With over 25 years of experience, Dr. Maria-Elena Lukeides is a clinical psychologist who blends traditional therapies with cutting-edge neuroscience and mindfulness techniques.
As the founder of The Wellness Fountain in Sydney, she specialises in helping people manage anxiety, depression, trauma, and PTSD, using a personalised, compassionate approach.
In this interview, Dr. Lukeides shares how her journey into psychology began, her passion for innovative therapies like Psychedelic Assisted Therapy, and how she maintains balance while supporting others through their most challenging times.
Dr. Lukeides, you have over 25 years of experience as a clinical psychologist. What first drew you to the field of psychology, and how has your approach to therapy evolved over the years?
The comedic answer I give when asked this question is that I wanted to prove my high school teachers wrong about not being able to earn a living by talking! The truth though, is that I went through very difficult times during my childhood and adolescence and I saw a psychologist very briefly during this time.
I only went for two sessions, but it was the first time in my life I felt validated, understood and truly seen. For the first time, I wasn’t the problem. Rather, I was helped to see that how I was feeling and thinking reflected a constellation of factors I had no control of, and this shifted my perspective completely.
It was the beginning of my own healing journey, and I never wondered what I wanted to do when I grew up again. It was clear that this was the ONLY thing I wanted to do – to help others feel seen, heard, understood and to be given the tools to ease their psychological pain and fears.
I think my approach to therapy has not changed in terms of still being deeply committed to helping people feel whole, seen, understood and to share with them skills, tools and perspective shifts that can help them live their lives as free from suffering as they can. What shifts and changes over time is the evolution of the science of psychology which enriches the toolkit I use.
The Wellness Fountain has become known for offering a unique blend of traditional and innovative therapies. What inspired you to create this space, and how do you integrate neuroscience research into the treatments you offer?
I am deeply passionate about understanding the intricacies of how humans are human. I want to know why we do the things we do, why under the same situations some of us act one way, and others another.
Neuroscience and especially the intersection of understanding how the brain works, how the brain draws out meaning and understanding from our experiences, our subliminal thinking patterns and beliefs about ourselves, others, and the world and the way we then feel and then behave is still something I am eternally curious about.
I am voraciously curious about this and have a very broad way of researching and learning about this. This has naturally led to an integrative and unique way of seeing how science across the many disciplines that are interested in how we think, feel and heal and to interweave them to create a fuller and more holistic way of treating people.
Ultimately, I wanted to create the therapeutic space that I would want and I would want my child or loved ones to go to.
You specialise in a variety of evidence-based therapies like CBT, ACT, and Compassion-Focused Therapy. Could you explain how you decide which approach is best for each individual, and how these techniques complement each other in your practice?
Once you move beyond learning how to implement the tools and skills of each of these therapies and seek to understand the deeper cognitive, emotional and behavioural processes that each of these therapies is trying to address, especially when viewed from within the lens of neuro-emotional science and evolutionary psychology, what emerges is a more synthesised understanding of the ways people struggle and the tools that are available for us to address these issues.
When I meet with a patient for the first time, I am wanting to formulate an understanding of what is currently contributing to their difficulty, and I also look for what might be going on on a deeper level that may giving rise to the current issue but may have also been at the centre of a different or similar issue on the past and potentially may have further consequences in the future. So, every person is unique, and the skills and tools I will use will be completely reliant on their personal issues and challenges as opposed to any preference I may have.
Too often patients come to me having had some benefit with other therapies however they weren’t given tools and skills to address their current issues as the focus was more on healing the more long term issues or they were provided skills and strategies to help with the current issue but their core issues may still remain unresolved.
Mindfulness-based therapies have been a significant part of your work. How do you help your clients incorporate mindfulness into their daily lives, and what are the biggest benefits you’ve seen from practising mindfulness?
Teaching meditation and mindfulness is one of my most rewarding pursuits. I have been a meditation teacher for almost 17 years and have been lucky enough to have trained with Jack Kornfield, and Tara Brach who are both also clinical psychologists.
My patients are taught techniques and practices that are tailored to their presenting issues, as opposed to just taught meditation or mindfulness skills. In this way the practices are a direct way of addressing issues that are arising in their lives, the practices are uniquely tailored and practical and almost immediately effective.
