Louise is a co-founder of Pair and has personally navigated the mental heath care system. Drawing on her own experience she is passionate about making it easier for people to find the right psychological support.
For a long time, I didn’t think I needed therapy. I was working, maintaining relationships, and generally functioning well. From the outside, everything looked fine. But I was always in my head, holding myself to impossibly high standards, and not allowing myself to truly switch off. I told myself it wasn’t that bad and that other people were dealing with far more significant challenges. I thought I could handle it on my own. But over time, the pressure built, and I became increasingly overwhelmed. I realised that managing everything alone wasn’t working and that I needed support.
Once I had made the decision to start therapy, I began by looking for a psychologist. I quickly realised that this part of the process was more complicated than I had anticipated. I wasn’t sure what I should prioritise: whether to see a general psychologist or a clinical psychologist, whether the type of therapy mattered, and whether it would help to see someone similar in age or gender. I found myself reading profile after profile, trying to get a sense of who might feel like the right fit.
I was fortunate to have a close friend who is a clinical psychologist who helped me think through those questions and narrow down my options. This was a privilege and not everyone has access to that kind of guidance. That experience later became a strong driver for building Pair. I understood how overwhelming the process of finding a psychologist and starting therapy can feel.
After deciding who I wanted to see, I contacted the clinic and booked my first appointment. Once I had an appointment secured, I booked in to see my GP to get a Mental Health Care Plan and referral so I could access Medicare rebates. During the GP appointment, I completed a K10 questionnaire and we discussed my mood, stress levels, sleep, and how things were affecting my day-to-day life. I left with a referral and a Mental Health Care Plan which I sent to the psychology clinic ahead of my upcoming appointment.
In my first session the psychologist talked through confidentiality, how therapy works, and what the process of therapy might look like. She asked about my background, my work, my relationships, and what had brought me to therapy. We came up with some goals and a plan for my future sessions. In the sessions that followed, we began identifying patterns that kept showing up in my life. We explored how I interpreted situations, and started challenging unhelpful thinking patterns, experimenting with behavioural changes, and learning ways to respond differently to anxiety.
Therapy has helped me develop awareness around my thoughts. I have become more conscious of when I am catastrophising or holding myself to impossible standards. It has helped me cultivate a gentler internal voice and allowed me to step out of my head. Starting therapy has been one of the best things I’ve done for myself, and it’s exactly why I helped build Pair: to make it easier for others to take that first step and find the support they need.