and beautiful gifts. 

In 2020, I stepped into a new chapter as Director of Training and Licensing for the Ron Davis Autism Foundation. This has been a phenomenal opportunity for me to be a part of supporting and training adults, mainly women, in the Davis Autism Approach and Davis Concepts for Life methods.

There are many reasons I have felt the strong calling to put my energy and expertise into working with adult women. Through my own experience of being fully immersed in the Davis programmes, I have felt the expansion that this work has created in my own life, despite being ‘neurotypical’. Seeing the people who I have had the honour to train as Davis facilitators also blossom and thrive as they grow into their stronger selves, I believe wholeheartedly that this work is so important for all women.

I believe that now, more than ever, the world needs the gifts that both neurodivergent and neurotypical women have to offer. We have the potential to change the world for good.

I have personally experienced the power of investing in support from other women professionals and creating my own wrap-around support network as I move through the challenges of midlife and beyond. I am passionate about paying it forward for other women becoming part of their support network and on their cheerleading team.

 

Meaghan Jones

Intern at Developing Me Psychology

Clinical Psychologist

BaAppSc, MPsych (Clinical), MAPS

Davis™ Autism Approach & Davis Concepts for Life℠ Facilitator Trainee

One of my clients, a lovely intelligent young woman who had been very stuck in her life for many years, was one of the first people to do a Davis Approach program with Jacinta as part of her clinical case research project. When I got the research updates, along the way, it was hard to believe how much my client’s life had begun to shift, in so many extraordinary ways. Her daily life was better, she was out and about after struggling to leave her home, and she was achieving things she had been attempting to do for many years with numerous therapies and therapists. The changes she made continued to grow after she had finished her Davis program, and so I have been curious ever since about what this different medium might do for many of the other women I work with as a Clinical Psychologist.

During my time working in mental health, I have developed a passion for helping girls and women to grow in their curiosity, awareness and understanding as they work through challenges in their psychology and mental health. Understanding how our history can be brought forward in the now and how powerful just observing this can be in in paving the way for validation and acceptance. I work with pregnant women and new mothers as they navigate the emotions, shifting identity and vulnerability of one of the biggest transitions they will have in their lives. I also specialise in helping girls and women who are struggling with disordered eating. For the past two decades, I have worked in hospitals and in the community empowering young women to peel back the layers of their experiences to understand how their difficulties with eating may reflect their sense of self, their place in their families and the larger world around them. In that time, I have come to see how eating disorders target and sometimes destroy a person’s sense of self. 

I am joining the Davis Approach research project this year because I am keen to see how this new developmental method might provide a stronger sense of ‘me’ for girls and women facing ongoing difficulties. As therapists, our work is always private, so I do not get to share the stories of the incredible courage, perseverance, and determination that many people bring to their own development, learning and personal growth. But sometimes progress is slow and painful, particularly when it comes to problems with eating. Talking therapies can be very effective but most experienced therapists will agree they do not work equally well for everyone.  

And, just like everyone I work with, I am developing too. I want to see how working with the Davis life concepts in 3D form might assist some of the girls and women I work with but I am also very curious about how it will ‘grow me’ in my own world, how I operate day to day, how I look at life, and how I am as a mother, friend, sister, partner, daughter and in how I support others in their journeys.

 

Fran Cunliffe

Research Administrator

GradDip (Psychology) BA (Hons)

I am presently studying towards a Post Graduate Diploma in Clinical Psychology alongside a PhD in Psychology after completing my Honours degree in Psychology in 2021. My research was focused on measuring the psychological impact of biological changes in hormones during different phases of the menstrual cycle. I also hold a Bachelors Degree in Criminology and Sociology and this led to time working as a prison reintegration coordinator supporting women in their transition out of prison.  

I first became involved with the Davis approach as a teenager, having struggled personally with dyslexia. I completed an initial Davis Dyslexia program in 2009 and then again when I was older in 2011. The outcomes I got and the Davis experience contributed to me taking the step to apply for university. Prior to the program, I didn’t have the confidence in my own capabilities. I was fortunate enough to be became involved with Jacinta’s work in 2018 after approaching her for graduate work experience. I was really curious about the fact this was the first independent study into the Davis approach. After some initial project work, I am now responsible for overseeing the collection and integration of the psychometric data gathered from participants completing a Davis program and ensuring that it is held and managed independently from the facilitators to maintain the integrity of the clinical case-study research. Since 2018, I have been collecting data from children aged nine and above, their families, teenagers and adults up to people in their seventies. One of my roles was to build the data base to enable a sample of adult participants to be provided to Australian Catholic University for an independent statistical analysis that was conducted in 2021-2022, and it’s been really exciting to see it generate some clinically significant outcomes.

I am passionate about mental health and wellbeing for all.  What I value about the Davis approach, in particular, is that it is strengths-based, collaborative and empowering for the individual, which is in opposition to many of the interventions that have been provided for the Neurodivergent community. I am thrilled to be involved with the Davis Approach as an adult, both from the perspective of being a post-graduate Clinical Psychology student but also as someone who has personally benefited from the programs created by Ron Davis. I am always excited to see how the clinical gains from each person’s Davis journey are mirrored in the growing quantitative data pool. I look forward to developing the research data base, and being able able to share the evidence we are gathering with a wider audience of people who may be wondering if they too would benefit from trying this method. 

 

Deb Kirkham

Project Manager | Relationships Manager

Dip App Sci (Med Lab Sci)

When I finished school, I had no idea what I wanted to do. My gap year turned into a successful 35 year career in the university sector, with 30 years as a medical scientist managing a veterinary pathology laboratory in a teaching hospital.

I’ve had a complete career change!

I’m incredibly excited to be bringing to Developing Me Psychology my vast experience in service provision, communication, stakeholder liaison, research project management, policy and procedure development and implementation.

I hope to contribute, through research collaborations, provision of our therapies, programs and education, to the wellbeing and improved mental health of anyone seeking assistance during these challenging times with our currently broken mental health system in Australia.

I am particularly passionate about helping to improve the lives of teenagers suffering from anxiety, depression and school ‘I can’t’.

Through this work, I hope to also be “developing me”.