Dr Natalie Rimlinger, Canberra Psychologist
It makes me laugh that a high school drop-out gained the honour of being called Dr Rimlinger. How does this happen? As it turns out I’m a gifted, rebellious, underachiever who found my purpose later in life.
As the daughter of a Vietnam Veteran, I was a teen in the 80s and rebelled against almost everything – my parents, school, rules. I questioned authority and I questioned what I was taught. Can I say I was a shit?
And no body understood me. I told the school counsellor where he could stick it, and when I sat on that chair in a psychologist’s office, I felt it was all rubbish – blah blah blah. No one knew how to handle me.
But life went on, and I started a family. I was blessed with two beautiful daughters. As they grew, I knew something was different with my girls, but I thought they were just a bit clever. And boy were they handfuls at times. They never seemed settled and always needed more attention. Anyway, long story short (which I’ll tell you one day if you’re interested), after tests and finding the right specialist, my girls were ‘diagnosed’ as gifted.
And it turns out, so was I! This explains my behaviour as a kid – I was just bored and misunderstood.
It was through meeting all these caring professionals, who for the first time understood and helped me, I was inspired to study Psychology. But my point of difference is looking for ways to help gifted individuals and their families.
What this means for my clients is having an older, wiser person with a load of life experience sitting opposite them and understanding what they’re going through. And trust me, with the things I got up to, nothing much surprises me! Go on, try me.
My therapy of choice
The therapy I use is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). I choose ACT because it believes we are all cut from the same cloth.
If you’re looking for a fully qualified psychologist who has her ACT together, is warm and is authentic (I am who I am – no bells and whistles – it’s just me) and has a genuine desire to help you live a life you’ll value, we should connect.
My qualifications
B Sc (Psych) Hons (ANU)
PhD (Clin Psych) (ANU)