Caroline Shahbaz

Caroline Shahbaz
Depth Psychologist
MPsych (Clin), MA (DepthPsych), Member APS, AHPRA registered

Psychodynamic, Systemic & Relational Psychotherapist | Facilitator | Author | International Lecturer

Caroline Shahbaz is a Psychotherapist and Depth Psychologist who brings to her work a deep commitment to creating a space where clients feel both seen and supported. Grounded in depth psychology and systemic traditions, she honours the vision of the Melbourne Centre of Psychotherapy & Consultancy: a warm and nurturing environment where people are respected. It is within this context that she works with clients to assure that they are understood, and empowered to heal and transform. Caroline upholds the Centre’s values of integrity, transparency, and respect for the whole person, qualities that also define her own approach to practice. She is a member of the Australian Psychological Society, registered with AHPRA, and maintains ongoing professional development in relational and depth-oriented modalities.

Caroline works with individuals, couples and families.

At the heart of Caroline’s practice lies a simple truth: A therapeutic relationship is a container in which to encounter the soul of the other without abandoning one’s own. When two people  meet with awareness, something larger than either of them begins to move, a field of truth, tenderness, and renewal.

This is the quiet alchemy of change that Caroline’s work invites: not to perfect, but to make transformation more conscious, resilient, and real.

With over three decades of clinical and facilitation experience, Caroline’s strengths include helping individuals, couples, and groups navigate significant transitions, relational entanglements, and the deeper dimensions of meaning and identity. Her practice is informed by depth-psychological insight (including Jungian and Groffian models), systemic relational work (including schema therapy), and an integrative appreciation of trauma-informed relational psychodynamics.

Caroline’s style is accessible yet profound. She believes that behind every symptom, pattern, or impasse lies the call of something more, whether it’s reclaiming voice, re-connecting to inner sovereignty, or discovering new relational possibilities. In the safety of a compassionate therapeutic container, she supports clients to explore their unconscious relational map, uncover hidden loyalties, dismantle self-sabotage, and creatively shape the next chapter of their lives.

Caroline is internationally recognised for her work with alternative sexualities, relationship diversity, and erotic authenticity. She an international lecturer and educator who has presented at psychotherapy, sexuality, and consciousness conferences around the world, helping clinicians and communities approach the erotic, the spiritual, and the psychological with depth and respect. Her work bridges the clinical and the sacred, affirming that human sexuality and relational life are profound expressions of psyche and soul. As such she is open to expressions of alternative sexuality and has expertise in this area. Illustrating this point, it is worth noting that she is the author of the Routledge publication: Becoming a Kink Aware Therapist.

Recognising that healing does not occur in isolation, Caroline works collaboratively with clients in therapy. Previously she has worked with teams and organisations on culture and systems, and with groups engaged in rites of passage, transformation, and relational development. Her current projects include an upcoming book that draws on alchemical and symbolic imagery to access relational depth and meaning.