Hi, I’m Kylie Walls

I am a registered psychologist and counsellor with experience working at the intersection of mental health, trauma, faith, and systems of power. I offer thoughtful, trauma-informed commentary for media, conferences, churches, and professional audiences, with a particular focus on providing evidence-based and psychologically sensitive responses to mental health challenges, spiritual abuse, coercive control, domestic and family violence, and the psychological impact of high-control environments.

My approach is evidence-based, ethically grounded, and respectful of diverse beliefs and contexts. I am based in Brisbane, but am willing to travel to other locations for events and conferences.

I have a teaching background and am comfortable speaking to both small and large groups. I aim to bring a structured, engaging, and psychologically informed approach to presentations, with sensitivity to audience context and experience.

Contact Me for More Information

Media & Professional Engagement

Professional Background

I have worked across clinical practice, education, and community and faith‑based settings, supporting adults and families impacted by trauma, domestic and family violence, relationship breakdown, workplace stress, and complex experiences within religious or institutional environments.

I have worked within multidisciplinary and systems‑focused contexts, collaborating with government departments, community organisations, and faith institutions. I previously worked as the Domestic and Family Violence Advisor for a faith‑based denomination, providing guidance on prevention, response, and safeguarding within complex organisational and pastoral contexts.

For many years, I also served as a local and regional Area Coordinator for Mothers of Preschoolers Australia (MOPS), contributing to several national initiatives and speaking at local groups.

Currently, I work with adults and am the business owner and sole practitioner at Refuge Psychology, an online psychology practice providing services to individuals across Australia. I work with clients from a wide range of backgrounds, including across Christian denominations, as well as individuals navigating the process of leaving high-control religious environments and cults.

My work is informed by evidence‑based approaches, including trauma‑informed and schema‑focused frameworks, and is grounded in respect for individual values, belief systems, and lived experience.

Speaking Engagements

I am available for:

  • Conference keynotes, electives, and panels

  • Professional development and training

  • Church, ministry, and parachurch events

  • Safeguarding and abuse‑prevention training

  • Workshops for helping professionals

  • University or tertiary education settings

Sessions can be tailored for professional, faith‑based, or mixed audiences, and delivered online or in person (location‑dependent).

I have a teaching background and am comfortable speaking to both small and large groups. I aim to bring a structured, engaging, and psychologically informed approach to presentations, with sensitivity to audience context and experience.

Areas of Professional Interest

I am available to speak or provide commentary on topics including:

  • Spiritual abuse and religious trauma

  • Coercive control and misuse of authority in families and organisations

  • Domestic and family violence (including faith‑context complexities)

  • Mental health within faith communities

  • Marriage & Family-related Matters.

  • Trauma, attachment, and identity

  • Scrupulosity (moral or religious OCD), Intense anxiety surrounding faith-related practices.

  • Ministry burnout and Moral Injury experienced in Faith Settings

  • Family estrangement and complex grief

  • Systems, culture, and institutional harm

Media Commentary

I am available for:

  • Expert commentary and interviews

  • Podcasts and panel discussions

  • Print and online media contributions

  • Articles and opinion pieces

My media contributions aim to increase public understanding of complex psychological and social issues, particularly where faith, power, and harm intersect.

Writing & Commentary

I am available to write articles, opinion pieces, and professional commentary on topics aligned with my areas of interest and expertise, including:

  • Mental health and help-seeking, including barriers to care

  • Spiritual abuse, religious trauma, and faith-related harm

  • Coercive control, power, and misuse of authority

  • Domestic and family violence, including faith and cultural considerations

  • High-control religious environments and cult dynamics

  • Trauma, attachment, identity, and recovery

  • Ministry burnout, safeguarding, and ethical leadership

  • Family estrangement, boundaries, and complex grief

Writing can be tailored for professional, faith-based, or general audiences, and grounded in evidence-based and psychologically informed perspectives.

Approach

I bring a calm, reflective, and compassionate presence to speaking and media work. I aim to provide:

  • Clear and accessible communication

  • Sensitivity to complex and polarising topics

  • A trauma‑informed, evidence-based, systems‑aware lens

  • Respect for faith while naming harm honestly

  • Bridging clinical insight with real‑world application

My approach is flexible and responsive to professional, faith-based, or general audiences, while remaining grounded in evidence-based and psychologically informed care

Enquires

For media requests or speaking enquiries, please contact:

Email: admin@kyliewallspsychology.com.au

Please include details about the event or media request, proposed topic, audience, format, and timing.

Contact for more information

Publications & Media

With All Due Respect

In this episode, psychologist Kylie Walls joins Megan Powell du Toit and Michael Jensen for a conversation about coercive control, faith, and the misuse of power in Christian communities.  

Drawing from her clinical work, Kylie explores how spiritual language and leadership structures can sometimes be used to jusitfy or conceal patterns or control. 

the controlling church

Published Research on Coercive Control

Co-authored by psychologist Kylie Walls and colleagues, this peer-reviewed study examines how insecure attachment, emotion dysregulation, and shame contribute to controlling behaviours in intimate partnerships.

This is a helpful resource for researchers, clinicians, and those working to understand relational coercion.

Journal of family violence

Welcome to the blog for Refuge Psychology—a space for thoughtful reflection, education, and support around spiritual trauma, religious abuse, and the complexities of faith and mental health. Here you'll find insights from psychology, clinical experience, and research to help make sense of what happens when spiritual spaces become unsafe—and how healing is possible.

Blog

Visit the Refuge Psychology Blog

 
Why Women Seeking Therapy is Framed as a Spiritual Problem, and Why That Needs Re-Examination: On a Recent Gospel Coalition Article. A critique by Kylie Walls

Article on WADR

A written response to a recent article published by The Gospel Coalition. My article, published in WADR Online, offers a critique of the way the original piece frames women seeking therapy as spiritually problematic.

About Kylie Walls

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Qualifications

Registered Psychologist -  Psychology Board of Australia

Registered Teacher (Qld)

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Education

Master of Psychological Practice, CSU

Master of Guidance & Counselling, QUT

Bachelor of Psychology, UNE

Bachelor of Ed/Bachelor of Music, UQ

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Associations

Australian Association of Psychologists (AAPi) 

International Society of Schema Therapy (ISST)

Christian Counsellors Association of Australia (CCAA)

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Additional Training

Individual Schema Therapy

Couples Schema Therapy

Gottman Couples Therapy

EMDR Therapy

Emotionally Focused Therapy

CBT, DBT, ERP

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Published Research

Investigated coercive control, attachment styles, emotion regulation, and shame in intimate relationships.

Journal of Family Violence 

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Focus Areas / Special Interests

Mental health challenges · Relational and family difficulties · Domestic and family violence · Workplace stress and burnout · Recovery from harmful or high-control relationships and systems · Faith-based harm and spiritual abuse · Ministry-related stress and support · Scrupulosity (Religious OCD) · Couples therapy and relationship counselling

Thoughtful, evidence-based psychological insight for complex conversations.

Reach out for more information