Dr Bruce Stevens

Biography

Bruce was awarded his PhD from Boston University in 1987 and began private practice after returning to Australia. Initially part-time, he also worked as an Anglican Minister in parish ministry.Since starting the Canberra Clinical and Forensic Psychology in 1993 he has helped train over 70 psychologists with clinical placements and as interns. After teaching at UC and ANU in clinical programs since 2004 he is now full-time with one day a week private practice.

Actively involved in the APS and serving as national convenor of the Psychoanalytic Interest Group (2002-2004) involved organizing the first national conference in psychoanalysis in Brisbane in 2004.He presented keynote addresses to the first and third national conference of the Christianity Interest Group, and most recently at NSW Forensic Conference February 2010. In 2006 he became a Senior Academic Associate to Charles Sturt University in the School of Theology as part of the Public and Contextual Theology research group. He is a fellow of the Australian College of Clinical Psychologists and MAPS (Clinical and Forensic Colleges).

Teaching Areas

  • Forensic Psychology
  • Clinical psychology especially in relation to practice issues,
  • Personality disorders,
  • Psychoanalytic psychotherapy and spirituality

Bruce has extensive experience in providing professional workshops for practicing psychologists, often for the APS and most recently has an invited workshop at the ICAP conference in July 2010 on Self-Care in treating low functioning personality disordered clients.

Research Interests

Wide ranging research interests including experimental single case methodology. He is interested in practice related topics such as practitioner’s notes, attitudes to money and therapeutic space. He is a level 2 supervisor at UC.

Professional Qualifications & Memberships

  • The national committees of Private Practice Reference Group, APS
  • The Governance Review Committee, APS.
  • Treasurer for the ACT branch of the Clinical College and attends national committee meetings when the local chair cannot attend.
  • Associate Professor in practical theology with Sydney College of Divinity.

Selected Publications

Stevens, B. (1995). Regaining intimacy: Dealing with the pain of broken relationships. Sydney: Random House.Stevens, B. (2001). Mirror, mirror: When self-love undermines your relationship (revised). Melbourne: PsychOZ Publications.

Stevens, B. (2008). Crossfire! Psychologists coping with cross-examination. Bowen Hills, QLD: Australian Academic Press.

Stevens, B. (1985). Why must the Son of Man suffer?  The divine warrior in the gospel of Mark. Biblische Zeitschrift, 101-110.

Stevens, B. (1991). Chaos: A challenge to refine system's theory. Australia and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 12(1), 23-26.

Stevens, B. (1997). Inner critic, outer monster: On the dynamics of narcissistic vulnerability. Psychotherapy in Australia, August.

Stevens, B. (2003). The transcendent other. Australasian Journal of Psychotherapy, 21, 59-74.

Stevens, B. (2003). In the witness box: Preparing for court and giving evidence. InPsych, 25(2), 22-24.

Stevens, B. (2003). Impossible relationships. Psychotherapy in Australia, February, 68-74.

Stevens, B. (2005). When the disordered become ordered: Primitive ways of psychological organization. Psychotherapy in Australia, 11(4), 62-67. 

Stevens, B. (2005). Marketing forensic psychology: Think like a lawyer. InPsych, February, 28-29.

Stevens, B. (2005). What ghosts do in the parlour: Elements of a corrective relational experience. Australasian Journal of Psychotherapy, 24(5), 8-34.

Stevens, B. (2006). A love supreme: Religious experience and structural growth in personality. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 34(4), 318-326.

Stevens, B. (2007). The meta-interpretation: Co-constructing a psychoanalytic narrative. Psychotherapy in Australia, 13(2), 68-72.

Stevens, B. (2007). Death of soul; birth of consciousness. Colloquium, 39(1).

Stevens, B. (2007). What about the window? A consciousness perspective on language. In G. Garrett (Ed.), Into the world you love: Essays on 50th
anniversary of St Marks (pp. 259-273).  Hindmarsh, SA: AFT Press.

Stevens, B. (2007). Via mathematica published in e-journal for Sydney College of Divinity.

Stevens, B. (2007). The invasion of memory: A psychological perspective on trauma in the experience of God. In The Rt Rev. S. Pickard (Ed.),
Resurrection to return: A book of essays. Hindmarsh, SA: AFT Press.

Stevens, B. (2009).  Rhetoric and the art of intervention. Psychotherapy in Australia, 16/1, 40-45.