Natalia Cajide

At a glance

• Works with: Adults and older adults, individual therapy only
• Locations: Kew, Croydon, and Online
• Approach: Non-deficit, integrative, body-informed
• Languages: English and Spanish

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

From Natalia

I believe you already have the answers.

You are more capable and resourceful than you think, even when it doesn't feel that way.

Therapy gives you something simple but rare. A moment to stop. A space to slow down, reflect, and get to know yourself better.

To notice the patterns that keep tripping you up, but also to see the strengths you've had all along.

Who I work with

I work with adults and older adults carrying the full range of what life brings. A mind that won't switch off, days that feel heavier than they should, grief and loss that lingers, something from the past that keeps showing up, or a life that no longer fits the way it used to.

Common reasons people come to see me

• Adults who've spent decades thinking they were lazy or difficult, now finally making sense of themselves.
• People who can't switch their brain off, even when everything looks fine from the outside.
• The ones who keep showing up for everyone else while quietly running on empty.
• People managing a life shaped by extreme highs and lows, and everything that comes with that.
• People navigating a body that isn't cooperating, and the grief and identity shifts that come with it.
• People sitting with loss the world has moved on from too quickly.
• People carrying something heavy from the past that keeps showing up in the present.
• People at a crossroads, when the life they knew no longer fits.

Who I'm not the right fit for

• Children or adolescents
• Couples and family therapy
• Court-mandated work
• Eating disorders
• Personality disorder
• Addiction or substance use
• Acute crisis or high-risk presentations
• Presentations requiring psychiatric or inpatient pathways

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

How I work

I start by getting curious. About your life, your patterns, and what's brought you to this point.

The work looks different for every person, so I draw on a range of approaches depending on what you need. Some of that is thinking and talking. Some of it works through the body. All of it is guided by what makes sense for you.

Inside that approach, I draw on

• Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT). A practical, structured approach. We look at the connection between your thoughts, feelings, and behaviour, and work on shifting the patterns that aren't serving you.
• 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 still around.
• Internal Family Systems (IFS). We all have different parts of ourselves. Some that protect us, some that carry old pain. IFS helps you understand those parts with curiosity instead of judgement.
• Brainspotting. A gentle approach that works below the surface. Using eye position and body awareness, it helps process experiences that are hard to reach through talking alone.
• Somatic therapy. The body holds what the mind can't always put into words. Somatic work helps you tune into physical sensations as a way of understanding what you carry.
• Strengths-based approach. We spend time noticing what's already working in you. Your resilience, your resources, your capacity. And build from there.
• Breathwork. Conscious breathing as a tool to support nervous system regulation. Evidence-informed, used alongside other approaches depending on what you need.

Whatever approach we use, the aim is the same. To give you a better understanding of yourself and more room to move. Not to turn you into a different person, but to help you find your way from where you already are.

Training and credentials

Registration

• Registered Psychologist, AHPRA PSY0002474316

Qualifications

• Master of Professional Psychology, Victoria University
• Bachelor of Psychology (Honours), Deakin University

Additional training

• Brainspotting, Level 1
• Certified Breathwork Instructor

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 and Saturdays fortnightly. More about Kew.
• Croydon. 88-90 Main St, Croydon VIC 3136. Thursdays weekly. Mondays fortnightly. More about Croydon.
• Online. Australia-wide via Microsoft Teams. Monday to Thursday, Saturdays fortnightly. 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 Natalia

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