laurie MacKinnon msw, phd

By the age of 18, Laurie was already fascinated by the human mind and interpersonal relationships and since then she has devoted her life to studying what makes people and relationships tick. She is passionate about helping people and training other therapists, and her warmth, humour and superior listening ability make her a natural therapist and teacher. Over the years, she trained in numerous individual and family therapy approaches, and then trained a generation of family therapists in Sydney.  

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After a brief foray into the academic world, Laurie realized that her heart would always be in working directly with clients. Nevertheless, her curious and driven mind continued to study and published widely within the field of therapy. Initially, writing was a way for her to integrate her own learning. But later, it was also a way to challenge dogma and render difficult concepts more accessible for the benefit of other therapists.

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In 2012, The American Family Therapy Academy honoured Laurie with the Distinguished Contribution to Family Therapy Theory and Practice Award.   Also in 2012, the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy presented her with the Special Award for Distinguished Contributions to Family Therapy.

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Over the last decade, Laurie's focus turned to working with trauma.  She integrated several approaches to develop her own model, called Radical Exposure Tapping ( RET),  for rapidly resolving disturbing memories and symptoms of post- traumatic stress disorder.  She went on to train therapists all over Australia and in Canada in her approach.

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In her spare time, she also likes to research health and fitness, and indulge in her love of technology and gadgets (a fan of electric bikes!) Laurie has always loved dogs, so it's no surprise that she is training her two mini-Labradoodles to be therapy dogs.

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