Dr Linda MacKay

Biography

Linda is a highly regarded relationship and trauma therapist and teacher in the field nationally. As well as lecturing at Notre Dame, Linda currently provides supervision and coaching to senior practitioners and teams across the disciplines of psychiatry, psychology, social work and family, adult, child and adolescent mental health, and family mediation services. She has extensive experience working with individuals, couples and families, and has specialised in working with people who have suffered grief and loss, sexual issues and complex trauma issues including child sexual abuse, domestic violence, dissociation and self-harm. Linda's approach to her work informed by many years working within traditional psychotherapeutic models, has evolved to take into account the neurobiology of trauma and anxiety and the embeddedness of these symptoms within the family emotional process.

Linda was recently the Guest Editor for the Special December 2017 Issue of the Australian & New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy (ANZJFT) and is the ANZJFT's Associate Editor (in Practice) from 2018.

Linda also has a specific interest in all workplace systems across both the health and business sectors, where she consults to senior managers and their teams to facilitate optimal outcomes across all levels of functioning to enhance employee well-being, creativity and performance.

Teaching areas

Counselling, Psychotherapy, Couple and Family Therapy,
Child and Adolescent Mental Health
Organisational Change Management

Research expertise and supervision

Linda's research supervision interests pertain to family systems understanding of human functioning, particularly in relation to mental health, trauma, including child sexual abuse and domestic violence, grief and loss, parenting challenging adolescents and anxious children, couple issues related to intimacy and affairs and how relationship stressors impact wellbeing.

Linda is particularly interested in poststructuralist approaches to research, and is grounded in both qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis.

Journal articles and proceedings

MacKay, L. M. (2017). Differentiation of Self: Enhancing Therapist Resilience when Working with Relational Trauma. The Australian & New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 38(4), 637-656. doi:10.1002/anzf.1276
MacKay, L. M. (2017). Editorial: Relational Trauma Special Issue. The Australian & New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 38(4), 557-560. doi:10.1002/anzf.1277
MacKay, L.M. & Brown, J. B. (2013). Collaborative approaches to family systems supervision: Differentiation of self. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 34(4), 325-337.
MacKay, L.M.(2012). Trauma and Bowen family systems theory: Working with adults who were abused as children. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 33(3), 232-241.
Fraser, B. MacKay, L., Pease, L. (2010). Interview with Michael Kerr. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 31(1), 100-109.
MacKay, L. M. (2003). With my father: Grief work and therapy's soulful places. Psychotherapy Australia, 9(2), 46-51.
MacKay, L. M. (2000). J. R. Carrette, Foucault and religion: Spiritual corporality and political spirituality. [Review of the book Foucault and religion: Spiritual corporality and political spirituality, by Jeremy R. Carette]. International Journal of Critical Psychology, 8, 186-189.

Conference papers

MacKay, L.M. (2017). 'The challenges of co-regulation and differentiation of self in non-kinship care from a Bowen family systems lens', Center for Study of Natural Systems and the Family Symposium, February 17, Houston, Texas.
MacKay, L.M. (2017). 'Reducing vicarious traumatization: Thinking about the limits of being “good-enough” when working with traumatized clients', Australian & New Zealand Association of Psychotherapy (ANZAP), Sydney University. April 29, *Keynote Address.
MacKay, L.M. (2017). 'Relational trauma and Bowen family systems theory: Current Perspectives', Contemporary Practice in Family Therapy 1 Day Symposium, Sydney, May 12. *Keynote Address.
MacKay, L.M. (2015). Anxiety in the context of the family. Northern Beaches Child and Family Interagency Forum, Sydney. October 28. *Keynote Address
MacKay, L.M. (2014). 'The influence of family emotional process and anxiety on developmental challenges: A Bowen natural systems perspective', Hunter New England Health Psychology Conference, 'Psychology across the Lifespan’, University of Newcastle, November 14.*Keynote Address.
MacKay, L.M. (2014).'Two competing forces – the need for autonomy and the need for intimacy – How to think about functioning under stress in families and at work', Cooperation and Conflict in the Family Conference, University of NSW, February 2-5.
MacKay, L.M. (2013). 'Attachment, Anxiety and Systems', Keep Them Safe-Whole Family Team Forum, Sydney, March 11-12. *Keynote address.
MacKay, L.M. (2011).'Family systems and child abuse', Australian Independent School Counsellors Conference, Terrigal, NSW, May 26-27. *Keynote address.
MacKay, L.M. (2010). 'Working with dissociation: Subjectivity, recognition & trauma', Redbank Lecture, June. *Keynote address.

Professional affiliations

Associate Editor (In Practice) The Australian & New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy (ANZJFT)
Accredited Supervisor and Clinical Member Australian Association of Family Therapy (AAFT)
Clinical Member Psychotherapy and Counselling Association of Australia (PACFA)
Past Executive Member Counsellors and Psychotherapists Association (CAPA) NSW, 2012-2013
Past Executive Member of the Australasian Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ASTSS), 2008-2010
Past Executive Member Australian & New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy (ANZJFT), 2003 – 2008

Community engagement

Co-Director The Family Systems Institute, Neutral Bay, Sydney
www.thefsi.com.au
www.lindamackayconsulting.com

Awards

Excellence in Teaching Commendations, University of Notre Dame, Australia, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
Faculty Medal, University of New England, 1997

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