I wrote the original version of Reintroducing Myself in 2023. Reading it now, it holds up reasonably well, but a lot has changed, and it felt like time to say hello again, properly.
I am Nonie Carr, a Counselling and Clinical Psychologist and the principal of Enhance Life Psychology. I work from Crawley House in Albert Park, and with clients across Australia online. I have been a psychologist for close to twenty years, and in private practice for more than a decade. Enhance Life Psychology has been based in Albert Park since 2020; a quiet, village-like part of Melbourne.
The road here
Before I was a psychologist, I was a teacher. Secondary school, three years in the classroom, and I loved it. What I loved most was the moment something clicked for a student, when something that had been murky became clear. That moment stayed with me, and if I am honest, it still drives me.
I began my Masters of Psychology while I was still teaching. When I finished, I moved into school-based psychology and worked in secondary schools almost 10 years, building a private practice alongside that work. Eventually I reached a point where private practice was where I felt I could make the most meaningful contribution, and Enhance Life Psychology became my full focus.
The teaching never really stopped. There is a fair amount of it that still happens in the therapy room.
What I do, and who I work with
My work sits at the intersection of clinical and performance psychology. I work with adolescents and adults, both in person and online.
Many of the people I see are doing well on the outside but carrying something on the inside that is getting in the way. They might be athletes, performers, students, or professionals. They might come in describing anxiety, difficulty concentrating, a pattern of self-criticism, or a sense that something is holding them back in their performance or their relationships. Often, what brings someone through the door turns out to be connected to something deeper; and it is not unusual for what looks like performance anxiety to trace back to earlier experiences that are at the root of it. That connection rarely emerges quickly. It takes time, trust, and a working relationship where the person feels genuinely safe to explore.
I also work with people who have experienced trauma, and with those navigating significant life challenges across a range of contexts.
The approaches I draw on include EMDR, Schema Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and mindfulness-based approaches. Early sessions tend to focus on what is most pressing, finding some stability, building confidence, developing practical tools. As the relationship develops and clients feel more comfortable, the work can go to the places that matter most.
I hold endorsements with AHPRA as both a Counselling Psychologist and a Clinical Psychologist. Counselling and Clinical Psychology have significant overlaps, but the approach to the work is slightly different. Counselling Psychology tends to identify the relationship between therapist and client as the primary mechanism of change; the way we relate to the people we work with is central to how progress happens. The reason I applied for Clinical endorsement is straightforward: it allows my clients to access the higher Medicare rebate available when seeing a Clinical Psychologist. There are significant similarities in the training and the clinical work across both endorsements, and that practical benefit to clients was what drove me to pursue it.
I am also a Board-Approved Supervisor, working with provisionally registered and fully registered psychologists.
Bindi
This is Bindi. She is a black Kelpie, and she has been part of my life since 2022. She arrived from a home with nine other Kelpies, had never been alone, and came with significant separation anxiety. We spent a long time working through that together.
What neither of us anticipated is that we would end up competing in dog agility. It has become one of the more absorbing things in my life outside of work, and it keeps teaching me things I find genuinely useful. Agility is always a team effort; it is about communication, about learning to read Bindi’s body language and making sure mine is clear enough for her to read in return. It is also about managing the pressure of a competition environment: not just the moments in the ring, but everything around them, the waiting, the noise, the variables you cannot control.
Animal assisted therapy is something I remain interested in and continue to work toward. In the meantime, Bindi is a daily reminder that even the most anxious dog, given time and the right conditions, can find her confidence and her stride.
Outside the therapy room
I have a long background in competitive cycling, having raced at state, national, and World Masters level. These days open water swimming is a growing interest. Both have given me a lived understanding of what performance actually demands, not just physically, but psychologically.
If you are thinking about getting in touch
People arrive in different ways. Some come with a clear sense of what they want to work on; others know something needs to shift but are not yet sure what. Either is fine, and sometimes what brings someone through the door turns out to be the beginning of a different or deeper conversation than they expected. We do not need to have it mapped out from the beginning.
What I can offer is an evidence-informed approach, a genuine interest in the person in front of me, and a commitment to go wherever the work needs to go. We generally start somewhere manageable and build from there. The deeper work tends to come when the time is right, when you are ready. I will be there for that too.
If you would like to know more, you are welcome to look around the site, or to reach out directly.
Originally published 2023. Republished May 2026.
