About Saniya 

Saniya is a Clinical Psychologist and Lecturer  at Western Sydney University teaching into the postgraduate (professional & clinical) programs. She also holds an Adjunct research position at University of Wollongong, where she obtained her PhD (Clinical Psychology) at the University of Wollongong, which includes the Masters (Clinical Psychology). Saniya has a special interest in helping older adolescents (15 years+) and young adults experiencing comorbid difficulties with disordered eating, anxiety disorders, low mood, difficulties with identity, relationships, substance use, anger and self-harm.

Approach

Saniya has a relational and psychodynamic focus in her work. She endeavours to create a warm and honest space for her clients, to help them explore their internal world and behavioural patterns, while also keeping in mind the client's cultural context. Initial consults (2-3 sessions) involve a thorough assessment to individualise treatment plan according to the specific needs of clients. Saniya has training in and feels comfortable using the following therapies in her work:                                                 
  • Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) 
  • Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT)
  • Eye-Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR)
  • Schema Therapy 
  • Supportive psychodynamic therapy 
  • Transference Focussed Psychodynamic Therapy (TFP) for Borderline Personality Disorder and Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

Experience

Saniya is a clinician-researcher whose work focuses on helping people navigate emotional distress, uncertainty, and complex life decisions. Her PhD examined how people make decisions under pressure and uncertainty, which shapes her ongoing interest in anxiety, self-doubt, perfectionism, and feeling “stuck” in difficult choices or situations.

Her broader research and clinical interests include transdiagnostic factors (e.g., emotion regulation, identity & personality functioning) that contribute to difficulties across many mental health concerns. She is also passionate about culturally responsive care and how culture, family background and migration shape emotional wellbeing and help-seeking.

Saniya is a board-endorsed supervisor and has consulted across health, education, forensic and legal settings, supporting both clients and clinicians. She has experience working across the lifespan in hospital and community settings, including psychiatry, psycho-oncology, eating disorders, family violence, sexual assault and substance use services, and has experience running group programs for anxiety, depression and substance use. She is also actively involved in teaching and research in clinical psychology.

Conferences & Presentations

  • Singh, S., Degeling, C., Drury, P., Montgomery, A., Caputi, P., & Deane, F. P. (2024). Nurses’ anxiety as a
mediator for the relationship between clinical tolerance to uncertainty and antibiotic initiation in residential
aged-care facilities. BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine 2023; 28: A51-A52.
  • Singh, S., Degeling, C., Raftery, D., Drury, P., Montgomery, A., Caputi, P., & Deane, F. P (2024). How do8
Clinicians in Aged-Care Manage Uncertainty? Using a Framework of ‘Uncertainty Tolerance’ to Inform
Antibiotic Stewardship. Society for Medical Decision-Making, 46th Annual Meeting, 2024.
  • Singh, S., Degeling, C., Deane, F., Montgomery, A., Drury, P., & Caputi, P. (2023). What influences antibiotic initiation? Developing a scale to measure nursing behaviour in residential aged-care facilities. Preventing Overdiagnosis Meeting Abstracts. https://doi.org/10.1136/ebm-2023-pod.106
  • Singh, S., Degeling, C., Deane, F., Montgomery, A., Drury, P., & Caputi, P. (2024). Managing Uncertainty re Antibiotics: Speaking to Nurses in Aged-Care. Wiser Healthcare National Meeting, University of Sydney.
  • Bird, A., Underwood, L., Reese, E., Duursma, E., Singh, S., & Morton, S. M. B. Fathers’ perceptions of their parenting roles: Evidence from a large, contemporary, population-based cohort. Poster submitted for Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) Biennual Conference 2019 Baltimore, US.

Publications

  • Singh, S., Degeling, C., Caputi, P., Raftery, D., Montgomery, A., Drury, P., & Deane, F. P. (2025). How do healthcare professionals manage uncertainty in making decisions? Applying theory to nurses’ experiences of uncertainty regarding antibiotics in residential aged-care facilities. Health, Risk & Society, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/13698575.2025.2492147
  • Singh S, Degeling C, Drury P, Montgomery A, Caputi P, Deane FP. Nurses’ Anxiety Mediates the Relationship between Clinical Tolerance to Uncertainty and Antibiotic Initiation Decisions in Residential Aged-Care Facilities. Medical Decision Making. 2024. doi:10.1177/0272989X241239871
  • Singh, S., Degeling, C., Drury, P., Montgomery, A., Caputi, P., & Deane, F. P. (2024). What influences antibiotic initiation? developing a scale to measure nursing behaviour in residential aged‐care facilities. Nursing Open, 11(5). https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.2184
  • Singh, S., Degeling, C., Fernandez, D. et al. How do aged-care staff feel about antimicrobial stewardship? A systematic review of staff attitudes in long-term residential aged-care. Antimicrob Resist Infect Control 11, 92 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13756-022-01128-5.
  • Singh, S., Degeling, C., Raftery, D., Drury, P., Montgomery, A., Caputi, P., & Deane, F. P. (2024). How Do Clinicians Manage Uncertainty in Making Decisions? Applying Theory to Nurses’ Experiences of Uncertainty Regarding Antibiotics in Residential Aged-Care Facilities. [under review].
  • Degeling C, Hall J, Montgomery A, Singh S, Mullan J, Williams J. (2023) The Dilemmas of Antimicrobial Stewardship in Aged Care: The Perspectives of the Family Members of Older Australians. Geriatric Nursing. (In press).
  • Fernandez, D.K., Singh, S., Deane, F.P. et al. Exploring Continuum and Categorical Conceptualisations of Mental Health and Mental Illness on Australian Websites: A Systematic Review and Content Analysis. Community Ment Health J (2022). https://doi.org/10.
  • Hall J, Hawkins O, Montgomery A, Singh S, Mullan J, Degeling C. Dismantling antibiotic infrastructures in residential aged care: The invisible work of antimicrobial stewardship (AMS). Soc Sci Med. 2022 Jul; 305:115094. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115094. Epub 2022 May 31. PMID: 35690033.
  • Woodbridge J, Townsend M, Reis S, Singh S, Grenyer BF. Non-response to psychotherapy for borderline personality disorder: A systematic review. Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 2022 Jul;56(7):771-787. doi: 10.1177/00048674211046893. Epub 2021 Sep 15. PMID: 34525867; PMCID: PMC9218414.