Yixuan Li (Sian)

ABN: 81 871 009 416
AHPRA Registration Number: PSY0002631071
Date of First Registration: 14/07/2022

Qualification: AHPRA Registered Psychologist
Completion of 4+2 internship
Bachelor of Psychological Sciences (Honours –Swinburne University of Technology)
Bachelor of Science (University of Melbourne)

Languages: English and Chinese (Mandarin)

Works with: Children (7+ years old), adolescents, and adults

Therapeutic modalities: CBT, ACT, EMDR (Level 1), Internal Family Systems (Level 1), Animal-Assisted Therapy

Fees: $230 for 50 minutes, $345 for 80 minutes
After 5pm and public holiday session $250/50 min and $375/80 min
Medicare rebate $101.5 for each session

Availability:
10am-6pm Tuesdays at South Yarra Office
9am-3pm Sundays at Blackburn Office
Telehealth available

Yixuan is a bilingual (Mandarin–English) registered psychologist who works with children (7+), adolescents, and adults from culturally and linguistically diverse and neurodivergent backgrounds. Born in China and moving to Australia at 17, she brings both personal and professional understanding to clients navigating similar journeys, including international students. Her practice draws on trauma-informed, parts-informed, and culturally responsive approaches, and she is trained to Level 1 in both Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR), alongside CBT and ACT.

Yixuan believes that real change starts with feeling safe enough to be understood. She brings warmth and a light, appropriately-timed sense of humour into the room, while staying closely attuned to where each client is at — meeting people with patience and respect rather than pushing them toward change before they're ready. As she puts it: if you don't yet have the strength to change, that's okay - she'll be there with you until you do. Her approach is person-centred and flexible, often shaped around each client's own interests - with younger clients in particular, this might look like storytelling, games, or creative activities woven into the session.

Yixuan has experience supporting international students, neurodivergent clients (including autistic individuals and ADHDers), and members of the LGBTQIA+ community, working with a wide range of presentations including anxiety, depression, OCD, trauma, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts. She also has a particular interest in animal-assisted therapy, having previously worked alongside a therapy cat in the clinic, and has seen first-hand how animals can help create a calm, safe space for clients.

Working with grief, trauma, and community

Yixuan has significant experience supporting people navigating grief, loss, and the aftermath of trauma, including clients accessing Victims of Crime support pathways. She sees grief not as something to be resolved, but as a process — one where a new life can be built around the loss, even while the pain remains part of it. Much of her work involves simply listening to and witnessing that pain; when clients are able to put words to what hurts, she finds it becomes a little easier to carry.

She also works with family conflict and tension, and with individuals experiencing isolation. Rather than jumping straight to problem-solving, Yixuan places real weight on first building a safe, trusting therapeutic relationship — the foundation everything else grows from.

Supporting children and adolescents

With younger clients, from primary through to middle-school age, Yixuan focuses on helping children make sense of their emotions and experiences within a relationship they can trust.

In secondary school settings, her focus expands to understanding the reasons behind behaviour, not just the behaviour itself. She has developed particular strength working with adolescents navigating identity, peer conflict, risk, and complex developmental histories, and is experienced in liaising closely with school staff — teachers, wellbeing teams, learning support officers — to support students from a whole-of-system perspective, helping families and schools work together more effectively.

Integrating IFS and EMDR

Yixuan often draws on both IFS and EMDR together, using each where it serves the client best. She describes EMDR as a way of "flashing out" and witnessing an experience — a way of accessing and processing what happened without needing to speak about it directly, which can be especially valuable for clients who find it difficult to put painful memories into words. Used alongside IFS, this allows her to support clients in approaching difficult experiences and the parts that carry them with curiosity, compassion, and safety, at a pace that feels manageable.

Ongoing training and supervision

Yixuan is committed to deepening her clinical skills through extensive professional training and supervision. Alongside her Level 1 EMDR and IFS training, she engages in ongoing supervision with specialists across a range of areas, including assessment and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), neurodivergence and behavioural presentations, and IFS.

International student mental health

Having moved to Australia as an international student herself, Yixuan has a personal understanding of the challenges that come with studying and settling in a new country. She has been involved in mental health initiatives supporting international students, bringing both professional expertise and lived experience to this work.

Outside the therapy room

Outside of work, Yixuan fosters cats through the Lost Dogs Home and enjoys spending time with her own cat. In her free time, she enjoys playing video games, watching anime, doing martial arts, and weightlifting.