Individual Therapy
The power of individual therapy cannot be underestimated.
A safe and non-judgmental space to explore your emotions and have these validated gives you the confidence to explore new tools and skills that will help you to thrive.
You’ve probably found endless strategies and ideas in books and online yet feel like nothing is changing or that you’re emotionally stuck.
This is understandable, emotions are governed by an entirely separate part of the brain to logic and reason, so it is no wonder more knowledge is not providing you with the shift you need.
Developing the strategies and relational tools to better manage your mental health, relationship, or parenting journey is an important part of the therapy process. We also know from research that emotional understanding is such a big part of being able to regulate your emotions. For this reason, in addition to a focus on skills and strategies, my approach also tends to be insight oriented. Meaning, a significant part of the therapeutic process will involve building your understanding of why things are feeling so difficult, to help you make sense of the emotions and reactions you find yourself experiencing now.
When we come to understand our past we begin to make sense of ourselves in the present.
Who it’s for:
Individual therapy sessions are for those traversing the delicate and often challenging perinatal period.
I provide support to those who have/are experiencing:
Feelings of Depression.
Feelings of Anxiety.
Grief and loss related to all forms of pregnancy and child loss.
Pregnancy after loss.
Fertility challenges.
Overwhelm and confusion around how to respond to the intense and challenging emotions and behaviours expressed by their infants, toddlers, and children.
Intense and complicated feelings/thoughts that arise in response to previous trauma.
Communication difficulties.
Difficulties with managing intense emotions.
Body image difficulties.
Disordered eating.
If you resonate with experiencing any of the above and looking for some support, get in touch and we can book an initial consultation.
Research tells us that the therapeutic relationship between a psychologist and a client is one of the most powerful predictors of change - so this is where we begin.
How it works:
Initial contact:
Get in touch via my website. I will contact you by phone or email within 48 hours with some further information about how I work and my current availability. If this works for you, we can then book an initial appointment.
Initial sessions:
Before we dive into the deep therapeutic work we begin sessions by developing a really full picture of you. This is known as the assessment phase of psychological therapy, and typically spans our first two sessions. Together we will explore your full mental health history, family and developmental history, and the key life experiences that have shaped you into who you are now. This helps us to build a joint understanding of your strengths and needs, and helps us to establish some personalised therapy goals as well as a plan to achieve them.
What we do:
Attachment and schema theories direct my work, and the therapy modality is tailored depending on what YOU need.
Some therapies I draw on and use in sessions are:
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy:
A psychotherapeutic approach that teaches you skills to manage difficult thoughts and intense emotions, and helps you identify and work towards living in alignment with your values.
Compassion Focused Therapy:
A therapeutic approach that helps you develop self-compassion and reduce self-criticism and shame. This approach is particularly impactful for people who identify as perfectionists or who often find themselves burnt out trying to follow every “rule” in life, career, or parenting.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy:
A widely practised and evidence based approach that focuses on identifying and changing unhelpful thought patterns and behaviours.
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR):
A powerful evidence-based treatment for various psychological problems that have developed in response to previous trauma.
Tuning into Kids Parenting Program:
This program provides the basis for supporting parents looking to understand and respond differently to their child's behaviour, rather than those seeking specific mental health based therapy.
This is not you alone:
Individual therapy does not need to mean therapy in isolation.
Support people are encouraged to join our sessions from time to time - whether this means having a partner or parent attend some sessions as part of working towards your goals.
Finding time alone to access the support you need as a parent of young children can feel impossible, so little people are more than welcome to attend the sessions too.
Fees:
$250 per session.
Current Medicare rebate per session - $136.35.
All sessions are via Telehealth.
Accessing a Mental Health Care Plan:
When you see a Clinical Psychologist in Australia, you may be entitled to receive Medicare rebates for a set number of individual sessions per year.
Your GP can assess your eligibility for a Mental Health Care plan for up to 10 sessions, meaning Medicare will cover some of the cost of your session*.
If you are struggling with disordered eating or body-image difficulties, you may be entitled to an Eating Disorder Treatment Plan which allows you to access up to 40 rebateable psychology sessions per year. Your GP can help set up this plan if you are eligible.
We can discuss what Medicare plan might be best for you, and agree on a frequency of sessions that feels manageable if you have not consulted your GP yet.
You do not need a Mental Health Care Plan to attend individual therapy sessions, and some clients prefer to be seen privately and seek rebates through their private health insurer.
* Note, this rebate may be higher if you have reached your family’s Medicare Safety net threshold (contact Medicare to find out if this applies to you.)