About Sanad Psychology
Sanad (سند) is an Arabic word meaning support, assistance, or backing. At Sanad Psychology, it represents our commitment to providing a foundation of emotional and mental strength to help you move through life with resilience. Our name reflects our mission: to offer culturally responsive, trauma-informed care that honours who you are and where you come from.
Meet Heba Bendak, Clinical Psychologist
I’m Heba, a Clinical Psychologist based in Preston in Victoria, Australia. I’ve worked across public mental health, community settings, private practice, and trauma-specialist services, supporting clients across the lifespan. I work with children, adolescents, and adults experiencing anxiety, trauma, depression, neurodivergence, grief, identity challenges, and emotional dysregulation.
My practice is grounded in compassion, cultural humility, and clinical expertise. I offer therapy that centres your story, integrates your cultural identity, and fosters safety and trust. My work is particularly focused on clients from CALD communities, and I provide sessions in both English and Arabic.
I believe therapy should be flexible, empowering, and collaborative. I support individuals navigating trauma recovery, family and relationship difficulties, stress, and complex emotional needs.
What I Can Help With
- Trauma processing and healing (including EMDR & other trauma therapies)
- Anxiety and depression
- Emotional regulation and distress tolerance
- Grief and loss
- Attachment difficulties
- Neurodiversity (Autism, ADHD)
- Burnout and work-related stress
- Menstrual mood challenges (e.g. PMDD)
- Sexual trauma and recovery
- Boundary setting and assertiveness
- Cultural identity, acculturation stress, and racial trauma
How I Work
I bring a trauma-informed, intersectional lens to therapy, recognising how cultural, generational, and systemic factors shape mental health. My approach is personalised, collaborative, and informed by evidence-based therapies including:
- Schema Therapy
- Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT)
- Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
- Trauma-Focused CBT (TF-CBT)
- Somatic Therapy
Languages Spoken
- English
- Arabic
Qualifications
- Master of Psychology (Clinical Psychology) – Swinburne University
- Honours in Psychological Science – La Trobe University
- Bachelor of Psychological Science – La Trobe University
Professional Memberships
- Registered with AHPRA (Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency)
- Member of the Australian Association of Psychologists Inc (AAPi)
- Academic at Deakin University
If you’re seeking a clinical psychologist in Melbourne who can offer trauma-informed, culturally responsive therapy in Arabic or English, I’d love to support you. You can get in touch here to begin.