Chantelle Martyn

Chantelle is a Clinical Psychologist with a Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) and Master of Psychology (Clinical) degree from the University of New South Wales. She has a strong interest and experience in treating anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder and hoarding disorder. Chantelle also has experience in treating a range of other psychological difficulties in both adolescents and adults, including mood disorders such as depression and bipolar disorder, sleep difficulties, perfectionism and procrastination. In addition, she assists parents with the management of childhood behavioural difficulties, having been trained in the provision of parent management training and Parent-Child Interaction Therapy.

Chantelle has trained and worked in a range of different settings, including the University of New South Wales Psychology Clinic and community mental health settings such as the Anxiety Treatment and Research Unit at Cumberland Hospital, an outpatient unit for the treatment of anxiety disorders in adults. Most recently, she worked at Rivendell Child, Adolescent and Family Mental Health Service, which provides both inpatient and outpatient services to children, adolescents and their families. In these contexts, Chantelle gained experience in the provision of both individual and group therapy, primarily from a cognitive-behavioural (CBT) framework, while also drawing upon elements of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and mindfulness.

Chantelle takes a collaborative approach to treatment, in which she works with her clients to seek a mutual understanding of the patterns or various factors maintaining their difficulties and how they can best be addressed. Throughout treatment, she invites feedback from her clients regarding what strategies they are finding the most effective, to ensure that therapy is tailored to meet her clients’ needs.

Prior to pursuing her career as a Clinical Psychologist, Chantelle completed a degree in medical science, specialising in neuroscience at the University of New South Wales. She believes that her background in neuroscience (neuropharmacology in particular) better enables her to communicate with Psychiatrists and General Practitioners regarding medication you may be placed on to assist you with the management of psychological difficulties (e.g., antidepressants and anxiolytics). Furthermore, it helps her to better understand associated side effects you may be experiencing.

Chantelle has a particular interest in the psychological aspects of gastrointestinal problems. She can assist clients with identifying and better managing factors that contributing to Coeliac Disease, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and food allergies, and she can help clients adjust to the dietary and lifestyle changes associated with a diagnosis of one of these conditions.

Chantelle is a fully registered Psychologist with the Psychology Board of Australia and has obtained endorsement as a Clinical Psychologist. She is a member of the Australian Association for Cognitive and Behaviour Therapy and the Anxiety Practitioners Network, Sydney.

Chantelle has a keen interest in research. She has conducted preclinical research examining whether endogenous levels of a particular protein found in the brain could act as a biomarker for individual differences in extinction recall (i.e., how well someone remembers what they have learnt during exposure therapy for an anxiety disorder). More recently, she has been involved in running a study at the University of New South Wales on interpersonal functioning in hoarding disorder, examining how those suffering from hoarding difficulties appraise their attachment to other people and regulate their emotions in response to an interpersonal stressor.

Presentations:

• Grisham, J. R., Kerin, F., Martyn, C., & Baldwin, P. (Accepted 18 December, 2015). Intra- and inter-personal emotion regulation difficulties in hoarding disorder. Paper to be presented at the 8th World Congress of Behavioural and Cognitive Therapies, Melbourne, Australia.
• Kandris, E., & Martyn, C. (June, 2015). Session attendance, medication compliance & home practice: Can you treat OCD without them? Case presentation at the Psychiatry Grand Rounds, Westmead Hospital.
• Martyn, C. (May, 2015). BC: A case of severe OCD. Case presentation at the Behavioural Medicine Seminars, Westmead Hospital.

Awards:

• The Syd Lovibond Prize for Psychology Honours, for meritorious performance in Psychology Honours in the Bachelor of Psychology program (2013).
• University of New South Wales Academic Achievement Award Scholarship (2007).