Psychologist Melbourne

You do not need a diagnosis or to be experiencing acute mental health symptoms to access therapy. Many of our clients seek therapy to increase their self awareness, to have a space to talk through and process life challenges or dissatisfaction, to identify patterns that are keeping them stuck and impacting them in negative ways, or for support with moving towards the type of relationships and careers we value. Some other individuals just do not know and want to use the space to process and work it out. All very valid reasons to seek therapy.

Psychologists study human behaviour. Following up to 6 years of study, psychologists are registered to practise with AHPRA and must continue ongoing training and supervision to keep their registration active. Psychologists are trained in Mental Health experiences and the impact of these experiences on the thoughts, feelings and behaviour. They are skilled in multiple therapies which are transdiagnostic (meaning the therapies are effective and can be applied across multiple diagnoses or mental health issues). 

Sessions last approximately 50 minutes. The number of sessions depends on your goals in therapy. This can be discussed in the initial session. Some individuals will come for a few sessions focused around one issue that they would like to problem solve. Others will have seen psychologists before and are looking for a different approach or for support to manage resurfacing issues in the context of life changes. While other individuals will be engaging with a psychologist for the first time and would like to understand their experience and how to move forward. 

The first one to two sessions are based around assessment. Your psychologist will have some questions to get a good understanding of your difficulties, your life experiences and your goals for therapy. This is also a good opportunity for you to assess whether your psychologist is a good fit for you. Following the assessment, you will have a collaborative discussion with your psychologist on how to move forward with treatment. Treatment may be a combination of; skills to manage emotions and negative thoughts, processing memories or past events, challenging and reorienting beliefs/perspectives that are keeping us stuck, behaviour modification aligned to our goals as well as other strategies.