Caroline Shahbaz

Caroline Shahbaz
MPsych (Clin), MA (DepthPsych).

Senior Registered Psychologist

Psychodynamic & Relational Psychotherapist

Caroline Shahbaz is trained as a  Psychotherapist and a Depth Psychologist.  Caroline 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 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.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: the therapeutic relationship is a container in which to encounter the psyche (and soul) of another person. When two people meet with awareness, something larger than either of them begins to stir: 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 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 is an international lecturer and educator who has presented at psychotherapy, sexuality, and consciousness conferences around the world, helping clinicians and communities approach the erotic 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. As such she is open to expressions of alternative sexuality and has expertise in this area. Her expertise is demonstrated in her having a book published on this topic by the prestigious publishing house  Routledge. 

Recognising that healing does not occur in isolation, Caroline works collaboratively with clients in therapy.

In her spare time she is a writer and a facilitator. she has 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.

Caroline works in person as a South Melbourne based Psychologist and Psychotherapist at The Melbourne Centre of Psychotherapy.

Caroline is no longer taking on new patients.