Dr Wayne Somerville

Dr Wayne Somerville was born in Sydney, Australia in 1953. In the 1970s, Wayne and his wife, Susan, moved to ‘Creek’s Bend’, their 1,200-acre rural property in the Northern Rivers of New South Wales. Over the past 50 years, Wayne and Susan have raised a family, farmed and developed a treatment for a form of dieback that’s devastating native forests along Australia’s eastern seaboard.

During a career of more than 40 years, Wayne has worked as a registered clinical psychologist who specialises in the treatment of trauma-related anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Wayne holds the degrees of Bachelor of Arts with 1st Class Honours in Psychology, Master of Clinical Psychology and Doctor of Psychology. He has researched gentle therapies for phobia and posttraumatic stress disorder, published a journal paper on hypnotherapy for phobia, and presented workshops, seminars and training programs on trauma, stress management and hypnotherapy.

As a volunteer environmental activist, Wayne published reports on the social, health and environmental impacts of invasive unconventional gas fields. Wayne and Susan continue to oppose the gas field industrialisation of rural Australia.

Wayne and Susan have two grown-up daughters and four grandchildren.