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Provisional psychologist · Founder of PsychVault · Perth WA
Author
Ethan Smith
Provisional Psychologist & Founder, PsychVault
Perth, Western Australia
~1,400
Internship experience
Provisional
Professional status
Perth
Location
Founder
Role
Areas of practice
AuDHD / PDA profileAutistic individuals (ages 5–21)ADHD & SLD assessmentNeuro-affirming practiceCBT / ACT / DBT / MBTVideo game therapyNDIS & IEP assessmentsGatekeeper trainedLGBTIQA+ affirming practiceGroup interventionsMotivational InterviewingHigh-risk presentations
About
Founder and editorial contact: ethan@psychvault.com.au. Read the editorial policy and business details. Authorship does not mean an article has had independent clinical review.
Ethan H. Smith is a provisional psychologist based in Perth, Western Australia, and the founder of PsychVault. He has completed approximately 1,400 total psychology internship hours across assessment, therapeutic work, group programs, and work with neurodivergent clients and families.
His professional interests include neurodivergence, assessment, video-game-based therapeutic work, clinician development, and the systems surrounding psychology training and registration.
Ethan created PsychVault to make practical psychology resources easier to find, understand, and share. His writing covers internship pathways, supervision, registration, neuro-affirming practice, documentation, and early-career psychology.
Ethan is neurodivergent himself — PDA, AuDHD, dyslexia, and dysgraphia — and approaches neurodiversity as identity, not pathology.
Therapeutic approaches
CBTACTDBTMBTSolution-Focused TherapyMotivational InterviewingVideo game therapy
Delivered individually and in groups, in-person and online.
Assessment toolkit
Cognitive & educational
- WISC-V
- WIAT-III
- Vineland (adaptive functioning)
Neurodivergence & mental health
- Conners 4 (ADHD)
- RCADS · SCAS · EDA-Q
- ASRS · SRS · AQ-child
What he writes about
- The AHPRA 5+1 internship year — logbooks, hours, and what nobody tells you
- Supervision: finding good supervisors, spotting red flags, getting the most from it
- National Psychology Examination prep and strategy
- Neuro-affirming practice and documentation for autistic and ADHD clients
- Clinical practice realities: NDIS, assessments, and building a caseload
Professional development highlights
- Autism for Mental Health Professionals: Foundations — Dr Belinda Ratcliffe (8 hrs, 2022)
- WISC-V & WIAT-III for SLD Diagnosis — Dr Melissa Stephens (2022)
- CBIT & Habit Reversal Therapy — Dr Amy Talbot (2022)
- Attachment, Neurobiology & the New Science of Psychotherapy — Prof Jeremy Holmes (2022)
- Gatekeeper Suicide Prevention Training — Mental Health Commission (~6 hrs, 2023)
- Ross Greene / PDA Conference volunteer, Optus Stadium (2024)
Neuroscience (degree)
Brain-based foundations for clinical practice & psychoeducation
Edith Cowan University
Clinical Masters coursework
Macquarie University
Centre for Emotional Health — research internship
Written by Ethan Smith
108 articles
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From October 2026, Improved Daily Living Skills budget allocations will be reduced by 10%. Learn when the reset applies, what is exempt and what to do next.
A practical guide to confidentiality, serious risk and mandatory child protection reporting for psychologists in Australian private practice.
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Practical, neurodiversity-affirming guidance for autistic, ADHD and AuDHD parents on boundaries, accountability, co-parenting and repair.
Clinical mistakes are not all equivalent. Learn how alliance rupture research can guide proportionate accountability, repair, supervision and safer psychology practice.
You usually need an APAC-accredited fourth year to enter a professional psychology master's in Australia, but it does not have to be called Honours.