Dr Cathy Bettman

Senior Lecturer, Program Coordinator for the Master of Counselling and Discipline Coordinator of the counselling major
BA (UNISA), Post Graduate Diploma of Conflict Resolution (Macquarie), Master of Couples and Family Therapy (UNSW), Master of Counselling (UWS), MSc(Psychotherapy) (University of Sheffield), PhD (University of Victoria)

Email: catherine.bettman@nd.edu.au
Phone: 02 8204 4400

  • Biography

    Dr Cathy Bettman has lectured and practised counselling in diverse contexts for over 20 years. She also supervises students, interns and practitioners in clinical and research settings.  For her PhD, Cathy conducted a qualitative research study in the area of domestic violence. Her thesis was entitled: Patriarchy: The Predominant Discourse and Font of Domestic Violence. This study resulted in her achieving a reputation as a feminist researcher although she prefers her philosophical stance to be understood as more inclusive. Having been trained in humanistic and systemic frameworks, she embraces social constructivist, constructionist and dialogical paradigms.

  • Teaching areas

    • Counselling Theories and Practice
    • Couple and Family Therapy
    • Research
    • Supervision

  • Research interests and current projects

    Dr Cathy Bettman is interested in all research related to counselling, as well as Domestic Violence and projects on Gender, Sexuality and Diversity (cultural, ethnic and religious).  
    Currently she is working on 2 projects:

    • Teaching counselling: an exercise in language
    • Texting: a case study demonstrating the pro's and cons for counselling a young suicidal male in a remote area of Australia

  • Research supervision

    HDR Supervision

    • Oluwatoyin Dedeigbo, Domestic Violence in CALD Communities: Perceptions, Therapeutic Approaches and Responses of Frontline Workers in NSW, PhD (current)
    • Rahal Dergham, A qualitative investigation of how service providers perceive the Syrian refugees' experience of acculturative stress in the first two years of settlement in Australia, Master of Arts (Research) (current)

