After 13 happy years as a student at Camberwell Girls Grammar School, Ruth Dunn went on to teach English, History and Geography at secondary level in Melbourne (including at CGGS) and also in London.

As a single mother of three, she returned to study and completed a Psychology degree and a post graduate qualification in Counselling in the early 1980s. A rich and varied career as a Psychologist followed.

In 2002, Ruth received her Masters Degree in Psychoanalytic Studies. She worked in the area of addiction, as the coordinator of a Residential Rehabilitation program. With her passionate belief in womens’ rights, she established a halfway house for women and children, and worked closely with sexual abuse organisations.

Ruth’s next position was as the Victorian Director of the Vietnam Veterans Counselling Service (VVCS), which provided services for the management of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) to veterans and their families. She established a Country Outreach program to bring services to veterans in isolated areas and facilitated lifestyle groups for veterans and their wives.

Ruth established a private practice in Hawthorn and worked in the areas of addiction, trauma, relationship counselling, group work and supervision. She was the Director of the Gestalt Institute of Melbourne and trained and supervised counsellors at a tertiary level. She was the Vice President of the Balint Society of Australia and New Zealand (BSANZ), setting up a training pathway, facilitating groups and presenting at conferences overseas.

Currently, Ruth facilitates online debriefing, supervision and support groups for doctors, mental health professionals and front-line workers.

Another passion that gives her much pleasure is volunteering at the Melbourne Indigenous Transition School (MITS) offering mentoring, counselling and friendship to students and staff.