Matthew Hallam

At a glance

• Works with: Adults 18 and over, therapy and ADHD assessments
• Locations: Kew, Croydon, and Online
• Approach: Non-deficit, integrative, neurodiversity-informed

Matt co-founded Equal Psychology with Natalia. The way he thinks about the work is part of what shaped the practice into what it is. The rest of this page is in his words.

From Matt

I don't see people as broken.

I see a human with a human brain, functioning the way it's wired. The medical model has its uses, and sometimes labelling an experience is genuinely helpful, but what matters more is how you relate to yourself and to others. We're all part of systems, internal and external. Learning how to operate within them, and where it matters reshape them, is where the work lies.

Change doesn't happen in the future. It happens in small, quiet moments right now. Saying "no" to a request at work. Staying quiet when you feel defensive, so a conversation can open up rather than shut down. Not listening to the voice that says they never message me, so why should I?

Curiosity and acceptance. Not acceptance that things are broken. Acceptance that things are as they are. Then drop the judgement and work with it.

Who I work with

Adults (18 and over) who know something isn't working.

You've probably tried to "fix it" already. You've read about it, talked it through, maybe even seen a clinician or two. And no matter what you've done, it isn't getting better, or not in the way you were hoping.

Common reasons people come to see me

• Anxiety that won't switch off. Looping thoughts, a body that won't settle, even after you've talked it through.
• Late-identified neurodivergence. Figuring out a brain you only recently realised wasn't the default.
• The after-effects of something you've survived. Trauma you may or may not have words for.
• High-functioning, quietly falling apart. The version of you everyone else thinks is fine.
• Patterns in relationships. The ones you can see but can't seem to step outside of.

Who I'm not the right fit for

• Anyone under 18
• Court-ordered or court-related work (third-party reports for treatment purposes are different. Those are fine once we're engaged in therapy, charged hourly.)
• Eating disorders
• Personality disorder presentations
• Acute risk or crisis-level presentations
• Severe psychosis or acute mood states requiring inpatient care
• Couples or family therapy

If you're not sure whether you're a fit, the free 15-minute Meet and Greet is built for exactly that.

How I work

The frame is non-deficit. I'm not looking for what's wrong with you and trying to repair it. I'm looking at how your system is working, what it's protecting, what it's missing, and what wants to move.

A lot of the people I see are late-identified neurodivergent adults. That has happened organically rather than by design. The lens I bring lands with people whose brains have spent a long time being told they're wrong, and the same lens shapes the rest of the work I do.

Inside that frame, I draw on

• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). A values-led approach. Less about getting rid of difficult thoughts and feelings, more about building a life that matters to you while they're around.
• Internal Family Systems (IFS). Parts work. The premise is that the parts of you that seem to be in conflict are all doing a job. The work is getting to know them rather than overriding them.
• Somatic and emotion-focused approaches. A lot of what we're working with lives in the body, not in language. We slow down and pay attention to what's actually happening before we try to think our way through it.
• Brainspotting (Level 1 training). An attention and eye-position approach often used with distress that has a strong body component. It works with material the thinking mind hasn't been able to resolve on its own.
• Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT). Useful in places, particularly for understanding the loops between thoughts, feelings, and what you do. I use it where it fits, not as a default.
• Strengths-based work. Not a separate modality so much as a stance. What you already do well is part of the toolkit, not an afterthought.

What I draw on in any given session depends on what's in front of us, not on a protocol. The thread running through all of it is the same. You're not broken, and the work isn't to fix you. It's to understand the system you're already running and shape it in ways you actually want.

Training and credentials

Registration

• Registered Psychologist, AHPRA PSY0002471369

Qualifications

• Master of Professional Psychology, Monash University
• Graduate Diploma in Psychology (Advanced), Monash University
• Graduate Diploma in Psychology, Monash University
• Bachelor of Science, University of Melbourne

Additional training

• Brainspotting, Level 1

Professional memberships

• Australian Association of Psychologists Inc (AAPi)
• Australian ADHD Professionals Association (AADPA)

Where you'll see me

• Kew. Suite 413, 89-93 High St, Kew VIC 3101. Tuesdays and Wednesdays weekly, Mondays fortnightly. More about Kew.
• Croydon. 88-90 Main St, Croydon VIC 3136. Fridays weekly, Mondays fortnightly. More about Croydon.
• Online. Australia-wide via Microsoft Teams. Monday to Friday. More about Online.

Fees and rebates

Standard session $240. Medicare rebate $98.95 per session with a Mental Health Treatment Plan (10 sessions per calendar year). A $20 surcharge applies to Saturday and weekday sessions from 5pm. See full fees.

Book with Matt

If you've read this far, the easiest next step is a free 15-minute Meet and Greet. No obligation. We work out if we're the right fit before you commit to anything.

Book a Meet and Greet Book a full session