    MCounselling Research

    • Katie Empson, An exploration of the impact of environmental changes on an individual's mental health (current)
    • Belinda Tinson, Are you a counsellor that works with digital technologies to counsel clients? (current)
    • Stephania Michael,The initial and continuing motivations of counselling (current)
    • Doreen Waddington, What can be learned from the subjective experience of home care workers about the recruitment, retention and turnover of home care staff? MCounselling & Psychotherapy, (ACAP).
    • Christine Gissing, A Qualitative Study on the Experiences of Women Transitioning through Menopause, MCounselling & Psychotherapy, (ACAP).
    • Alexandra Chandler, The Meaning of Self-care to Rural Community Mental Health Counsellors, MCounselling & Psychotherapy, (ACAP).
    • Rana Fathali, The role of language for Farsi-English speaking bilinguals in the counselling process, MCounselling & Psychotherapy, (ACAP).
    • Mehrnaz Mumtahan, A Qualitative Study on Men's Experiences of Stress and Anxiety, MCounselling & Psychotherapy, (ACAP).
    • Gabrielle Davidson, An exploration of self-care when working with clients suffering from borderline personality disorder, MCounselling & Psychotherapy, (ACAP).
    • Neil Holden, A Qualitative Study into the Retirement Experience of Men: What could go wrong?, MCounselling & Psychotherapy, (ACAP).
    • Maria Bouiali, Understanding vicarious traumatisation: Identifying protective strategies, MCounselling & Psychotherapy, (ACAP).
    • Louise Cross, Parental perceptions of children's gender related play, MCounselling and Psychotherapy, (ACAP).
    • Vanessa Holt, An evaluation of the therapeutic potential of a creative writing program in residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation, MCounselling and Psychotherapy, (ACAP).
    • Shannon Thomas, Exploring factors influencing first time parents in their decision to vaccinate their child; Can counselling help?, MCounselling and Psychotherapy, (ACAP).
    • Olga Underwood, Redefining Retirement, MCounselling and Psychotherapy, (ACAP).
    • Margaret (Meg) Cunningham, Yo-yo dieters' perceptions of external influences that impact their weight loss choices, decisions and behaviour, MCounselling and Psychotherapy, (ACAP).
    • Maged Morris, Factors affecting marriage breakdown in Sydney's Coptic community, Australia, MCounselling and Psychotherapy, (ACAP).
    • Jessica Pascoe, How does a better living program make a better living?  A qualitative, exploratory study of a counselling intervention for adults who are blind or vision impaired, MCounselling and Psychotherapy, (ACAP).
    • Bronwyn Towson, The effect of depression and/or anxiety on career development, MCounselling and Psychotherapy, (ACAP).
    • Brooke Cefai, Women's lived experiences of abortion, MCounselling and Psychotherapy, (ACAP).
    • Girija Dadhe, A study of the social effects of methamphetamine use on adult users, MCounselling and Psychotherapy, (ACAP).
    • Karen Towers, The long term results of participating in charitable sobriety programs, MCounselling and Psychotherapy, (ACAP).
    • Leah Moss, An investigation of body satisfaction and self-esteem in adolescence, MCounselling and Psychotherapy, (ACAP).
    • Lucinda Dimond, The impact of witnessing domestic violence in childhood on adult men, MCounselling and Psychotherapy, (ACAP).
    • Daung Din (Samira), What role does spirituality play for individuals recovering from addiction, MCounselling and Psychotherapy, (ACAP).
    • Hesam Abdol Rahimi, What are the effects of migration on Iranians settling in Australia, MCounselling and Psychotherapy, (ACAP).
    • Jess Sowden, The Spirit of Motivational Interviewing and Therapist Burnout: An explanation of practitioner experiences, MCounselling and Psychotherapy, (ACAP).
    • Rebecca Nakhla, Beyond the Physical: Exploring the Psychosocial Impact of Road Traffic Accidents on Their Survivors, MCounselling and Psychotherapy, (ACAP).
    • Alessandro Di Giacomo, An Investigation into the experiences of school counsellors working with adolescents, MCounselling and Psychotherapy (ACAP).
    • William Berry, Identifying the factors that affect student efficacy and well-being whilst studying in tertiary education, MCounselling and Psychotherapy.
    • Michael Jerabek, The Wounded-Healer in the Australian Alcohol and Other Drug Sector, MCounselling and Psychotherapy (ACAP).
    • Sarah Hough, Multicultural counselling competence: Exploring the perceptions and experiences of counsellors and psychotherapists working with culturally diverse clients, MCounselling and Psychotherapy (ACAP).
    • Sirin Erdogan, The Importance of Communication in an Intimate Relationship: A Qualitative Study, MCounselling and Psychotherapy (ACAP).
    • Rebecca Hosking, Investigating how members of Australian Emergency Services view and utilise the Counselling Services made available to them, MCounselling and Psychotherapy (ACAP).
    • Christine Faddoul, How do Lawyers Comprehend Vicarious Traumatization and Counselling: A Qualitative Investigation, MCounselling and Psychotherapy (ACAP).
    • Jacinta Marks, Exploring the Manner in which Volunteer Telephone Crisis Supporters Deal with the Effects of Suicide Calls, MCounselling and Psychotherapy (ACAP).
    • Manal El-Hallab, Exploring the impact of religion upon marital satisfaction for married Muslim women, MCounselling and Psychotherapy (ACAP).
    • Francesca Palazzolo, Exploring the lived experience of problematic users of internet pornography: a qualitative study, MCounselling and Psychotherapy (ACAP).
    • Reem Aly, A qualitative study on the experience of Muslim women who wear the hijab in Australia, MCounselling and Psychotherapy (ACAP).
    • Keith Avedissian, A study of the experiences of crisis counsellors with calls that they perceive to be traumatic, MCounselling and Psychotherapy (ACAP).
    • Jacinta Marks, (PhD), Exploring the perceived impact of hearing impairment on the mental health of adults.
    • Tiana Sakr, (Master by Research), The practice of Pre-Abortion Counselling in New South Wales, Australia.
    • Margaret Welch, (PhD), Exploring the contribution of a process-oriented approach to counselling for counsellors-in-training in Australia: A qualitative study.
    • George Prince, (Master by Research), What is the experience of parents who have been diagnosed with cancer whilst parenting minor-aged children: A phenomenological study.
    • Alessandro Di Giacomo, (PhD), The perspectives of school counsellors working with students who experience social, emotional and behavioural difficulties.

