Prof Tanya Robinson
 

About Professor Tanya Robinson

Specialist in Trauma and Complex Mental Health

With over 25 years of dedicated experience, Professor Tanya Robinson is a leading specialist in trauma-informed therapy and holistic mental health care. A registered Mental Health Social Worker with the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW), Tanya is widely recognised for her expertise in supporting individuals and families affected by trauma, adversity, and complex emotional challenges across social, cultural, and legal systems. She holds multiple degrees, including a fourth PhD in Criminal Justice, reflecting her deep interdisciplinary understanding of trauma within legal and psychosocial contexts.

Throughout her career, Tanya has worked across the full spectrum of mental health services, including clinical, forensic, and community settings. She has provided specialist assessment and treatment for individuals living with anxiety, depression, complex trauma, dissociative disorders, and personality vulnerabilities, as well as those impacted by neurodivergence, grief, and relational distress. Her extensive background allows her to integrate clinical precision with deep empathy, ensuring that every client is met with understanding, safety, and respect.

Tanya’s clinical practice is grounded in trauma theory and psychodynamic principles, integrating approaches such as Schema Therapy, EMDR, and psychoanalysis. She works collaboratively with clients to process trauma, rebuild safety, and restore meaning after experiences of family and domestic violence, intergenerational trauma, loss, abuse, and systemic injustice. Her work reflects a belief in the innate capacity for healing when compassion, attunement, and understanding are at the centre of care.

Her expertise spans the lifespan, with extensive experience supporting children, adolescents, and adults. Tanya’s trauma-informed work with young people incorporates play therapy, art, and narrative expression, helping children find their voices and make sense of difficult experiences. She is especially passionate about helping children recover from grief, attachment trauma, and family conflict, always with a focus on cultural sensitivity and developmental needs.

A strong advocate for neurodiversity and inclusion, Tanya’s trauma framework embraces clients with autism, ADHD, and sensory or emotional regulation differences, ensuring that all individuals are seen, heard, and supported with respect and empathy.

Beyond therapy, Tanya’s trauma and mental health expertise extend into the justice and family law systems, where she provides comprehensive mental health and forensic assessments, pre-sentencing reports, and therapeutic interventions. As an accredited mediator and Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner, she also facilitates trauma-informed mediation in family, workplace, cultural, and community contexts—helping individuals navigate conflict while maintaining dignity and psychological safety.

Tanya is the creator of The Child’s Story Box, a culturally inclusive therapeutic toolkit that empowers children to express their stories and be meaningfully heard within legal and therapeutic settings. This innovative work reflects her lifelong commitment to amplifying the voices of trauma survivors, particularly children and families impacted by complex systems.

As an educator, author, and thought leader, Professor Robinson directs postgraduate studies in Victimology and leads national professional development programs through TATRA Training, specialising in complex trauma, high-conflict personalities, and therapeutic intervention strategies. Her published works—including The Silenced Child, The Symbol of No Escape, and Divorce – What About the Children?—continue to shape professional understanding of trauma recovery and victim support.

Holding multiple degrees and four PhDs spanning human behaviour, psychosocial legal science, forensic science, and criminal justice, Tanya serves as an Extraordinary Professor and has contributed extensively to research and education across universities.

Clients and professionals alike value Professor Tanya Robinson for her depth of trauma and mental health expertise, her authentic compassion, and her ability to bridge the worlds of mental health, justice, and culture—creating spaces where healing, safety, and transformation can truly begin.

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