Who are its Practioners - Who We Are

Michael Cohn

Loren Robinson

Michael Cohn and Roy Sugarman are psychotherapists with a wide range of experience spanning more than a quarter of a century. We both have Master's degrees in the Human Sciences, both with distinction, and we both have run numerous anxiety and depression groups as well as groups in other areas. We have done considerable work in cross-cultural facilitation and integration, confronting psychosocial issues with other cultures in areas such as culture shock, work-place integration, and general facilitation of interaction between Western and non-Western cultures. We both possess international experience as teachers, facilitators, lecturers and clinicians

Michael's skills base is spread broadly between A) didactic business, industrial and organisational expertise - he has degrees in commerce and law, has spent more than 20 years in an industrial environment and as a practicing lawyer - in several countries. B) humanist, clinical and psychotherapeutic expertise - he has a Masters degree in counselling (with distinction) and has spent much of his later life as a practicing therapist offering face-to-face therapy as well as running numerous mood disorder and anxiety disorder groups in private psychiatric facility settings, in major health provider settings and in his own successful private psychotherapy setting. But perhaps most important of all, he has successfully immigrated twice and has lived and worked in 3 countries, each time having to make the necessary and profound adjustments, productively re-inventing himself in different and exciting career paths. His strength lies in his ability to see opportunities where others may see obstacles, challenges in place of problems. Apart from his ongoing groups with depressed and anxious clients, he is active in transition counselling, helping people who have immigrated and who are struggling with new identities and careers, or helping people who have been retrenched or who have retired. In addition, he works with couples from different cultural backgrounds, or with people struggling with death or divorce.

Roy is a Clinical Psychologist with a Master's degree in clinical psychology (with distinction) and he has a Doctorate in the field of Clinical Neuropsychology. Until recently he was the Principal Psychologist in South Western Sydney and served as the Clinical Director of the Clinical Therapies Programme in Liverpool, targeting the anxiety and mood disorders. He has held conjoint and clinical titles as a senior lecturer in psychiatry at the universities of Adelaide and New South Wales. He is currently the acting director of psychology at Royal Ryde Rehabilitation Centre, working part time there. Roy is acknowledged internationally as an expert in cross-cultural assessment, and has years of experience in the rehabilitation of psychiatric and neurological disorders, in Johannesburg, Adelaide, and now Sydney. He has been a clinical lecturer in the department of psychiatry at Adelaide University and a conjoint senior lecture in psychiatry at the University of New South Wales. Finally, Roy is a sought-after speaker in many fields, including working with difficult people, motivational enhancement, the treatment of substance abuse, cross-cultural psychology, retention of staff, and so on.

As a matter of record, we have multiple affiliations with various professional organisations locally and internationally and are highly regarded for our clinical work and teaching. We have presented and continue to present courses and workshops on how to deal with psychosocial problems such as anxiety, depression, social phobia, trauma and motivating oneself and others as well as continuing to run anxiety and depression groups. We facilitate workshops and lectures on interpersonal issues such as dealing with 'difficult' people, coping with immigration and culture shock, and interacting with other cultures.

Finally we reiterate that we continue to practise as clinicians, maintaining our clinical expertise in individual, dyadic (couples counselling) and family issues, and general psychological services.