What We Treat?
Mental health is now frequently and openly discussed, however people can still feel there is a negative stigma to having a mental health issue. The specific types of mental health issues we work with will be discussed throughout this page.
It is important to understand that mental health issues generally indicate that there is a skill or an understanding which has not been learned. The role of the psychologist is to help their client understand their situation better by building a formulation. This formulation then provides the framework for treatment planning and the identification of the skills or understandings which need to be taught.
Our psychologists have all been trained under the scientist-practitioner model which means they will bring the latest research backed therapy techniques to you in a format which is understandable and at your pace. There is usually a reason for the experiences you have and once you understand why you have developed difficulties with your mental health and learned techniques to reduce these difficulties they can feel a lot more manageable.
Depression
Depression occurs when we feel intensely sad and moody for a long period of time. Managing your day to day affairs can become difficult if you are depressed. There can be changes in your behaviour, feelings, thoughts, and physical well-being when you are depressed. You may not want to go out or you may not enjoy activities you did previously. There are often overwhelming feelings of sadness, irritability, or unhappiness. You may experience thoughts such as “I’ve failed” or “I’m a burden”.
Physically people with depression report feeling tired and rundown which can be worsened by difficulties with sleeping and eating. There are often good reasons why someone gets depressed such as employment problems, unemployment, social isolation, or relationship difficulties, however the reasons may not be when people enter therapy. Cognitive-behaviour therapy is the most effective treatment for depression and there are few negative side effects.
Our psychologists can assist you to break free of depression by teaching a range of evidence based skills which have been found to be effective.
These include:
1. Formulating an understanding of the reasons you may be experiencing depression.
2. Increasing your activity levels particularly enjoyable activities.
3. Helping you challenging any negative, self-focussed or self-critical thought patterns.
4. Problem solving skills.
5. Learning to be mindful and stay in the present rather than worrying about the past or future.
Anxiety
Anxiety is more common than depression and actually the most common mental health condition in Australia. Anxiety is a broad term and there are many types of anxiety disorders including generalised anxiety, social anxiety, panic disorder and phobias to specific places or experiences. There are also conditions such as obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder which have a large anxiety component. As with depression there are a range of reasons why people develop an anxiety disorder and these can include difficulties with employment and relationships as well as experiences of trauma and loss.
Some physical health issues can also trigger or make anxiety worse. People who have an anxiety disorder often experience physical symptoms such as panic attacks, racing heart, tension, and restlessness. Anxious thoughts occur which include fearful or worried ideas, catastrophising and obsessive thinking.
Our psychologists can help you with a range of treatments and techniques to manage and reduce your anxiety.
Therapies can include:
1. Learning relaxation techniques such as progressive muscle relaxation.
2. Developing an understanding of how the breath can impact on anxiety and how slow breathing can reduce anxiety.
3. Mindfulness strategies which include learning how to sit with uncomfortable feelings.
4. Learning problem solving techniques.
5. Graded exposure to feared situations.
6. Teaching you about how avoidance reinforces anxiety.
Trauma
Traumatic experiences have a profound and long lasting impact on our lives. These are situations when a person feels overwhelmed and involves actual or threatened harm to self or others. People often feel fearful, helpless, and hopeless in these situations. The traumatic event can be a one-off situation or events that occur over months or years. Trauma has been shown to have a range of impacts on our brain functioning particularly memory and has been shown to lead to a range of mental and physical health problems.
As with other mental health conditions there are often a range of physical, cognitive, emotional and behavioural difficulties which occur. When you have experienced trauma this can impact your startle response, lead to exhaustion due to the constant alertness, and has been linked with chronic pain. The memories of the traumatic event can be intrusive with this causing sleep disturbance and difficulties with concentration and memory.
Avoidance and social withdrawal serve to reduce the anxiety associated with the trauma but often serve to further isolate you from important connections with friends and family. Trauma causes a range of strong emotions including fear, guilt, shame, anger, and sadness.
Our psychologists can help you with a range of treatments and techniques to manage and reduce trauma
These include:
- Can help you understand the physiological and psychological impact of trauma
- Teach you emotion regulation skills.
- Use systematic desensitisation techniques to help you reduce your fear of a traumatic event.
Mental Health Conditions Associated with Financial Problems
Finances are one of those areas no one talks about but can cause us an enormous amount of stress. Ten million Australians are living with financial worry and another two million are experiencing severe financial stress. In 2015 the Australian Psychological Society Stress and Wellbeing study found that financial issues are considered the main cause of stress for Australians. So if you’re struggling with your finances you are not alone. Being in financial stress is associated with feelings of hopelessness, anxiety, and depression and has been linked to mental and physical health issues.
Financial problems are associated with family breakdown, substance abuse, addictive behaviours, social isolation, and suicide. How can the psychologists at PsychHelp provide assistance with financial stress?
There are a number of ways our psychologists can be of assistance.
1. An individualised formulation and treatment plan tailored to your situation.
2. Teaching stress reduction techniques.
3. Identifying situations which trigger unhelpful financial decisions.
4. Skills to enhance impulse control and make mindful decisions.
5. Assistance with associated difficulties such as substance misuse and relationship problems.
Some physical health issues can also trigger or make anxiety worse. People who have an anxiety disorder often experience physical symptoms such as panic attacks, racing heart, tension, and restlessness. Anxious thoughts occur which include fearful or worried ideas, catastrophising and obsessive thinking.
Addiction
Addiction is a broad term and means a compulsive or habit-forming engagement with a rewarding stimulus. The regular engagement in the addictive behaviour leads to adverse consequences.
