DR SAMANTHA MCLEOD

Samantha is the Founder and Managing Director at The SAM Centre. She has been a self-employed Clinical Health, Sport and Exercise Psychologist, and mental health generalist, with 30 years in private practices. She combines her dual qualifications in sport and exercise psychology and health psychology into supporting athletes and health professionals in the field of sports medicine. Her guest lecturing at several Victorian Universities has spanned across disciplines such as, allied health, physiotherapy, psychology, sports science, and medical courses.

Samantha has held numerous clinical lead positions in public health organisations (TAC, WorkSafe) within specialised multidisciplinary panels for over a decade and at peak body associations (APS) and a Board Director (SMA). Samantha was elected as the inaugural Chair of the WNBL Melbourne Boomers Committee franchise for 3 years; and as such, was involved in the WNBL Commission.

Samantha is an experienced AHPRA Board approved and APS College Supervisor, in the Endorsement areas of Health Psychology (Fellow membership), and Sport and Exercise Psychology (Fellow membership), and provides supervision to students and peers, as well as mentoring for business owners.

Samantha’s expertise in neurosciences and working with atypical and neurotypical gifted and talented people has led to her specialising in high performance for elite and professional athletes, performers, health professionals, executives, and business owners, across the lifespan. She also provides high level advise to sporting or business organisations in developing mental health and high-performance programs.

Samantha’s mission is to shift sports medicine towards a holistic, integrated, collaborative framework for high performance sport, and to enhance the wellbeing and performance of athletes, as well as the health practitioners, upskilling them to thrive within, and when transitioning out of, sport.