ALIYA

Aliya Chalmers

Registered Provisional Psychologist

Aliya (She/Her) is a proud Aboriginal woman with Scottish and Irish ancestry, who has grown up on Ngunnawal Country (so-called Canberra) and lived in Naarm (so-called Melbourne) on the lands of the Wurundjeri peoples of the Kulin Nation for seven years.

Aliya is a Koori woman who has connections to Yolngu peoples of North East Arnhem Land and various parts of Counrty across Eastern Australia.

Aliya is passionate about being part of growing the number of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander clinical psychologists in Australia and is dedicated to improving the quality of culturally sensitive and informed mental health care to Indigenous communities and other marginalized identities.

Aliya has experience working with Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) and has worked therapeutically with Aboriginal children in out-of-home-care before starting her Master of Psychology (Clinicial Psychology) at Swinburne University in 2023 where she has been working as a Provisionally Registered Psychologist, providing ongoing low-cost counselling, and psychological assessment services to individuals in the Melbourne community.

Aliya’s therapeutic approach prioritises creating a culturally safe space for her clients to explore what is going on in their lives and understand how best to help them cope with stressors experienced and improve wholistic wellbeing. Using a client centred approach Aliya has had experience working with a variety of therapeutic approaches including:

  • Trauma-informed cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT),

  • Narrative-informed approaches,

  • Compassion-based techniques,

  • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) informed approaches,

  • Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) informed approaches.

Aliya is dedicated to continual learning, introspection, and development, especially regarding her own advantages and roles in society, and believes culturally responsive therapy is fundamental to providing mental health and wellbeing support.

Education 

Master of Psychology (Clinical Psychology) | Swinburne University of Technology | Current 

Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Psychology | The University of Melbourne | 2021 

Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Indigenous Studies | The University of Melbourne | 2019