  • Books

    • Chapman, K. (2010).  For All Our Sakes. Adelaide: Ginninderra Press. (Published under a pseudonym).

  • Journal articles and proceedings

    • Tudor, K., Bettman, C., Bloch-Atefi, A., Day, E., His, T., Lowenthal, D., Low, P.K., O’Neill, G., & van Deurzen, E. (2021). Psychotherapy practice, education, and training during the coronavirus pandemic: Members of the editorial board of the Psychotherapy and Counselling Journal of Australia share their experiences. Psychotherapy and Counselling Journal of Australia (PACJA), 9, 1.
    • Bettman, C. (in press). What am I?  A counsellor or a psychotherapist?  Does it matter? Psychotherapy and Counselling Today
    • Bettman, C. G. & Digiacomo, A. (2021). An investigation into the experiences of school counsellors working with adolescents, Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools, 1 – 15. Doi:10.1017/jgc.2020.33.
    • Bettman, C. (in press). Enjoying the Zoom campus - who would have thought? Psychotherapy and Counselling Journal of Australia
    • Bettman, C. & Palazzolo, F. (2020, May 15). Exploring the Lived Experience of Problematic Users of Internet Pornography: A Qualitative Study. Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity. https://doi.org/10.1080/10720162.2020.1766610
    • Bettman, C & Dadhe, G. (2019).  A study of the social effects of methamphetamine use on adult users.  Psychotherapy and Counselling Today.  (Winner of the ACTA Excellence in Research and Evaluation Therapeutic Community Research Award).
    • Bettman, C. (2019).  Paddling in the same direction.  Psychotherapy and Counselling Today, Inaugural Edition.
    • Bettman, C., (2017).  Paddling in the same direction.  PACFA eNewsletter, March.
    • Noble, C. & Bettman, C.  (2003). Culture, social discourse and domestic violence: What is the connection? Women against Violence, 14, 42-49.
    • Bettman, C.  (2008). Patriarchy: the predominant discourse and font of domestic violence.  The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 30, 1, 15-28.

  • Professional affiliations

    • Elected to the Academic Board for Banksia Institute - formerly the Institute for Emotionally Focussed Therapy
    • Member of the PACFA Research Committee
    • Member of the PACJA Editorial Board
    • Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia, PACFA
    • Clinical Registrant and Accredited Supervisor.  As a former Clinical Member of the Australian Association of Relationship Counsellors (AARC) (since 1998) and the Society of Counselling and Psychotherapy Educators (SCAPE) (since 2015), now a member of the new PACFA Colleges for Relationship Counsellors and Counselling and Psychotherapy Educators
    • Australasian Association of Supervision, AAOS
    • Former member of ACAP NPI Human Research Ethics Committee
    • Member of the PACFA Leadership Committee
    • Member of the PACFA Professional Conduct Training Panel
    • Member of the Institute of Emotionally Focused Therapy Advisory Committee

  • Awards

    Winner of the ACTA Excellence in Research and Evaluation Therapeutic Community Research Award (2019)

  • Community and industry engagement

    • Elected to the Academic Board for Banksia Institute - formerly the Institute for Emotionally Focussed Therapy. Resigned December 2021
    • Member of the PACFA Research Committee
    • Member of the PACJA Editorial Board
    • Former member of ACAP NPI Human Research Ethics Committee
    • Member of the PACFA Leadership Committee
    • Member of the PACFA Professional Conduct Training Panel
    • Member of the Institute of Emotionally Focused Therapy Advisory Committee

  • Professional affiliation

    • Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia, PACFA
    • Clinical Registrant and Accredited Supervisor.  As a former Clinical Member of the Australian Association of Relationship Counsellors (AARC) (since 1998) and the Society of Counselling and Psychotherapy Educators (SCAPE) (since 2015), now a member of the new PACFA Colleges for Relationship Counsellors and Counselling and Psychotherapy Educators
    • Australasian Association of Supervision, AAOS