About Donna

Donna Stambulich is a Clinical Psychologist based in Perth, Western Australia and the founder of the Recode-Me framework.

With a background spanning psychology and criminology, Donna has spent many years working with individuals and families experiencing addiction, emotional distress, behavioural challenges and relationship difficulties.

Her work focuses on helping people recognise the psychological patterns that shape their thoughts, emotions and behaviours — what she refers to as our internal “coding”.

Through therapy, education and the Recode-Me framework, Donna helps people understand these patterns and begin the process of rewiring healthier ways of thinking, responding and living.

Donna is also the Director of North Perth Psychology Centre and works across therapy, psychological assessment and single expert consultation in the Family Court.

• Clinical Psychologist – Perth, Western Australia
• Founder & Developer of the Recode-Me Framework
• Director – North Perth Psychology Centre
• Degrees in Psychology and Criminology
• Experienced in addiction, behavioural patterns and emotional wellbeing
• Court-appointed Single Expert Witness in Family Court matters
• Therapist, consultant and program developer
• Media commentator and speaker on psychological wellbeing

Recode-Me is a psychological framework developed by Clinical Psychologist Donna Stambulich.

The framework explores the patterns that shape human behaviour — including addiction, emotional responses and relationship dynamics.Many of these patterns develop early in life and become embedded in the way people think, react and cope with stress.

Recode-Me focuses on helping individuals recognise these patterns and begin the process of consciously recoding healthier ways of thinking, responding and living.

At its core, Recode-Me helps people recognise destructive patterns, regulate the nervous system, rewire the brain and ultimately recode a life worth waking up to.

I have spent many 20 years working with individuals and families affected by addiction, behavioural patterns and emotional distress.

Over time I came to realise that many people struggling with addiction are not weak or morally flawed — they are caught in powerful psychological and neurological patterns that were learned over time.

Some of this understanding comes from my professional work as a Clinical Psychologist. Some of it comes from lived experience and witnessing how easily human beings can fall into cycles that feel impossible to break.

Recode-Me was created from this intersection of clinical knowledge, my lived experience and a deep belief that people can change when they understand the patterns shaping their lives.

Addiction is one of the most misunderstood human experiences of our time.

We often talk about addiction as though it is a failure of willpower or character. People ask, “Why don’t they just stop?”

But addiction is rarely that simple.

Substances and behaviours can become powerful ways of coping with pain, disconnection, trauma or overwhelm. Over time the brain’s reward system begins to prioritise these behaviours, turning relief into compulsion.

Recovery is not simply about trying harder.You cannot outthink addiction.

Real change comes from understanding the pattern, rewiring the brain and building a life worth waking up to.