Common addictions include alcohol, drugs, prescription medications, gambling, pornography, and food.
Some of these addictions provide a direct biochemical substance into the brain which leads to addiction while others are behavioural addictions in that the reward of the behaviour provides a chemical response in the brain which is addictive.
Our psychologists at PsychHelp have a number of techniques which can help you to manage and reduce addictive behaviour.
1. Provide an understanding of the unhelpful thoughts, emotions, behaviours which can increase the likelihood you will engage in addictive behaviours.
2. Education about your addiction so you have the knowledge to manage it.
3. A formulation to help you understand why you use.
4. Provide an understanding of the problems in your thinking or cognitive distortions that lead to addiction.
5. Showing you how you can tolerate distress more effectively.
6. Teaching you skills such as mindfulness to help you learn how your mind works.
7. Once you have reduced your addictive behaviours our psychologists can help you to maintain your progress through relapse prevention.
Alcohol Dependence
Alcohol is often thought of as something that relieves stress and helps people to relax after a long day. However, between 12% and 15% of the population drinks at risky or high levels. Alcohol can create psychological and physical dependence.
Alcohol primarily works as a depressant on our central nervous system. Our central nervous system incorporates our brain and spinal cord and is a complex network of nerve tissue which send information to and from the brain.
Alcohol is able to slow the nerve cells in this system down. It not only slows down nerve cells but can also damage and kill neurons in the brain. Alcohol can make you more clumsy as it leads to a loss of balance, slow reaction times, decreases inhibition, slows heart rate and breathing, slurs speech, blurry vision and problems with memory, thinking, and concentrating. It is associated with a range of harms including to your mental and physical health, your relationships and employment, and can lead to legal issues.
Alcohol alters brain chemistry and as a result if you experience difficulties with your mental health this additional stressor to your brain will not be helpful. Alcohol can lead to increases in anxiety and depression. These mental health effects occur for a number of reasons including:
1. Excessive alcohol consumption can increase relationship problems. These problems then lead to you feeling more anxious or depressed.
2. Alcohol changes your brain chemistry and decreases and increases neurotransmitters in the brain which can lead to you feeling more anxious or depressed.
3. Alcohol affects your sleep which can then impact on your daily functioning.
The psychologists at PsychHelp can help you to decrease your alcohol use and address the underlying causes of your alcohol use. The therapy techniques which our psychologists may suggest would be helpful for you include:
1. Distress tolerance.
2. Learning about how your thoughts, emotions, and behaviours can trigger your use of alcohol.
3. Learning self-control skills.
4. Relapse prevention.
Parenting
Parenting is one of the most important and challenging roles we have in our lives. If you are struggling with your relationship with your child, this could be an indication that a psychologist may be able to provide assistance.
Family issues remained the primary stressor for Australians behind only financial and health issues during the 2011 to 2015 years (Stress and wellbeing study: How Australians are coping with life, Australian Psychological Society).
Research has found that the bond between children and their parents is incredibly important and can provide children resilience against stressors. We now know more than ever about how children develop both in terms of their bodies and their brains. If you are interested in learning more please visit https://developingchild.harvard.edu.
We now have an understanding of what kind of parenting leads to children being successful as adults and our psychologists can share these findings with you.
Examples of the types of techniques our psychologist may suggest include:
1. Teaching you skills to help you regulate your emotions more effectively.
2. Help to understand the bond that occurs between parents and children.
3. Help you to be able to reflect on your own childhood and how this may impact on your parenting.
4. Learn to manage your child’s distress and techniques to calm your child down.
Eating Disorders
Disordered eating is very common with 4% of the population experiencing an eating disorder and this number is increasing (Butterfly Foundation, 2012).
Eating disorders include binge eating, bulimia, and anorexia. While women make up 64% of people in Australia with an eating disorder it is also common in men. Eating disorders are serious illnesses which cause both mental and physical health problems.
Eating disorders commonly develop during the teenage years but they can begin or re-emerge at any age. If you’re experiencing an eating disorder our psychologists can help.
Our psychologists will help you:
1. Identify distorted and unhelpful thinking patterns.
2. Develop alternative behaviours to restriction, binging, and purging.
3. Deal with comorbid conditions such as anxiety and depression.
4. Learn skills to manage difficult emotions effectively.
Work-Life Balance Difficulties
Do you find yourself thinking about work when you are not there, feel compelled to work , or do you go over and above on all your work tasks? Workaholism is another common addictive behaviour.
If you find yourself obsessed by work and addicted to the approval and public recognition of success then you may have an unhealthy addiction to work. The difficulty with an addiction to work is that other areas of your life are affected by the time and energy you put into your work life.
This means there are often relationship difficulties, health issues, and a lack of enjoyment of other activities. People who have a tendency toward obsessive work behaviour often experience breakdowns due to the ongoing mental and physical health effects of working long hours.
Workaholism is often associated with perfectionism, performance anxiety, emotional difficulties, and obsessive traits. Our psychologists are trained to help you achieve a better work-life balance and to address the underlying psychological issues to lead you to work long hours.
Therapy for YOUR life
in YOUR time
Online therapy is a way for you to receive a valuable service in a different format, one that better suits your needs and your situation.
It takes the technology we use everyday and puts it to use in a way that’s beneficial to your life, in the moment that suits you best.
One in five Australians struggle with mental illness but less than half seek treatment, according to the National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing. There are millions of people that could benefit from therapy but don’t seek the help they need because traditional therapy doesn’t adapt to their unique situation.
PsychHelp is here to change that.
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