About Us
We offer psychological care for midlife women navigating perimenopause, menopause, and post-menopause in Australia with strength and confidence.
Heather Cooke
Clinical and Counselling Psychologist
Heather is a Clinical Psychologist with more than 25 years of experience supporting people through life’s challenges and transitions. She has been registered with AHPRA since 1995, with formal endorsement in both Clinical and Counselling Psychology.
Across her career, Heather has worked with people navigating trauma, grief, relationship difficulties, identity shifts, and periods of significant change. Her work is grounded, relational, and thoughtful, with a strong emphasis on creating spaces where people feel genuinely heard and supported.
Through menopause psychological support and broader clinical work, Heather brings depth, experience, and care to women navigating midlife transitions.
If you would like to explore how this support is offered in a structured setting, you can learn more about our psychologist-led menopause support group.
Heather’s Professional Journey
Heather’s career began in the early 1990s at HMAS Stirling in Western Australia, where she worked with the Royal Australian Navy in both civilian and uniformed roles. Supporting people in demanding, high-pressure environments laid strong foundations in resilience, adaptability, and psychological care. She later completed postgraduate training in psychology, including a Master’s degree, while working in community health services in Victoria. Being part of multidisciplinary teams broadened her understanding of holistic care and the value of collaboration across health settings.
After returning to Western Australia with her young family, Heather worked in medical centres alongside general practitioners. This period strengthened her practical understanding of the Medicare system and the everyday mental health needs of local communities. In 2006, Heather established her first private practice in Safety Bay, beginning as a sole practitioner in a single rented room. Over time, this grew into Sound Psychological Health Care, later known as Sound Psychology, a collaborative practice supporting people across the lifespan.
Today, Heather’s work includes providing menopause support in Rockingham through thoughtful, evidence-informed psychological care.
You can explore the full range of support options on our Programs page, or begin more gently through our Resources page.
Heather's Approach to Therapy
Heather is known for her authenticity, warmth, and collaborative style. She works to create safe, respectful, and non-judgemental spaces where people feel able to speak openly and reflect deeply. Her approach is integrative and strengths-based. Rather than following a single model, she tailors therapy to the individual, drawing on a wide range of evidence-based approaches. These include:
This approach supports midlife women’s mental health, recognising the interaction between emotional wellbeing, life context, and physiological change. If you’re interested in how this approach is applied in a group setting, you can read more about Reclaim, Reconnect & Reset.
Why The Pause Psych Exists
The Pause Psych was created in response to what Heather has witnessed repeatedly throughout her clinical work. Across decades of supporting people through life transitions, Heather noticed that many women experience perimenopause and menopause in Australia as a time of emotional disruption, disconnection, and uncertainty.
Mood changes, brain fog, shifts in confidence, and a sense of not quite feeling like themselves were often minimised, misunderstood, or treated as something to simply endure. Too often, women felt they should cope better or push through, without space to pause or be supported in understanding what was changing.
The Pause Psych exists to offer a different kind of support. It provides a dedicated space where women can pause, reflect, and understand what is shifting, emotionally and psychologically, without judgement or pressure. Heather sees this stage of life not as a decline, but as a meaningful transition that can hold insight, recalibration, and growth when it is approached with care and understanding.
You can learn more about how this vision becomes practical support through our 6-week menopause support group, or start with our free midlife guides.
The Pause Psych sits within Sound Psychology, drawing on Heather’s broader clinical experience supporting people across the lifespan. While it is a specialised area of practice focused on perimenopause, menopause, and post-menopause, it is grounded in the same evidence-informed, relational approach that has shaped her work for many years.
This integration allows The Pause Psych to offer menopause support in Australia, alongside in-person care in Rockingham, while remaining connected to a wider clinical framework that values depth, experience, and whole-person care.
Stay Connected
A calm, thoughtful way to stay connected.
The Pause Psych newsletter shares reflections, insights, and practical guidance related to perimenopause, menopause, post-menopause, and emotional wellbeing. It’s a space to pause, reflect, and stay connected over time, shared gently and without noise or pressure.
If you’re looking for more structured menopause support in Australia, you can also explore our current group program intake.
Contact Us
“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.”
– Maya Angelou
The Pause Psych
Psychological Support for Perimenopause, Menopause, and Post-Menopause
Location & Access
U2/23 Chalgrove Avenue
Rockingham WA 6168
Supporting women across Rockingham, Western Australia