Their effectiveness is what allows most of my patients to begin more of a personalised and regular practice on their own. I also have developed several exercises that they can use during the day which are effective and do not require 20 minutes of sitting (although that is also important).
In my own life, mindfulness is the most enriching and healing activity I engage in. It has helped me remove the veil of fear, shame, doubt and egotism from the relationship with myself and in its place is a space of love, understanding and support. I would call it true self compassion and self-acceptance. This in turn, assists me to see others in their truth unveiled from fear or ego.
You’ve worked in many different settings, from child and family services to acute mental health care. How have these diverse experiences shaped your approach to treating complex psychological issues like trauma and PTSD?
This is a great question. Trauma is now finally being given the attention it deserves. Trauma is often at the root of so many of our issues. For many years however, we have narrowly defined what trauma is. Now we acknowledge the impact of trauma, especially in childhood, and how this can have lifelong implications over and above the specific incident that gave rise to the trauma.
My approach to trauma is a little unique. My clinical experience and opinion is that the greatest impact of trauma is not the incident but rather how the incident has now changed how we think about ourselves, the world and others and the brains’ reluctance to accept this change and integrate the experience within this worldview.
This then leads to this experience being un-integrated and this is where people remain stuck in reliving or re-experiencing, depersonalisation or dissociation, and a fight or flight response (hypervigilance).
Approaching trauma in this way involves the more popular techniques such as reprocessing of the trauma, exposure and behavioural down regulation skills (reversing the adrenaline response) and looking at the symbolic meaning people are assigning to the event/s and we then use these as treatment targets if they are leading to secondary trauma.
Your certifications in areas like Psychedelic Assisted Therapy and Breathwork suggest you’re always exploring new ways to help your clients. How do these emerging therapies fit into the future of mental health care, and what potential do you see in them?
I am so excited and positive about how the field will begin to emerge in the next decade. I think these groundbreaking changes will become more mainstream. The medical and psychological field will begin to gain more respect and scientific understanding about how certain therapies or modalities that may currently seem “woo” or “alternative” fit within our models of human emotional and psychological functioning and open doors to even deeper understanding about humans.
There needs to be caution with some of the more sensationalised claims about complete remissions and the hopeful myth that these emerging therapies are a magic bullet. The truth is that when we read about studies showing 70% effectiveness, and remission of diagnosis, we are also reading 30% who did not receive that outcome.
We need to be mindful of anything that promises instant relief, or a one-stop shop as these claims can do more harm than good for those that are most in need. It is probably best to think of these emerging treatments as treatments that will enhance our toolkits and form part of existing therapeutic interventions that are increasing the effectiveness of psychological interventions over the long term.
Mental health is such a personal and sensitive area. How do you maintain balance in your own life while supporting others through their most challenging times, and do you have any daily routines or self-care practices that keep you grounded?
As meaningful and passionate I am about my work and field of study, my sense of identity is derived by who I am outside of my work – my daughter, my friends, my interests and hobbies and my down time.
I am very grateful that I have been able to carve out work from within the subject area I am most fascinated and interested in and is aligned with my value of being of service to others. Balancing this passion with a grounded expectation of what the limit of my role is and not being too ego-attached to outcomes in my job has been very helpful for me.
It is an honour and a privilege to hold space for others during their most challenging times and I never take that for granted. My intention is to hold the same space for others as I would want held for me. It doesn’t feel burdensome as many might assume. It is heavy at times but there is a sanctity in that. I am honoured and humbled to do this job.
Self-care is not important, it is imperative. My day begins at 4.45am. I turn off my alarm and begin the day with breathwork and meditation. This is followed by a coastal walk and a swim in the ocean or a fitness class.
I like to double up my walk by listening to an audiobook or a podcast or to coursework lectures (I usually complete about two courses every year). This has been a routine that has sustained me over the years. By the time I start parenting or work for the day, I feel like I have already had my time and my cup is full.
Every month I will make sure I do a longer and deeper meditation session or a kundalini activation or a longer and deeper meditation session which provides cumulative benefits for my sense of fulfilment and peace.
The most foundational skill or act of self-care however, has been having the courage to let go of habits, situations and relationships that were not healthy for me. Loving the self is more than just saying or doing nice things, it is identifying the sources of our suffering, internal and external and lovingly addressing them as best as we can. We need to love yourself as if our life depended on it – because it does.
