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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
A practical and honest guide for neurodivergent psychologists and allied health clinicians navigating systemic ableism, masking, burnout, and finding environments where they actually thrive.
A practice-focused guide to dual relationships in psychology: what they are, why they matter, when they are manageable, and how Australian ethical frameworks expect psychologists to think about risk.
A practical guide for provisional psychologists on what the form actually requires, where most people get stuck, and how to get it approved the first time.
80 hours sounds simple. The rules around what actually qualifies are anything but. A breakdown of individual minimums, flexible allocations, group supervision, and what AHPRA actually requires.
A practical guide to the Australian Psychology Board internship pathway. Understand the 5+1 requirements, logbooks, supervision hours, competencies, and how to survive without burnout.
Everything provisional psychologists need to know about finding, vetting, and committing to a principal supervisor: from searching the register to red flags before you sign.
Understand Australia's NPE: eligibility, curriculum, official reading list, pass mark and booking guidance, plus study planning and practice-question resources.
A practical guide for provisional psychologists on the green flags, red flags, and grey areas of the supervisory relationship.
A practical guide for Australian psychologists and allied health clinicians on what neuroaffirming documentation actually means, and how to spot it in the resources you use.
A practical weekly system for provisional psychologists doing the 5+1 internship: built from real logbook experience, not the AHPRA website.
A practical guide to finding psychology resources that actually work in Australian practice: covering templates, handouts, NDIS tools, and what makes a clinical resource worth using.
A practical guide to efficient psychology session records, including note structure, clinical reasoning, risk, client response, defensibility, and next steps.
Understand the NDIS reasonable and necessary criteria and learn how to write psychology reports that justify supports clearly for Australian clinicians.
Find and assess free or downloadable psychology templates for therapy, intake, case formulation, behaviour support, progress notes, and NDIS documentation.